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There’s A TON of stuff out there about writing in third person. There’s so much stuff that I actually got stuck in the deep dark rabbit hole of the internet. So why write this post? Most of the sources I found were incomplete. Some would only cover a couple points and others would not explain each point well enough to understand.
Writing in third person isn’t a walk in the park. This particular writing style surprisingly has more rules and guidelines than 1st or 2nd person does.
What is Third Person
Third person is when instead of using the words I, me and my, you use words such as they, he, and she.
The most basic form of third person is simply writing a story or novel from an outsider’s perspective on an event or situation. Typically, in these types of stories or novels, the narrator, or writer, doesn’t get in the head of the characters. They simply document the visual signs of what a character is feeling or doing. There are, however, other stylistic types of third person writing that do get into the head of the characters, but I’ll go into that more in a minute.
Why Writers Often Use Third Person
You could probably ask twenty writers why they chose to write a specific novel of theirs in third person, and they’d all probably give you a different answer. With third person, there are some benefits that all writers can agree on.
The Unbiased Narrator
Whether you want to say the feelings of one or all the characters, because you’re not speaking as I, the narrator doesn’t automatically have a biased viewpoint to one of the characters. This gives the reader the opportunity to choose for themselves which character speaks to them the most rather than being told which character they have to choose.
Easily Paint the Bigger Picture
Often times, the writer will struggle with building the bigger picture within the novel. They get so focused on a character’s thoughts and feelings, that the bigger picture becomes a little blurry. With writing in third person, that obstacle has almost been taken out of the equation completely.
To Say Multiple Character’s Thoughts at Once
This is probably the most common reason why a lot of writers use and love third person. Instead of having to start a new chapter as a different point of view, you simply can state the other character’s name and what they’re thinking or feeling.
Why I Use Third Person
Often times, writers generally overthink the process of writing in third person. Writing in third person shouldn’t be this huge time-consuming task. It should be just as easy for you to write in third person as it is to write in first.
I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there. You have this amazing idea for a new short story or novel and you have to make the decision of what point of view you want to use. Most of the time, my decision to use third person over first person is just this gut feeling I get. I know, that didn’t help much with your decision, but here’s some examples of when I typically use third person.
When I don’t Want the Characters as the Main Focal Point to the Story
This generally happens when I’m writing a thriller or a horror novel/short story. With these genres, I’ve found that the best way to make the reader scared is by focusing more on the character’s surroundings and the 5 senses of the reader rather than the thoughts of the main character. Yes, I do go into the thoughts of the main character but not as much as I would have if it was written in first person.
When I’m Not Obsessed with a Set of Characters
I know this probably sounds terrible, but it’s true. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you guys by saying that I’m obsessed with each and every character I create. There’re times when I simply create the character as a means to tell the story that I’ve been dying to tell. Choosing to write in third person allows you to speak objectively about a character rather than feeling like you have to become the character to understand them.
When You’re Writing a Short Story with a Maximum Number of Words
This isn’t a very common circumstance, but oddly enough, I’ve written a few of short stories with this exact requirement. For example, if you’re submitting a story for a competition. They have a lot of requirements and more often than not, the length is one of them.
Ways to Write in Third Person
There’s dos and don’ts when it comes to writing in third person. Have you ever read a book or story and while you were reading, something just felt off about it? It was probably because of the way the writer chose to execute third person point of view.
THIRD PERSON LIMITED
Third person limited in when instead of focusing on the thoughts of a character, the writer will focus on the actions being done. I like to think of third person limited as first person but with third person pronouns. One benefit to using this style is that it helps to keep a novel or short story concise and to the point. One downside though is that because it’s focused more on the actions than the thoughts, it makes it harder for the reader to see themselves as the main character.
THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT
Third person omniscient is when the reader knows both the thoughts and actions of all the main characters. This writing style puts the narrator as a higher being that knows and see all. Because of how open this style is, there’s basically no rules for what you can and can’t do. Fair warning though, because of the amount of time and effort needed to develop all the main characters, writers often become lazy half-way through writing the novel. The moment the writer becomes lazy is when the reader stops being able to understand what’s happening in the novel.
This writing style is probably the most common one for writers to write in when using third person. With that being said, here are a few tips to think about when using this style.
1 : Put a specific character’s actions and thoughts together within the paragraph. Don’t separate them.
2 : Only use he or she when ONE male or female was mentioned either earlier in that sentence or in the sentence above it. DO NOT use she when you mentioned two or more, females in the sentence before it.
EPISODICALLY LIMITED THIRD PERSON
Episodically limited third person is when the writer will use headers or large paragraph breaks to change characters. One of the benefits to using this style is that it’s very structured. This style doesn’t allow the reader any room to get lost within the story. One downside though is that if you’re planning to have more than four main characters, the reader may feel while reading it that they’re not reading enough about their favorite character.
If you’re wanting to use this style of third person, keep in mind these next few helpful tips:
1 : If you don’t want to use headers, press the enter key one, or two, extra times when changing characters. Make it very black and white to the reader that you’re making the change.
2 : Whether you’re starting a new paragraph or a new chapter, make sure the first word of the new section is the name of the character you’re changing to.
3 : If you want to use headers, use the character’s name as the header when you’re wanting to change characters.
THIRD PERSON OBJECTIVE
Third person objective is when the writer will follow the actions of many characters without ever getting in their head to know their thoughts. This writing style can be super beneficial if you have many main characters, but a novel with this style should be written as an outsider watching it happen. The reader shouldn’t know what the characters are thinking unless it’s being said within a line of dialogue.
Would I Ever Use Third Person
Absolutely! I write in third person about as much as I write in first person. From my experience, the more you practice how to properly write in third person, the easier it is to do without thinking much about it.
How do you feel about writing in third person? How often do you do it? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below!
