Words & style · Tip 51 of 82 · 5 min read
Who Is Telling the Story? (I, You or They)
Discover how choosing a narrator changes the whole feel of your story.
Every story has a narrator, the voice telling it. Choosing who tells your story is called choosing your point of view. It's like deciding which pair of glasses your reader will look through.
First person: "I"
The main character tells the story themselves, using I and me. Readers hear their thoughts and feel very close to them. But the narrator can only know what they see and think.
I knew I shouldn't open the door. My heart was thumping. But I've never been good at doing what I'm told.
Third person: "he", "she" or "they"
Someone outside the story tells it, using the characters' names and he, she or they. This lets you follow different characters and show things the hero doesn't know about.
Amir knew he shouldn't open the door. His heart was thumping. On the other side, the cat was waiting with a very naughty plan.
Notice how the third-person version can tell us about the cat's plan, even though Amir doesn't know about it yet!
Second person: "you"
This one is rare. The story talks to the reader as if they are the character: "You open the door. You see a dragon." It's used in choose-your-own-adventure books.
Which should I choose?
- Want readers to feel exactly what your hero feels? Try first person.
- Want to show lots of characters and places? Try third person.
- Writing a game-like adventure? Try second person.