Author’s Note: This idea came about after friend and fellow writer, Logan Black, posed the question on twitter/X. I have no concrete evidence one way or another on this, it’s only my opinion and a glimpse into my mind. How I like to read and, by extension, how I write. I also nudge into my personal preferences on reading, so if you don’t care to get that personal with me, I get it, but maybe don’t read this one. It’s tame comparatively, but I warned you.
So, here’s the thing. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to what POV you like best when reading. I’ll dare say that some people, like myself, have a preference based on genre. And that’s going to vary from person to person.
Let me explain how I see it.
It used to be that everyone wrote in third person. Whether that was limited or omniscient depended on the story, but third was the overwhelming preference. There are certain genres where you can get away with first, and some people prefer that, but more and more we are seeing a shift away from third.
Why is that?
I have a guess. Reading, for a lot of people, is an escape from reality. We want to immerse ourselves in the literature that we love, because it’s a way for us to get away from the existential horror that is our reality. I dare say that this has become even more prominent in just the last few years as the world has undergone massive changes in how we consume media. Covid really did a number on a lot of people.
Now, we want even more for our stories to plunge us into the realm of fantasy where we can, at least for a few moments, forget about the world beyond and just live in the moments of passion and pleasure we take from reading. I think this is a big part of why the shift to first person is happening.
Stay with me here. I’m taking a bit of a dive.
While third person works well for some forms of media, I don’t think it works well for everything. By the nature of the POV, you’re an outsider looking in on the characters and what they are doing. Sure, that works well for some things like Science Fiction and Horror, but what about others?
Fantasy can really go either way, and that largely depends on what branch of fantasy/paranormal you read. Epic fantasies with long narratives and sweeping, in-depth story arcs tend to lend themselves well to third. But when you get into things like paranormal romance or urban fantasy, I think it starts to shift the other way. These things also bridge nicely with Romance and erotica categories, where I think a large number of readers probably prefer first person. It’s not that you can’t do third, and often you’ll see it with big-name writers, but the appeal of first is pretty obvious.
As a personal preference, I like to self-insert when I read, especially in Romance or Erotica categories. I can’t really do that if the work is in third person. I’m an outside observer, looking in on the action, and I only want that if I’m reading Horror.
I want to feel the words. I want them to reach inside me and rip my heart out from the emotion when I read. I want to feel the burning passion between the characters, and fall in love with their stories as if they were happening to me.
That’s why I enjoy reading. I get to live in this fantasy with them, and give an outlet to things I would never do as a real person. This is also why I choose to write the way I do. I write as if I’m the primary reader of my stories, so they are almost always in first person, and I give as little physical description of characters as I can get away with because it’s what I like to read. Self-insertion, if you will.
I think for many individuals, especially those with specific intentions behind their reading (i.e., reading erotica for the purposes of getting off), this is where a preference for first person comes into play. Reading something, especially if you have an internal monologue and read in your head, would help put you in that space as you read and help fulfill and drive those fantasies with even more clarity. I equate reading third-person erotica much the same as if I were watching porn. I’m looking in on the action instead of participating in it. It’s enjoyable, but it’s not what I want personally. I want to get that rush, you know the one, and tiptoe to that edge
I know we kinda got a little personal there for a second, sorry. But I think maybe you can understand where I’m going with this.
Third person has its place, for sure, but I think largely it depends on which genre we are talking about. I don’t usually want to read a horror story where I’m the MC, living out the trauma and madness that encompasses much of what classifies as horror. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it, but it’s not my preference. And the exact opposite is true for Romance. I want to be in the center of it. It’s the thing that draws me to the genre in the first place. Again, it’s not that I can’t enjoy it in third, it’s just not my preference.
Whichever POV you prefer, there is no right or wrong answer, simply a matter of preference based on your needs and desires as a reader. You may like something for the exact opposite reason I do, and that’s okay. As long as the writing is good, we should be flexible and be able to like what we do unapologetically. I do, and so should you.
What are your thoughts on POV’s? Do you have a preference between first and third, or are you an entire weirdo who likes second? (I’m absolutely kidding. No one likes second, lol.) If your reading preferences match mine, let me know. I always assume I’m an oddball about these things.
