Readers & writers: what voice & tense do you prefer in your fiction?

Cafe Society
1

I think the subject line’s pretty clear, but I’ll add some qualifications & definitions in case anyone needs them:
1. First person
A character in the narrative tells the story after it has happened, frequently as if she were writing her memoirs or simply relating the story to someone in front of her: As I awoke that horrible morning, I found myself transformed into a gigantic vermin.
Example: Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides

2. Third-person intimate
A narrator not directly involved in the action tells the story afterwards, but completely through the eyes of the main character (or, sometimes, of alternating characters, but never more than one at a time), giving the reader access to the thoughts & feelings of the viewpoint character(s) but no one else’s:
As Gregor Samsa awoke that morning, he found himself transformed into a gigantic vermin. Horrified, he knew he would never be the same
Example: C. S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair (unlike the rest of the Chronicles, the whole story is told from the POV of one character, Jill)

3. Third-person limited
A narrator not directly involved in the action tells the story afterwards, but completely through the eyes of the main character (or, sometimes, of alternating characters, but never more than one at a time). The reader is told what that character does, says, sees, and hears, but has no access to his internal monologues: *As Gregor Samsa awoke that morning, he saw his reflection in the mirror; he was no longer a man, but a gigantic vermin.
Example: Dashiel Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon

Third-person omnisicent
The narrator is, basically, has God’s POV; the reader may be told the actions, thoughts, & feelings of any character in the story, and the narrator frequently comments on the action. As Gregor Samsa woke that morning, he found himself transformed into a gigantic vermin. He was horrified, as was everyone else who saw him for the rest of his life. There would be repercussions for a long time, and no one would ever learn exactly what caused this metamorphosis.
example: Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones

Which voice do you prefer, and why? Is there one you strongly dislike, and if so, why? Are your preferences as a writer different from yours as a reader?

As a reader, I prefer first-person for the most part. To me it’s by far the most natural and naturalistic style, the one that draws me most deeply into a story as if it were real. that said, there are good things about third-person intimate & limited; in particular, limited allows the author to relate events he could not possibly know about except in the context of a story, and intimate allows a little more distance between the reader and the characters, which is sometimes useful.

I tend to dislike third-person omniscient; it heightens the unreality of a story for me. I’m rereading Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass right now, for instance, and he changes POV frequently; each time I’m pulled out of the story a little bit, particularly when he’s relating an incident that it’s impossible to imagine anyone being able to tell the narrator about.

Anyway, I’m interested to know what y’all think. Feel free to add your own options & variations; f’instance, if anyone has anything to say on the past-present tense issue, I’d welcome it.

2

Well, these aren’t tenses so much as they are points of view, but I gotta say that third person omniscient is my favorite. I love books with twisting plotlines and multiple characters. The perspective change is my way of getting closer to all the character at once. This is the POV I write in, for the same reasons I’ve mentioned.

The other third person tenses are okay, I guess, but whenever I read them, I still unconsciously think how cool it would be if I could be in so-in-so’s head for a scene. Like in Harry Potter. I’d love to see things from Snape’s point of view for once.

First person alienates me, and it’s actually a big turnoff when I’m looking for books to buy. I don’t like being stuck in the head of one character all the time. The only thing worse than first person for me is first person plus third omniscient. If you’ve ever read any of James Patterson’s books, you’ll know what I’m talking about. His main character tells the story in first person (“I did this, I did that, I admired my voluptuous, model-quality body in the mirror.”), and then in another chapter that focuses on another character, it switches to third (“He wanted to kill her.”). Drives me nuts.

Not to say that I always dislike first person. In realistic fiction novels like Catcher In the Rye and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it’s great stuff. Just don’t go cluttering my epics with it, please.

Now for tenses, I’m pretty easy going when I’m reading. Past or present, it doesn’t matter. When I’m writing, I generally use past because that’s the norm for me, but sometimes I’ll go into present tense for (ironically) flashbacks. Something about present tense feels looser and dreamlike to me, almost like it’s got that echo/reverb effect about it, and it’s fun to play around with it for color.

Fun thread. :slight_smile:

3

Nice post! Very well-written – and thanks for the examples.

I haven’t thought much about POV, but I think I prefer #1 and #2.

As for tenses, if I understand the term correctly, I hate past perfect. It might not be grammatically correct, but whenever I read “had been”, I substitute “was” or “were”. Too many “hads” are a drag. They disrupt the flow of what otherwise might be a nice sentence.

4

I prefer third person intimate, alternating between a handful of central characters (usually one per chapter). This lets you delve into the characters’ thoughts and motivations, without limiting the reader to one point of view, while avoiding the inherant assumption of first-person storytelling - namely, that the speaker survives the narrative (some writers cheat at that, and I hate it; ruins my suspension of disbelief). George R.R. Martin writes that way, as do Guy Kay and Nel Stephenson. I think it’s the best bet for epics, as it gives you a broad view of the proceedings while still providing you with some solid POVs to serve as anchors.

Of course, it depends on the writer.

5

And of course, there’s always good old second person. The only serious book I can think of written is way was Jay MacInerny’s Bright Lights, Big City.

*As you awake, you look into the mirror and find yourself transformed into a gigantic vermin. You wonder what the hell the Bolivian Marching Powder you hoovered last night was cut with. *

6

Yeah, I know. I started to differentiate between various tenses used in varying POVs, , but then I realized that that was insane.

7

I didn’t mention 2nd person because it’s so rarely used. And when it’s used it tends to be incompetent fan fiction.

8

I once purchased a book that ws the newest in a series I was reading, turn to page 1, realize it was written in present tense, confirm it by flipping to some other pages, put the book down and totally abandon the series.

I can not *stand * present tense in fiction writing.

I LOVE reading books in first person.

9

Don’t forget the “choose your own adventure” books!

I agree, second person is really only a stunt. It works in BLBC because “you” are so strung out on coke that “you” really have no idea what you’re going to do next, it really could be any sort of random action.

Poor, poor second person. Well, at least it gets more respect than fourth person.

10

It would have answered that it would have employed the least readable and most irritating voice and tense known, respectively, were it to have ever written a book. It would, however, have acknowleded that it would have been very unlikely to entice a publisher into publishing it. Furthermore, were it to have the misfortune to have read a book that would have been written in the tense and voice it itself would have employed, it would have likely thrown the book into a fire.

11

Hey, I’ve read a few good stories that have used second person. A couple of Pam Houston’s short stories were particularly good.

Personally, I prefer third person intimate; that’s what I usually write in, anyway. I also don’t mind first person. Third person limited is great for some stories, but really horrible and dry for others. I think a lot of it depends on the writer. Some writers can use word choice to reflect the feelings in the scene without peeking into the characters’ minds; others really suck at it.

12

[QUOTE=Turek]
I once purchased a book that ws the newest in a series I was reading, turn to page 1, realize it was written in present tense, confirm it by flipping to some other pages, put the book down and totally abandon the series.

I can not *stand * present tense in fiction writing…

Turek - You read my mind; I cannot abide books written in the present & opened the thread to say just that. I don’t think I’ve gotten past the second page in a book written in the present tense, & I’ve read my share of books.

As for the point of view, doesn’t really matter. I usually prefer one consistent point of view throughout, but that’s the traditionalist in me.

13

I honestly don’t care. Just do whatever is appropriate to the work and do it well.

14

I agree (with regard to point of view). But when I encounter first person in an author whom I don’t already know and trust, I kind of mentally cross my fingers and hope (s)he knows what (s)he’s doing. Not only does the first person point of view limit the story, it is (it seems to me) less forgiving of inept writing. To pull it off, the voice has to be absolutely consistent, both within itself and with what kind of person the character is, and how (s)he thinks and perceives.

And I share others’ disdain for the present tense; it comes across as a pretentious gimmick that wants to draw attention to itself.

15

I prefer third person (omniscient, I guess), can live with first person and abhor second person.

I also prefer past tense. Present tense drives me nuts and always seem pretentious.

16

See, now I don’t think of the narrator as a character, unless it’s implied or told that she is. So I really like third-person omniscient, which gives a slight fantastical flavor to the story, as in One Hundred Years of Solitude, where I first remember encountering it. I’m seeing more and more POV switching in fiction recently, without the precognitive aspect of it: “he would come to be grateful for this in later years”.

I also especially like first-person accounts, which suck me right into the story, and feel intimate and immediate to me. Boy’s Life, by Robert McCammon, uses this, and it’s one of my alltime favorite books. Also, this year’s Hugo nominee, Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson, uses it to great effect.

17

But where does voice come into it? All of the examples in the OP are in the active voice.

18

I generally prefer third person limited, past tense, although I also like to switch points of view between sections (because I love dramatic irony).

A convention I use to help my readers is that I always start a new POV switch with the name of the character whose head I’m going into.

Occasionally I do first person if I feel that the character suits that voice. (It helps to identify with said character a bit, so I don’t feel weird writing an “I” who isn’t actually me.)

I also occasionally do present tense for my shorter stories. Again, it’s mostly a matter of gut.

I’m doing at least one story entirely in 2nd person and another to have a few chapters similarly written, both to highlight the sense of helplessness the main protagonist feels. I’m not entirely decided on it, though, because it feels kinda gimmicky.

19

As a reader, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s a compelling, well-written story with fully developed characters, and the POV is chosen well. (You can’t really have a Tom Clancy spy thriller, with numerous characters and massive technical detail, written in first person.)

As a writer, I tend to stick with 3rd person intimate. Omniscient is far too broad, and limited doesn’t get into the heads of the characters, which I like to do. I’ve written some first person stories, but not many.

(Once I wrote a fantasy story about a nine-year-old elf, using first person. Friends looked at the draft and said, “What the hell is this? Some kind of children’s story?” Umm…well I guess it is now, I should’ve expected that. :wink: At least there’s a market for it…)

Just about all writers will agree that active voice (“Bill threw the ball”) is by far preferable to passive voice (“The ball was thrown by Bill.”) You can use passive voice, but only sparingly, and not without a good reason. Active voice is, well…it’s just more active!

20

The OP doesn’t use the term directly, but voice when used to describe prose is a technical term for the matter of the feel, style, texture, and sound of the words. It’s what distinguishes Hemingway from Fitzgerald far more than pov or tense.

A good introduction can be found in this .pdf.