3d person view or 1st person

[Ai-chan]

Which one is better and why

Eh, there is no better or worse. They have different strengths and weaknesses. Some people write better in first person, others write better as 3rd person. It's all individual preference.

In first person, the author allows the readers to go straight into that protagonist's psyche. The readers feel everything the protagonist feels, every tactile sensation, every overpowering emotions and every misguided motivations are all laid bare to the readers, in a way as if the reader is playing psychoanalysis with the protagonist. If you can't feel this, then it simply means the author sucks. The strength of 1st person is that the readers are inside the protagonist, if not the protagonist itself.

Consider the following sentence, "I... I do not know what to do. What must I do? Someone, won't someone tell me what I should do now?"

In third person, the author gives an impersonal view on the target characters. While you can give descriptions and expand the protagonist's monologues as you would in 1st person, the feeling of closeness to the protagonist is not there. You feel like you're a god looking down on the person, not being the person itself.

Consider the following sentence, "He fell to his knees, his mind confused. He didn't know what to do. He begged for help, but none answered his call."

The difference between 1st and 3rd person is that 1st person puts you in the protagonist's shoes, while 3rd person puts you way above the clouds. In google map term, 3rd person is like typing the words 'Downtown Detroit' and looking at the area from above, while 1st person is clicking the street view and coming face to face with a house robbery just off Bagley Street. It's definitely not the same feeling. You can see the forest under 3rd person, but only under 1st person can you see the shrubbery under a particular pine tree marked with a big X.

 

[Necariin]

Third person limited omniscient is my favorite, though I have nothing against a good first person POV if done well. As people have said, you can jump around to different characters in this way, adding their perspective to events. Some have said it makes it harder to emote or convey thoughts, but that is not necessarily true. The best way to use third person limited omniscient is to color their POV with their viewpoint and emotions. An intellectual would use larger words in descriptions, and a poet character may be more flowery with descriptions, while a character hyper focused on one thing would have tunnel vision and ignore other objects in their space. It's all connected and all useful, and it can make the story dynamic and feel lived in because you're filtering things through the lens of character.

That said, it can be hard to pull off.

 

[Razmatazz]

Neither perspective is 'better', as they are unique tools, each intended for their own purpose.

It's like asking if a hammer or screwdriver is better. It depends on what you want to do with it.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Which one is better and why

Use both

 

[OsiriumWrites]

Third.

 

[Alfir]

It depends, really.
1st person offers a more intimate feel to readers while 3rd person offers more perspective.

 

[Agentt]

1st person!

I can flesh out the characters more, they feel more relatable and it's pretty much the only thing i know

 

[IDKWtWrite-San]

Fusion, all the way I guess

 

[BornInAbyss]

1st person is nicer and kinda more personal. 3rd person on the other hand can be helpful to describe feelings of other characters as well.

 

[ChocolateCat301]

It honestly depends on what the author wants. I prefer writing in first person, but occasionally switch to third when explaining a dream or something along those lines.