#how to write in 3rd person

[3hks]

Adding Personality Into 3rd Person

Some people find third person point-of-view boring in comparison to first person because "it lacks character". Well, I'm here to tell you that's not true! You can most definitely infuse personality into your 3rd person limited narrative (beyond just thoughts and dialogue); it's SUPER easy, and I'm here to inform you how!

For starters, identify the character that's being focused on in the story. More often than not, it'll be your main character, but that's not always the case. Sometimes, the perspective shifts.

The key here is to pretend like it's that character who's telling the story. They're narrating themselves, like in 1st person, only, y'know, it's in 3rd.

Why does this matter?

Words, words, words. How we use them determines not only our story, but also the mood and tone, which is crucial to understand right now. With that being said, the vocabulary used can both subtly and blatantly add personality to your writing!

For example, let's say the "focused character" is more likely to use the word "super", instead of "very" or "really", so they use it once or twice when "narrating".

The sky was super dark that night.

The mirror was super shiny.

The man looked super suspicious.

And guess what? That's already adding your character's voice INTO the text! The use of the word "super" added a more childish tone to the text, avoiding what otherwise could have been rather flat.

Let's look at some more examples:

❀ Maybe your character is more serious. This might lead to a more "standard" style of storytelling, but it's something nonetheless!

❀ Maybe your character is more negative, so their pessimistic viewpoint may affect and/or warp the actual, objective situation!

❀ Maybe your character LOVES a certain show(s), so they occasionally drop references when comparing stuff!

So, if you ever feel like your writing is getting a bit plain or repetitive, this might help you out!

Happy writing~

3hks <3

[opens-up-4-nobody]

This is me promising to become a Wikipedia editor for the explicit purpose of studying from my comprehensive exams lol

[luvo27]

i have thought a LOT about how i like to write cass in my fics so here's one of the thoughts:

one thing that i do on purpose when writing from cass's pov is not use the babs or steph nicknames in the narration and this is something that i thought about because if i'm writing in steph's pov, i'll use the steph nickname from time to time but i don't use it for cass. i love love love love the scott puckett batgirl run, and one thing that really makes it unique to me is the lack of cass's narration and yes this is because she doesn't know english for a bit but even afterwards it's still fairly minimal, and there's very much the question of like, how on earth do you translate this very visual character into a written medium? the idea is like, trying to distance the narrator's voice from cass's voice. it's fun in a sense of like, i cant draw and use art to show how cass's thoughts work and how she connects things in her mind, but i can get the narrator to describe her thoughts even if in words not her own so cass might call stephanie by the nickname steph, but the narrator wouldn't, and all of the narration is like a second hand translation of what's actually happening in cass's head and sometimes it's more connected to cass's voice and sometimes it's less connected and i don't know if this is making any sense at all. basically if i were ever going to write a cass comic i think i'd write the narration in 3rd person most of the time

[askbrahmsheelshire]

hi!! i wanted to ask for a Brahms x gender neutral reader writing drabble! can you please write brahms with an s/o who has been drawing him a lot and accidentally finds their sketchbook on their desk? thank you!

ᴼᶠ ᶜᵒᵘʳˢᵉᵎᵎᵎ ᴵ ᵉⁿᵈᵉᵈ ᵘᵖ ᵐᵃᵏᶦⁿᵍ ᶦᵗ ˡᵒⁿᵍᵉʳ ᵗʰᵃⁿ ᶦⁿᵗᵉⁿᵗᵉᵈ ˡᵒˡ ᵉⁿʲᵒʸ

Brahms x GN! Reader Warnings: Posessiveness, Consensual but Not Safe or Sane, Minor Sexual Content POV: 3rd Person Limited, Brahms Perspective

His fingertips glide across the cheek of his porcelain mask, riding the ridges of the lips that are cracked from years of wear. His eyes glance down to a discarded book, pages haphazardly flipped open. It feels odd, this flipped dynamic.

Being watched, that is.

His eyes are used to watching them through the cracks in the walls; from behind this mask he’s worn since the fire tore through his flesh. Being a predator hungry for its’ prey, hiding and concealing himself in the shadows.

He’s felt their eyes on his hulking frame every day this week, marking and etching into the paper of the moleskin they carry. Sitting in the parlor, behind the kitchen counters… In bed, as he stares down at them through this ceramic facade. Their eyes, locked onto his mask, trying to see through it. Scanning and memorizing, marking and recording.

More than a dozen different sketches of his own face and body lined and shaded are littered throughout the pages. These sketches show everything— the angry burns that crawl down from beneath his mask and onto his shoulder, his relentless body hair, the brown ringlets of his hair that frizz out and go straight in mismatched places.

He didn’t realize he’s been this thoroughly…examined. While he was busy recording their curves into his memory, their every movement throughout his home repeated like a mantra in his head, they were busy doing the same. His chest… His eyes behind his mask…The folds and draping of his clothes against his body. The unmistaken straining of his pants.

He can’t help but groan, wetting his lips to the physical desire of his lover leaking off the page. His thoughts becoming more and more muddied the more he sees his lust reflected back on the rough textured paper.

A creak of the staircase, barely audible, hits his ears. He knows every weakpoint in the old floorboards of this home to recognize when his lover is making their way up the stairs. Like a sixth sense.

His body catches them before even a squeak can escape their throat. Moving like a shadow across the floorboards of the bedroom to the opening door, just a gust of wind hits their face before they see him there. A hand reaches out, stopping the door’s swinging movement and pinning their bodies together against its’ frame. He looms over them, faces mere inches away. It’s only then do they find the air returning to their lungs, eyes wide in shock, finally seeing him there before them.

That look— that desperation! In the short time he’s had them here as his new plaything, he can still get this kind of reaction from them! That sort of desperation and fear when startled and backed into a corner, primal and animalistic. It’s intoxicating, it’s all his! Mine, mine, mine, he thinks.

“Gh— Brahms…! God, you scared me—” The blush errupts across their face, beautiful, hot blood, taking over the color on their cheeks. Their eyes whip from his mask straight to the scene of the crime, the mistakenly discarded notebook that lay open on the dresser. Whines and whispers of an animal pinned down by the teeth of a predator croak from their lips, followed by an embarrassed and nervous smile. “I didn’t mean to leave that out.”

Cute.

Cute, cute cute. Cute!

Their breath is uneven, shoulders shaking at every inhale, heart thrumming like a small little hummingbird. He moves in closer, God, he can’t control it, moving his face into the crook of their neck and his breath pounding on the inside of the ceramic. It’s like he can taste the blood on his lips through the thin skin of their neck. That racing pulse, drumming, drumming, drumming under their jaw is enough to make him faint.

“Did you see everything?” They ask, smugness and pride playing on their lips, despite their nervousness and embarrassment. Had they left it out on purpose? Was it meant to entice him, a game they've devised for his amusement? He loves these kinds of games.

He doesn’t answer, just breathes in their hot breath and scent, porcelain cold against the sensitive lobes of their ears. Shaking like a poor deer caught in the scope of a hunter’s rifle. It’s more fun this way, forcing information out of them, making them think they’re giving it up on purpose. Entice, sit, wait.

“You’re just beautiful, Brahms. I can’t help but draw you.” They smile, still shivering and swaying like long, wild grass. A spark of indignation flickers when he doesn't deny looking at their drawings, "It's only fair. You stare at me all the time."

His voice, high and wrong for a man his age, “You don’t like when I stare?” A hint of a smirk on his real lips.

“I didn’t say that!"

A quick retort, almost too loud for how close they are to one another.

That look—! The desperation for his approval, their fear and exhilaration. Their eyes cast down quickly, embarrassed by how quickly they needed to clarify.

He needs it. To the core of his being, he craves it.

The saliva pooling under his tongue is overwhelming as his eyes dart across their features. He swallows hard.

A whimper rushes past their lips. “I’m sorry, Brahms,” they apologize, voice light and unsteady. “I didn’t mean for you to find it, I—” A startled squeak as his hands find the sides of their face, thumbs nestled on the skin of their temples, stroking and smoothing the skin there. His grip forces their eyes to meet.

“Why?” He finds his voice, too delicate, too unstable. They didn’t want him to see? Why not? Hasn’t he been good? He knows he’s been good, he’s been nothing but obedient. He’s good, he’s good, so then why? Why, why, why?!

Their eyes shine with something he can’t place— something he can’t understand. He’s good, he’s been so fucking good.

“I didn’t mean it that way.” Their hand rests on his chest, rubbing smooth, small circles. God, that feels good. Good. Good. He’s so good. “I didn’t mean for you to just… stumble upon it.”

His fingers tighten their hold, scratching the line of hair on their neck, sending a shiver straight down their spine. “And how would you have wanted me to find it?”

Their breath hitches, eyes wide as they look into the empty eyes of his mask. “I… I wanted to show you. I wanted to show you how I see you.”

“Show me,” he whispers, his hands releasing their grasp moving down, down, down to grip their waist.

“Show me how you see me.”

[rjalker]

Pro tip, writers who only use she/her or he/him pronouns:

If you usually write everything in 3rd person POV, but just suddenly feel the need to write in the 1st person as soon as you're dealing with a character who uses neopronouns of some sort, that is your unpacked exorsexism talking and trying to make you avoid using the pronouns that make you uncomfortable.

Resist the urge. Write your story in 3rd person POV just the same way you would if the character used she/her or he/him. Get used to it.

Switching to 1st person POV as soon as it's about a character that uses they/them or it/its or xe/xem is the lazy cowardly exorsexist way out. You can do better. Accept the challenge, or at least have the strength to admit you're choosing the coward's way out on purpose.

And no, saying that "using it/its pronouns in the 3rd person is just too difficult tho :(" is not an excuse, that's just an admission that you don't know how to write.

[ball-of-butter]

where is the crack baby fic…. you are like papa… YOU LIE 😡

IM PISSING WHO SENT THIS 😭😭😭😭😭

here is a snippet to show u im actually trying (i’ve written like 5% of it but at least i have the full plan down!)

[camp-counselor-david]

I was wondering what bugged me about the season 4 Cameron Campbell redemption arc, and I think it finally clicked for me. (And yeah it's 95% David related)

Tw for talks of abuse under the read more.

(Spoiler warning for s3 & 4!)

My relationship (from a character standpoint) with Mr. Campbell is very iffy. He's meant for comedic relief, as is his treatment of David within the series.

Side note- I know that the wolf in "The Forest" being a metaphor for Campbell's abuse of David isn't technically canon even if it's pretty widely accepted by now, so I'll be excluding that part in my analysis.

Mr. Campbell goes through a lot of changes within the series. He starts out as sort of a criminal mastermind type. Self-serving, a blatant scammer, and someone who is seen abusing David in particular many times in the show, physically and verbally. That's not even mentioning the scene in "Jasper Dies in the End," where he attempts to murder a young David for witnessing Jasper's near-death experience. Despite this, David looks up to him and idolizes who he is as a person.

Up until when things peak in season 3, where it's revealed to David that he's not only a terrible person, but he has attempted to frame him for the camp being a scam. Season 3 handles Campbell the best in my opinion, up until the ending of "Camp Corp" where it's decided that Cameron Campbell is more of an idiot than a mastermind, so his new punishment is staying at the camp under David's watch.

Season 4 is where it takes a turn for the worse. As per usual, David is on board with the idea of redeeming Mr. Campbell and places faith in him changing for the better. This didn't bug me until the episode with the escape room where the series begins to explore a different side of Campbell. There, it's revealed that despite how awful as a person he was, he secretly has some type of heart! He still had feelings for the woman he ghosted for 17 years to the point of never once seeing another person in all of that time. Not only does that feel impossible to believe, but given how he acts when he's coming back from the club in "Keep the Change," it feels a lot more like a retcon to me. You're telling me that someone as greedy as him would make such a responsible choice when it comes to any of his personal relationships? In 17 years? While regularly being under the influence of alcohol and other drugs throughout that time period?

It felt like a quick "See? Mr. Campbell isn't actually that bad of a person!" To which I feel is not the right angle to take with his character, at least not so quickly. I understand that characters can have nuance. They can have good traits and still be bad people, but these traits have to line up with what makes sense for the character, and from my perspective, it didn't.

They then change the approach with Campbell and start making him a lot more reasonable of a person in the way he talks. "Time Crapsules" ending with an admittedly nice message from him about change using the camp itself as a metaphor for his own character growth, which becomes apparent in the last prominent Campbell episode, "St. Campbell's Day."

This is the episode that urks me the most. Since the very beginning, David has had full faith in Mr. Campbell. He spent time making excuses for him and going out of his way to prove that change is really possible. But (spoilers, sorry!!) then this episode features the very first time that David stands up against Mr. Campbell. He sees the fake holiday that he's making for presumably self-serving reasons and decides that Campbell is showing his old patterns again-- because why else would he make up a holiday revolving around making money?

David ruins the holiday by stealing the holiday supplies and reporting him to the presses as a con artist. Then, the show reveals that David was overreacting, and this was really pushed by the campers rather than Campbell himself. They wanted to raise funds for the camp to get new things like the outhouse, and David feels bad. Afterward, there's a happy moment where David apologetically fixes everything with the help of Gwen and QM, which is admittedly very sweet, and Mr. Campbell forgives David for jumping the gun and assuming the worst.

While I don't hate this, it just rubs me the wrong way that the one time David stands up against Campbell, he's punished by the narrative. He apologizes to Mr. Campbell, a thing that Campbell never properly does for David, the one who actually deserves it.

This episode could have been a good opportunity for there to be some reflection on how David, who vouched ceaselessly for his redemption, might have some mixed feelings on his abuser. Exploring this side of things more would have made this a better episode and overall a better arc for me rather than "Silly David!! You've ruined the one good thing he tried to do!".

The concept of David wanting to be happy about the changes but finding that part of him guiltily thinks that Campbell doesn't deserve it is something I really wish they explored a lot more.

The tl;dr of this is that the Mr. Campbell redemption arc isn't a bad angle to shoot for! Some of it was handled decently, but the loose ends that we'll likely never see wrapped up leave a sour taste in my mouth. A few kind moments don't make up for around 14 years of abuse, and that's not even mentioning the death of Jasper as a consequence of Campbell's actions.

I love this show a lot, and this is by no means hateful towards it, I just feel a little put off by how they handle the Campbell-David stuff.

[ramghosterr]

in my head there are two versions of traffic!grian. if you ask me what i think the correct, canon interpretation is, that answer will be Way Different then my fanon version of him, which aligns more with how i write him in fanfics.

canon traffic grian moves from person to person quickly, and doesn't tend to make alliances with the same person twice. his relationships with others are fast and bright like a fire, until the fire goes out. he's fiercly loyal to those he cares about, but that disappears if they betray him (or what he views as a betrayal). he doesn't take kindly to being forced into something he's not willing to do. he's a survivor- he's careful and maybe even paranoid, and he often makes it pretty late in the game because of this. he enjoys the game a little too much, and takes delight in a successful trap (even if he's not on red). he's a force of chaos, who can't be forced into a box but will stay by your side until he outlives you.

fanon traffic grian is different. he's still loyal, but he forms attachments quickly and never really forgets about them, even if the people in those relationships hurt him. he holds his friends close to his heart, even after a new game has begun. he feels trapped, and scared- this is his punishment from the watchers, and he blames himself for what everyone else is going through. because of this, he pushes the people he cares about away. he's a tragic hero, a pyrrhic victor, a falling icarus. yet he still loses himself in the chaos, thriving in the danger and high emotions of the game (perfect for a watcher). he's scared but trying to be brave, guilty but trying to be strong, and traumatized but trying to push forward because he has no choice.

those are two different people. and that's okay. it's why it's called fanon.

[londonhalcyon]

Didn't know lily had a Reddit account 😭

I am curious though, since the mad witch is rated T, would any potential smut be made in a one shot so it could have a separate rating?

Possibly. I might consider posting a separate scene further down the line. Most likely M-rated, not explicit, but it would leave far less to the imagination than Chapter 41.

This isn’t a guarantee, but there is, uh, a “Legilimency scene” closer to the fifty-something chapter range that I’ve been trying to figure out how to pull off without breaking the rating or doing a complete fade to black. It might be worth it to just write the full scene and then gut it for the main fic. In that case, it would be no issue to post the unabridged version on its own with a higher rating.

But, again, no guarantees. I’ll consider it.

[fluffypotatey]

i need to work on my superiority complex in my creative writing class

[neda-epik]

If you've ever watched a video about Lithuanian culture you always hear how lithuanians are reserved and introverted but once you get to know them they're the most friendly and open people you'll ever meet.

And I can confirm that this stereotype - it's true.

For example: I met this girl in a summer camp, and by day two she was already venting about her grandma's death.

And that's normal here.

Another time met a trans guy I knew about his family problems (unrelated but he had a sick hairstyle - short hair, half black, half blue). Like you would meet me and it's a matter of hours before I tell you about intimate details of my family, past friends and my personal problems.

but when walking on the street someone would make eye contact and smile at me i genuinely would be wrecking my brain trying to remember where i met this person or just think they're insane.

[just-a-little-unionoid]

NOT MY FRENCH WRITING EXAM BEING HARRY FUCKING POTTER RPF I'm dealing so many psychic damages rn you have no idea

[amoripomoea]

hey who wants a hunger games au

[thefaelightforge]

HOLY HELL! Im already back to the 700 word mark! Seriously swapping from 3rd to 1st person POV might have actually made this story easier to write.

[somefishycat]

So I found myself procrastinating doing my taxes by... reading a grammar textbook. Which is certainly a new one for me

[siffrins-therapist]

More advice i like. I think trying to emulate writers you enjoy can be helpful when practicing, but don't let it bog you down if you struggle when doing that. No practice is useless.