Hello fellow Innmates,

I am unsure if I'm putting this in the right place, but I have a question for anyone willing to answer.

For a few years now, I've been planning out a book series of roughly 7 books. I've started writing parts of it the last year or so. My problem is.. I'm not sure which writing style is best for a long haul series such as the one I'm attempting to write.

My question to you all is: What is your preference for reading books? 1st 2nd or 3rd person?

I've read so many books over my almost 51 years that it does not really matter. As long as the book is well written and holds my interest I'm all in.

Case in point the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. In numerous books he has gone from 1st person to 2nd, 3rd, and back again, yet each book still keeps me gripped and entertained till the last page. Why he does this I do not know but it works.

Silent, best thing I can tell you is write in whichever style you are most comfortable with, let that be your start. If your book series is good, and I have no doubt it will be, then that's all that matters in the end

Also one last thing.... Have fun in your writing, make it a pleasure not a burden.

I always keep my writing fun. If i get frustrated with it I step away from it for awhile.

i just wanted to see what others prefer - They may not even read my series and that's okay. I just was curious lol

I may not have the reading chops of Tann, but I have looked into the matter with more than passing depth before.

You'll probably want to pick either 1st or 3rd. Unless you're going really avant garde, most of the time 2nd person is the field of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style books, to convey that the reader is involved in the narrative. I could see some shorter stories that could work with it, but in a longer work, sticking with the bread and butter is the way to go.

Now I don't really have a strong preference between 1st and 3rd person, but they each have their own strengths. I have heard that 1st person is often easier for a beginning writer, though I started in 3rd so be that what it may. Regardless, 1st person generally confines you inside the head of a single protagonist (unless you go switching viewpoint characters between chapters or something), but has the advantage that everything you describe comes to the reader through that character's own perception of the world, which can tell you as much about a character as any amount of description or action. For the same reason, it gives a much more immediate relationship between the reader and the protagonist.

On the other hand, while in 3rd person you generally want to limit your narrator to knowledge of one character (for example, Harry Potter is told more or less exclusively through Harry's perspective, even through it's written in 3rd), you have much more freedom to move the 'camera' around and describe events in a slightly more objective tone. Another advantage is that you can even reveal what a character is thinking even when they don't want to admit it to themselves.

Regardless which you use, though, one tip I've learned is to avoid letting a character by themselves for too long (which I've heard is more of a problem for 1st person, since you start needing contrivances to have them 'overhear' plot developments). Generally a character alone starts getting contemplative, which means they're not physically doing much. Rather than let them narrate their thoughts, give them somebody to argue or discuss with, who can offer questions, challenges, and counter thoughts. Of course, like in every rule of writing, there are exceptions and you must do what works for you, but it's good to know the rules before you learn how to break them.

Covers 12 main characters. i'm cutting each book in "half" so like Lord of the Rings has I think two parts in it.

Each book will cover two characters in each book. So in the first book it will follow Character A and Character D. so the first part of the book will be Character A and the second part will be Character D... Does that make sense?

That absolutely does make sense, and can be a good way to highlight the difference between two characters' ways of thinking.

Both Tann and Sibelius Eos Owm make valid points. I do have 1 major different thought than Sibelius in that I find that 3rd person allows you to explore multiple characters thoughts. It is not mandatory to do this, but, if you have multiple major characters at once, this can be useful. I am reading a series called the Traitor Son cycle right now, and he does this. That being said, I have seen just as many things done in 3rd person that focus on one person at a time as many people.

Something I personally like with 3rd person is you can be more analytical, and describe things the main character doesn't see. It is a little bit weird, but can be done, to describe an event happening where the protagonist isn't, or outside of his awareness.

I myself am very fond of writing in the 3rd person, as I like to have many multiple characters at the same time. As has been previously stated, finding the person that works for you is the best thing you can do.