[creatorofPreten]

Lets's say for sake of argument that I have 4 main characters. I write one chapter, from the third person viewpoint of my first main character. I do the same with the second and with the third. But then for my fourth main character I switch to first person perspective. For his chapter only, and then I switch back to third person when I return to my first main character's perspective.


I have the crazy urge to do just that - has this ever been done before?

Would it be too jarring and weird for the reader?

[Laer Carroll]

Would it be too jarring and weird for the reader?

Not if done right, and there are several ways to do it right. Part of that would be to have a good reason for having one character tell their story.

For instance, if the 1st person individual is the main viewpoint character. Another possibility is if the 1st person narration is a diary, maybe discovered long after the person is dead.

Got to tell us more about your particular story before we can give you useful advice. Or are you just asking a general question?

[ElinIsabel]

Not jarring or wierd at all if done well.

Some good examples I can think of off the immediate top of my head, if you want to read some, are China Mieville's The Scar and Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits. The authors don't do it exactly the way you describe you want to, but they do alternate between third and first person narration. In both cases do it fairly early on and so you can get a taste for how it feels like as a reader just by reading the first few chapters.

I was thinking about doing this for a story too. I have a story that alternates between 6 women; one of them I keep thinking of as a very strong first person voice, the others only seem to come to me in third, and I think I am just going to go with that.

[ShellyS]

Lets's say for sake of argument that I have 4 main characters. I write one chapter, from the third person viewpoint of my first main character. I do the same with the second and with the third. But then for my fourth main character I switch to first person perspective. For his chapter only, and then I switch back to third person when I return to my first main character's perspective.


I have the crazy urge to do just that - has this ever been done before?

Would it be too jarring and weird for the reader?

If it's written well, it won't be jarring. The only thing that jars me as a reader is poor writing, a mistake that pulls me out of the story, things like that.

And a bit of jarring is not necessarily a bad thing. It can cause a reader to perk up and pay more attention. ;)

[creatorofPreten]

Cool. As always, thanks for all the great responses.

The reason why I asked is because for my untitled epic I feel like the story needs a narrator to help properly put everything into perspective. My narrator isn't just a narrator though, she is also a main character, and is the one who connects all of my other main characters together.

I thought I would use third person perspective for my other three characters, and then I would switch to first person when she is describing events that pertain specifically to her.

I don't want her to be an intrusive narrator who is constantly inserting her own opinions. She knows every other character intimately enough that she can confidently show us how the other characters were thinking and feeling. She never judges or excuses anyone, but lets their actions speak for themselves.

[Window Bar]

I would switch to first person when she is describing events that pertain specifically to her.

This comment is offered more in the spirit of plain opinion than advice:

First person narrative's main strength is the deep focus it brings. Therefore, if it is to be mixed with third person, I would be inclined to save it for a central epiphany of the story.

All of the other advice offered, however, is a bulls-eye: If you do it well and effectively, you can do whatever you choose.

Best to you -- WB

[PeteMC]

I was reading an interview with Joe Abercrombie yesterday and he said that in his original submission of "The Blade Itself" he had done exactly what you're talking about, with all the Dogman's POV chapters written in first person and the rest of the book in third. His editor wasn't keen, apparently, and talked him into changing it.

Which doesn't mean it's not a good idea, just that Joe's editor didn't like the idea.

[Jon Sprunk]

I think you need to write it out (I tend to say that a lot on this forum) and see how it reads. Even if you change away from your original idea, you'll have learned some valuable things about your story.

[Holbrook]

I think you need to write it out (I tend to say that a lot on this forum) and see how it reads. Even if you change away from your original idea, you'll have learned some valuable things about your story.

That is honestly the best thing to do

Once written you can see how it reads, and more importantly see if it works.

The same goes for most scenes. I have lost count of how many times I have written a scene from one POV, then changed it to another.

[DailyRich]

It does seem to me that going this route would set up the first person character as the main character in the mind of the reader, and that if the story doesn't treat them as such, it may be confusing or frustrating for that reader.