First Person vs. Third Person: Choosing the Right Point of View for Your Genre

Point of view (POV) is one of the most powerful—and most misunderstood—choices a writer makes. It determines not only who tells the story, but how close the reader feels to the narrator’s inner life, how much information can be revealed, and what kind of emotional contract is formed with the audience.

The two most common narrative perspectives in modern storytelling are first person and third person. Each carries its own strengths, limitations, and genre traditions.

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First Person: “I”

In first person, the narrator tells the story directly:

I opened the door and knew, even before the light came on, that something was wrong.

This point of view places the reader inside the narrator’s mind. We see, feel, and interpret the world exactly as the “I” does.

Why Memoir Favors First Person

Memoir almost always uses first person, because the genre is built on lived experience and personal consciousness. The reader isn’t just interested in what happened; they want to know how it felt, what it meant, and how the narrator has made sense of it over time.

Examples:

• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
• Educated by Tara Westover
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

In each, the power comes from intimacy: the sense that the writer is speaking directly to us, confiding, reflecting, sometimes questioning their own memory.

First Person in Fiction

First person is also common in:

• Coming-of-age novels
• Literary fiction
• Some YA and contemporary novels

Examples:

• The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
• The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
• Call Me by Your Name (André Aciman)

Here, the “I” creates immediacy and emotional immersion, but it also limits the story to what the narrator knows or believes.

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Third Person: “He,” “She,” “They”

In third person, the narrator stands outside the characters:

He opened the door, and even before the light came on, he sensed something was wrong.

Third person can be limited (close to one character’s mind) or omniscient (able to move among many characters and viewpoints).

Why Genre Fiction Often Uses Third Person

Genres that depend on plot, multiple characters, and complex external events tend to favor third person:

• Romance – to explore both lovers’ inner worlds
• Mystery – to manage clues, suspense, and misdirection
• Thrillers – to follow heroes and villains across locations
• Science Fiction & Fantasy – to build whole worlds and societies

Examples:

Romance

• Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
• Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)

Mystery / Thriller

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)
• The Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris)

Science Fiction

• Dune (Frank Herbert)
• The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin)

Third person allows the writer to:

• Shift between characters
• Reveal information the protagonist doesn’t yet know
• Build dramatic irony and large narrative scope

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Choosing the Right POV

A simple way to think about it:

• Memoir and deeply personal narratives ask: Who am I, and how did I become this person?
  → First person is the natural choice.
• Plot-driven and multi-character genres ask: What is happening in this world, and how do these lives collide?
• Third person offers flexibility and range.

Neither POV is “better.” Each is a tool. The key question is not, Which is more literary? but rather, Which perspective best serves the emotional and structural needs of this story?

Point of view is the lens through which the reader experiences everything. Choose the lens that lets your story come into the sharpest, most truthful focus.