#the lesson of those is mainly from what i remember You're No Longer Important but you're still loved. a good lesson

[lovesodeepandwideandwell]

If I ever am blessed to have children they will read NO picture books that use therapy language and gentle concepts to introduce "kindness" or "sharing." Only elaborate mildly traumatizing adventure stories. And Frances the Badger (who teaches fear and discomfort and dealing with things, the opposite of gentle concepts)

[goquokka00]

WRITING 101 With Professor goquokka00 :)

-POINT OF VIEWS-

Welcome class! How've you been, have you been sleeping well and eating enough? I hope you've been doing amazing :)

Today's lesson is a bit longer than the paragraphs, but it's DEFINITELY an important one. Why? Because we're going to be talking about Point of Views. I'm really excited for this lesson, but there's also a lot to go over. And so, let's get started by going over the absolute basics.

What is a point of view? Well, in simple terms, it's simply a way to refer to the narrative perspective of a story. In other words, they're simply different ways that we can tell stories. And in total, we have four (yes, four, I will get to that in a second) that we can choose from:

1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person limited, and 3rd person omniscient.

So... what's the difference? When should you use each of the different point of views? Well, don't worry, because I have the answers. I hope. I think. And I'd say a great place to start would lie with the one almost everyone is familiar with: 1st person.

1st person is in the perspective of the character. A lot of times in school, we're told 1st person uses "I", "me", and "we", to tell whatever story you're telling. Here's an example:

I got down to the android's level, and wrapped his arm around my neck, before helping it stand. Thankfully my apartment wasn't that far away, so I wouldn't have to lug this heavy piece of metal around too long. I was also extremely grateful that my apartment had an elevator. My apartment is located at the top of the building, and it's pretty big. So, I'm happy that I had those two things running for me.  Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, I reached the apartment building, and opened the door, before continuing to walk through and head to the elevator. And once we got inside the Elevator, I pressed the button to the top floor, before gently setting the android down.

In this case, our character who we'll call...Sally...is telling the story from her perspective. We're hearing her side of the story, which means that we only know what Sally knows.

It's really important to keep in mind that when you're using 1st person, you ARE NOT telling the reader everything. Remember, you're telling the story through whatever character you've decided to use to show their perspective. You'll only know what the character knows. Take that example from above.

Sally doesn't know the android's name yet, which is why she's referring to it as "the android". And for this reason, we shouldn't know the name of the android yet, either. We do know that the android is heavy, because she explains that it's heavy. We're also aware that her apartment is at the top of the building it's in, that it's big, and that the complex has an elevator, because she gave us that information, too.

Now, if we were in the perspective of the android, we shouldn't know Sally's name, and we shouldn't know all of that information about her apartment. Why? Because that android's never been there. He doesn't know anything about it, so we shouldn't either.

Now, all of that information is great, yeah, but...when should you even use 1st person? Well, you could use it to story write if you wanted or use it to see through characters' eyes and see their perspective on whatever situation you've decided to throw them into.

Me, personally? I wouldn't really use 1st person for that, mainly because of the content that I write. And I'll explain that in a second. But I would definitely recommend using 1st person to write essays.

Showing your perspective on what you've learned with research essays, giving confident "I believe this, and here's why you should too" sentences in phrases in persuasive essays, even just using it in argumentative essays brings out a whole other level for writing.

You're showing what you've learned, giving your feedback, giving your personal opinion. And as long as you're confident, it'll get you one hell of a good score on that Coca Cola Vs. Pepsi argumentative essay that you spent HOURS working on and burnt out with and now every time you look at it you want to cry because you literally just realized how bad your writing used to be compared to now and you wonder how you even managed to graduate high school with it because you're such a failure and--

ahem...sorry, I...um...it got a bit personal there.

So, let's move onto our next point of view! YYYYAAAAAAAYYY! Wow i need to go to therapy

So: Our next point of view choice that we have is 2nd person. 2nd person is when you directly address the reader. AKA, it's the point of view that uses "You" and "Your". And it's also the point of view that schools tell you to NOT use because it's really bad and dumb and stupid. This is an example of it:

You had yet to find a husband, which was difficult enough as is. Everyone you've ever met had been snobby. And even when they weren't, they were more interested in your brother. You didn't even have any friends to help you in your search. The only person you had was your brother. It was pretty safe to say that your brother favored you a lot, mainly because the two of you had grown up together. You two understood each other and were so close. Many people always thought that you were jealous of him. But how could you possibly be jealous of the one person who gave you the most in your life?

So, as you can see, 2nd person is really good with stories that interact with the reader. Stories like one shots that have to do with the reader. It kind of follows the pattern of 1st person though, since you're telling the reader certain things. But there can also be flexibility from time to time.

But...where should you use it?

Like mentioned before, I highly recommend using it for fanfic writing WHEN THE FANFICTION IS AN "X READER". The reason I say this is because you're able to emulate the fact that the reader is more involved in the story. It involves the reader more, makes them feel included rather than using 1st person or 3rd person.

In other words, it helps the reader understand what's happening to THEM, not YOU.

Now, if your telling a story with an OC (Original Character for those who aren't in the loop), then I wouldn't recommend writing in 2nd person. It just...it doesn't work. PLEASE don't do that. I'm begging. If I see ANY of you using 2nd person for OC writes, I'll just...I'll...I'll be really sad and cry myself to sleep extra hard...

ANYWAYS! God I have to stop

Let's get into our 3rd person point of views. 3rd person limited and 3rd person omniscient. So to start off, let's go over the similarities.

No matter what 3rd person you're using, you'll always refer to everyone as their gender. "He/Him", "She/Her", "They/Them", etc. It's the same no matter what. Something like this:

He couldn't help but feel panic for the demon who had watched over him since he first became a part of the guild. Sure, she had been in the guild since day one, but when they had first met, she had been in a child's body, having been cursed for some reason that he still didn't understand, although she had explained it to him multiple times. Something about her using a spell that she wasn't the correct class for or something. But still, the two were extremely close. She was there when he had gone up the ranks as a Wizard, going from a rank D wizard to a rank A. He was there when she had gone from Soldier Class to General Class, which was a few months after he had joined the guild. Those two were inseparable, and while she scared him, she helped him out a lot, just like he did for her.

Got it? Good. Now for the differences.

3rd person limited is exactly what it says in the name. You're limited in what you can share. More accurately, it's like a love child between the 3rd person omniscient we know and love, and 1st person. You're focused on one specific character, but you're able to go a bit more in depth with explaining thing while not making the character sound like a whiny baby.

And that looks a little something like this:

It wasn't that he didn't want to be courted. Well, he didn't want to. He wanted to court instead, but all of these women seemed to want him. Pushing and shoving each other out of the way, swooning over every noise that left his mouth. They treated him like a celebrity, and while he technically was one, he didn't like that. It didn't help that Chan didn't have the heart to tell them to leave him be, either. He was a kind man, and never wanted anyone to be distraught over anything he's done. After all, his family was known for being kind. The Bahng family was a family who helped to create guns and weapons for the national military. And while most people always considered them to be intimidating (which they were), they were almost always so kind.

As you can see, the focus is limited to Chan here, focusing mostly on what kind of person he is, and what he wants or doesn't want. We're given a small amount of information about girls acting up and trying to court him and Chan's family, but again, it's only what Chan knows.

Honestly, 3rd person limited is amazing for that kind of stuff. If you were gonna try to write that paragraph in 1st person, it'd make Chan look like an egotistical asshole who's a family boi.

We...don't want that.

So, what about 3rd person omniscient? Well, it's what everyone knows 3rd person to be. It's the 3rd person where the narrator knows everything about everyone. No information is hidden, and the narrator can pretty much tell the reader whatever they want to.

And that looks like this:

He couldn't believe his eyes. Their entire bedroom had been completely transformed. A fireplace was resting against the wall, their bed now facing it with a faux fur blanket draped across the end. In between the bed and the fireplace laid a white faux fur rug spread out nicely. What he wasn't aware of is the fact that his wonderful girlfriend had spent all day setting it up with the help of his friends. She knew that he'd love it, as did his friends. It was a romance dream of his that had finally come true. And in her eyes, she was excited to hear what he thought of it. He had to love it. She just had a gut feeling for it.

So clearly, 3rd person omniscient works really well if you're trying to tell a story with a much bigger view. It's kind of hard to over do it with 3rd person omniscient, too. Which is even better! I think the best part, though, is the pure fact that when you write in 3rd person omniscient, it's really easy to switch between who you're talking about and when.

It's smooth as butter.

So, when would you use these 3rd persons? Well, as far as 3rd person limited goes, it'd go great with 2nd person in fanfics that are "x reader". If I'm being honest, that's probably one of the few times that I actually use 3rd person limited.

As far as 3rd person omniscient goes, it's really good for general story telling. If you're writing a book about a man who turned into a frog and is helping a moss ball go into a fish's mouth (I don't know man, I just write here), then use 3rd person omniscient.

And if you're going to be writing an essay, using 3rd person omniscient in present tense works wonders.

And I think that pretty much covers it! Now, let's do a quick recap.

1st person = "I", "me"

Use 1st person for essay writing!!!

2nd person = "You", "Your"

Use 2nd person for one-shots/fanfic with Reader input only!

DO NOT let me catch you using 2nd person for anything else. I got my eyes on you. 👁️👁️

3rd person = "She/Her", "He/Him", "They/Them", etc.

3rd person has two different formats!

3rd person limited = A mix between 1st person and 3rd person: Uses 3rd person format but limits information given to one character

3rd person omniscient = The 3rd person we all know: information is not limited and easily switches from one character to the other

Use 3rd person limited with 2nd person for one-shots/fanfic writes with Reader inputs!

Use 3rd person omniscient for essays or story writing!

And I think that pretty much covers it! As always, thank you so much for attending, and don't be scared to ask questions if you have any! Love you guys, and thank you so much for attending! Bye, have a lovely day!

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NEXT TIME: Dialogue