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I think mixing POV's is all right if you have a true POV shift somewhere. That is, if you shift characters, that might be a good place for a POV shift. The third person might focus on someone that can see the brainwashed person and recognize the horror of his actions. The first person could focus on the "normalcy" of his horrible actions, creating a nice contrast.

But having the same person be the POV person for both the third person and first person sounds ... odd. It may work, but chances are it will be an uphill climb to sell it that way.

Just my .02. Cheers,

Brad.

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Do you think it is a good idea to switch from 3rd person and 1st person PoV in a Short Story (7000 words)??

Or does it make it confusing?

Ac

Edited by: Lord Ac  at: 1/3/03 8:21:54 pm

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Doesn't mixing first person and third person undermine the whole purpose of having a first person POV?

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Well ... the reasons I am changing from one to the other is that in third person, the actions of my character make him seem very mean,cruel, etc.

The first person contrasts this by seeinf into his head to see what he thinks, motivators are, etc. And so the reader feels almost sympathy to the character ...

The climax of the story is when his thinking (he is brainwashed) begins to question his actions ... and cumlinates in him killing a slave and then realizing truely for the first time what he "has become" ...

I dunno .. guess its just a case of testing each out. Thanks ">

Ac

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A short story should be told in the same POV. Most of them out there are this way, so my best guess is that it's probably what editors are looking for. If your story cannot be written otherwise, then try it out. 7000 words is not a whole lot to write, really. Then, rewrite is as first person POV, then another version in 3rd person POV. It's a good exercise in writing, and it'll give you a good idea what works best for your story.

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It would seem to me then that the story lends itself to a first person PoV. If the person is brainwashed, it would give you ample opportunity to swing between first and third, in a sense anyway. Look at Gollum in the Two Towers. He talks of himself in the third person, which led to a wonderful sequence of him fighting with himself.

I'm all for breaking the 'rules' of writing, so experiment between shifting PoVs by all means. Short stories are the best place to experiment.

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Quote:

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The climax of the story is when his thinking (he is brainwashed) begins to question his actions ...

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I have no personal experience with brainwashed people, but my guess would be that they don't question their actions because they don't realize what they're doing is wrong. In fact, they think their actions justified. Unless there is a powerful external element that would shock their psyche back into its original state, brainwashed people will continue acting the way they are. I would research that if I were you, and if you haven't already done so: it's details like that that make your story believable and might get the editor's attention. And I have to agree with Lisa: this story would benefit from a first person POV, I think.

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Well, i agree that the 1st person works well, thus, about 75% of story is in that form.

you make a very good point Manon, and thats why Ive included THREE "external elements" to push him along as it were. He is also troubled by memories of his father (whom he has replaced) but in the end realizes he loves.

Ac

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I don't think a short story has room for more than one POV.

Well that's my point of view anyway.

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IT depends upon the structure of the story as for changing POV. It sounds like if you've constructed well that you could actually get away with it here. But as a general rule short story's are really too short to make a change of POV particularly effective.

I imagine you're using third person limited - so instead consider what would happen to the story if you used a third person mulitple limited or third person omniscient POV.

Consider the options properly so you can justify your final decision.