Tips for Writing Third Person Limited

How do you write third person limited? Third Limited is one of the most popular POVs to write in these days, but it has a few things to consider before jumping right into it. To save yourself a headache while editing later on, decide how close the narrator is to the perspective character. You'll also want to decide how you're going to switch perspectives. Once you're in the editing phase, you can play with your chapter order to control the pacing with ease.

How to Choose a Point of View:

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//VIDEO CHAPTERS//
00:00​ - Introduction
00:43​ - Closeness Spectrum
02:56 - Consistency
04:17 - Multiple Perspectives
07:50 - Switching Perspectives

[TheMpoMan]

I really like the description of Third Person as a spectrum, cuz I've always felt like I'm more in the middle than at either end, but I'd always thought of it as two distinct camps, so it felt like I was doing something wrong.

[infinightmoon]

Sanderson does tell you who the perspective character is in The Stormlight Archive. There are symbols on the front of each chapter that correspond with the major characters, and different symbols used in chapters that will have multiple viewpoints

[aaronstanley]

@7:55 perspective switching. Ya, I totally agree that there are two main approaches, but there are a lot of other sub approaches that can be used. For instance, a military drama i read once, used the name of the location, time & maybe PoV character name. The reason for this choice was to constantly keep track and plot out troop movements as the story heavily focused on maneuvering and strategic positioning of forces rather than the combat itself.

[SerFloortje]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a brilliant creative who's genuinely made my life more enjoyable this last year. I have a tendency of finding something, using the product, and staying for the community. The whole Campfire Team deserves some love, and it's easy to see Levi as someone who fosters the interaction you see in Discord and the livestreams.

Y'all are the best, and a super Happy Birthday to you Levi :p

[BrentGalloway]

I always apprentice how well delivered and edited these videos are! 👏 And I love that last tidbit of advice on getting the story out first before overthinking every minor detail.

[Ryak]

Dune did catch me off guard with that head hopping.

[PhoenixCrown]

I love reading 3rd person limited, so I chose that for my book. There are many reasons, but mainly I enjoy feeling inside the characters' heads, getting close to them, empathizing and understanding what drives them. I've made it a rule that I will not reveal information or even perspective that doesn't make sense for the current POV.
But this allows some really fun stuff when it comes to building your characters: If you describe the same thing from 2 character perspectives, you can reveal A LOT about those characters. For example, in my book, the MC [peasant] goes into the Capital, gushing and awed by the incredible structures and technology. Shortly thereafter, the MC [elite] rolls by the same buildings etc and thinks about how boring it all is.
I've read well-executed 3rd person omniscient as well. Choose wherever on the spectrum serves your story best!

[aix]

Thanks for pointing out how Sanderson uses POV to control pacing, I didn't realize and it's super useful

[masamasamun]

Really loved the style of how you explain things and the video editing itself. It is truly an underrated channel and really helpful to those who want to go back to writing, like me. Love from Portugal.

[miguelon]

On Stormlight Sanderson does tell you who the chapter will (mainly) focus on. The way that he does it is with the art. Kaladin is the spears and the moon, Dalinar with the tower, Shallan with the lights and so on

[andhereismyspout]

I was so confused by the different narrator perspectives and didn't really know where to start with my story's perspective! These videos are a windfall, thankyou so much! 🧡

If it hasn't already been done, perhaps a video on narrative voice could be interesting!

[ineednochannelyoutube]

Thanks a LOT for this. I've watched countless hours of pacing video's and I didn't fully understand until you explained it to me so simply! I think the basic thing is that people are often talking about controlling the pacing while failing to establish what that means or why it's important, or they fail to do so. Even when they try I've always considered it this nebulous force until you brought out that piece of paper and moved the events of the story around it. It's still a lot more complex than that, but this is why education systems tend to use simple and more clear cut methods of exploring complex issues. The complex reality of history I can handle but it would blow everyone's minds if that was the standard curriculum.

tl;dr: Sometimes I need to be explained to like a 5 year old. :)

[RidleyPark]

This was helpful. I was concerned with third-person boundaries just the other day. In my case, I wanted to make a reference to a tangential character in a different place but had an impact on the 'close' characters. I felt this was akin to head-hopping, but I was describing her actions rather than thoughts.

[JOSEVERGARA-vk]

Nice tips about POV!... the drums' sound background was distracting to me.

[lorettaknoelk]

This is the clearest and most concise way I have EVER heard this described!

[jesterjay]

I originally wrote my sci fi book in omniscient, but it’s such a character-driven storyline and jumps between them all so often, I feel obligated to go back and write it in limited—even if it means breaking it up into multiple books or making it twice as long.

[dablop]

I love third person, and enjoy books in both third limited and omniscient. I'm writing my current work in omniscient, which has been a real challenge but a worthwhile one.

[_peepee_]

i was always under the impression that 3rd person omniscient implied that we could hear many characters thoughts and 3rd person limited means only hearing one persons thoughts. omniscient means "all knowing" after all

[luciusrex]

I love how sanderson did his mistborn. 3rd person limited pov and first person for internal monologues!

[maff_]

I’m sure you’ve heard this already but I can’t resist: on Brando Sando’s character switches, he uses the crest on each to signify POV. Dalinar is that castle chapter you were on, Kaladin is a sword, etc