Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits.

What kinds of narration do you prefer? First person? Third person objective? Third person omniscient? Third person limited?

When I’m reading I usually prefer first person or third person limited narration. When I’m writing I always go with third person limited. I think the last book I read that was third person omniscient was Peter Pan, and it’s something I definitely associate with older books (though I just looked it up and I guess there are plenty of modern books that use it).

What are the pros and cons of different kinds of narration?

While I tend to shy away from writing first person for some reason, I do think it can be the easiest way for an author to build a strong character. When everything is being filtered through your protagonist’s point of view, it’s much easier to get a sense of who they are, their likes and dislikes, etc. Recently I read A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin and the first person narration worked especially well for the scenes where Ning was experiencing the different types of tea magic since it was often something she was feeling or “seeing” in a second sight kind of way. Third person limited works well for that sort of thing too (see Harry Potter), but first person gives a greater sense of immediacy, which I think worked better for Ning’s situation, where she’s always racing against the clock.