When writing a novel in 3rd person, be sure not to just use your description as a camera. You have license to step out into the greater realms of the world and story OR dig into the vulnerable inner thoughts of the character. Use it!
◆
Comments
Loading comments…
📖 Notes & analysis
Third person gives you altitude a camera doesn't have, and the reason to use it is trust — readers stick with prose that knows more than it shows, because that hidden depth is what makes a world feel lived-in rather than staged. Say a character stares out a rain-streaked window. A pure camera shot leaves it there. Stepping inward, you might add that she's counting drops the way her mother used to, bracing for a phone call she hopes never comes. That single memory does more work than three paragraphs of description ever could. The caution: don't turn every scene into commentary. If you explain each glance and gesture, tension deflates and readers lose the pleasure of inferring. Dig deep, but leave some silence for them to fill.
Comments