: Re: Writing first person or third person limited for steampunk? I have a phobia of decision making and am asking for your help. I want to write a YA steampunk book with lots of made up stuff.

@Karen856

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Everything you have a problem with is stuff that isn't a problem, or that you needn't do anyway. Regardless of which POV you choose, the symptoms you are experiencing are common novice symptoms and are easily cured. So go cure them and choose either perspective. It really doesn't matter a whole lot.

Asking and answering multiple questions in one post is supposed to be off topic here but I'll give you brief answers to illustrate my overall answer, which is: it's all in your head.

Moving place to place: you don't need to describe the action of it. Just start a new chapter/paragraph and describe the room in one sentence and move on. Omit the action of entering the room, and describe the first thing the MC does once she's in the room, eg grabbing a beer, or setting fire to the sofa. Same applies in either 1st or 3rd person.

Describing the MC: Don't do it. Who cares what the MC looks like? If he looks bad, other characters will cross the street to avoid him, and if he looks great they'll blow him kisses. The interaction is what matters. Even in 3rd person describing the MC isn't necessary.

Dialogue: the he said/she said problem isn't a problem. There are very good solutions on this site. Short version, the word 'said' bothers writers more than readers. Again POV is irrelevant.

Action: your example is fine. Write more of it, learn to write it as fast and with as few words as possible. Swap 'dicing', 'had frozen', 'thrusted' for slightly more immediate, 'dice', 'froze', 'thrust'. Read some action novels to pick up more incisive vocabulary, especially verbs. If you still don't enjoy it, write 'they fought.' and move on.

Intimate scenes: if you don't want to, don't write them. About 10% of the books I have read include them. That's sci-fi, thrillers, fantasy and humorous versions of those. I'm sure these scenes abound on certain shelves but you don't need to go there. And again POV is irrelevant.

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