: Re: Have a tough time figuring out third-person prose I can write first-person great, but many stories can only be told third-person and i dont have much experience here. It always feels clunky,

@Caterina108

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I have the opposite problem. I can write in third person fine and much prefer this but struggle with first person.

My solution? Practise.

To give you an example, I wrote a story of two women having an argument in a cafe from the third person perspective of the waitress serving them. Obviously, she couldn't hear everything that was being said and could only go on body language and brief snippets of conversation.

Then I re-wrote the story from both women in the argument in first person, really making sure I got into their head. Then I went back to third and was able to flesh out things I hadn't thought of before in my original draft and later, allowed me to put them in without having to go 3PP.

So I'd suggest you try this. Write it in first person, perhaps from two or three characters POV. Then write it again from the third person view. Obviously, you can't say what the characters are thinking (though that doesn't mean you can't put in parts like "Tom paused as he appeared to think, his brow furrowing") but you can add extra details in appearance.

And I notice your comment about plot structure of the third person. Plot is plot. Yes, some stories are better in third and some would never work in first (can you imagine A Song of Ice and Fire in FPP?) but To Kill a Mockingbird is all the more powerful because of it's FP perspective. It's all about telling your story in the best way possible to make it a better read for your readers.

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