#engaging

dans son boudoir....

i wouldnt say faggot i would say something a lot more complicated and meaningful and osteopathically more woefully profound than faggot something just wanting to burst out of my terrible perverted mind and into the pityseas below which are the nature of force that make you leave town betray your parents make you drink beer and smoke cigarettes make you suck cock and kiss life?

How close we are to the character’s mind

How much personality the narration is allowed to have

Once you understand that, third person stops being “neutral storytelling” and becomes a flexible tool you can actually control.

1. Narrative Distance (the main idea)

Think of third person like a zoom lens 📷

Far zoom → objective, factual, detached

Medium zoom → lightly filtered through character

Close zoom → inside the character’s thoughts

Very close zoom → thoughts and narration blend together

Most beginners stay too far away, which makes writing feel flat.

Most good fiction lives in close third person.

2. The Four Main Styles of Third Person

A. Strict / Professional Third Person (Distant)

This is the “security camera with grammar” version.

Example:

He entered the room. The students turned to look at him. He sat at the back.

How it feels:

neutral

factual

emotionally distant

no narrator personality

When to use it:

reports or formal writing

suspense scenes where distance builds tension

moments where you want readers to interpret everything

👍 Strength: very clear and controlled 👎 Weakness: can feel emotionally flat

B. Close Literary Third Person (Balanced) 🙂

This is the most common style in modern fiction.

Example:

He entered the room and immediately regretted it. Everyone was looking at him. Of course they were.

How it feels:

inside the character’s perspective

emotional but still structured

easy to read and natural

When to use it:

most novels

character-driven stories

emotional scenes that still need clarity

👍 Strength: strong balance of clarity + emotion

C. Voice-Driven Third Person (Personality Heavy) 😏

Here the narration has attitude.

Example:

He entered the room like it owed him money and had been avoiding him for three years. Everyone looked up. Great. Just great.

How it feels:

sarcastic or expressive narration

strong voice

fun and engaging

When to use it:

YA fiction

fantasy with humor

fast-paced storytelling

👍 Strength: very engaging and memorable ⚠️ Risk: narrator voice can overwhelm the story if overused

D. Deep Third Person (Maximum Immersion) 🧠

This is where narration and thought blend together.

Example:

He entered the room. This was a mistake. Everyone was looking at him already. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

How it feels:

inside the character’s head

thoughts feel immediate

almost like first person without “I”

When to use it:

emotional scenes

psychological focus

high-intensity moments

👍 Strength: strongest emotional connection ⚠️ Risk: can become confusing if too chaotic

3. Core Rules That Work in ALL Styles

Rule 1: Avoid “filter words” 🚫

These create distance:

saw

heard

felt

noticed

realized

Instead of:

She saw the crowd staring.

Try:

The crowd was staring.

Or:

The crowd was already staring at her like she was late to something important.

Rule 2: Everything passes through the character 🧍

Ask:

How would THIS character interpret this moment?

Same event, different minds:

The room was quiet.

Could become:

The room was quiet in a way that felt like everyone was waiting for something to go wrong.

Rule 3: Show emotion through behavior, not labels

Instead of:

He was nervous.

Try:

He checked his phone, then his pockets, then his phone again without remembering why.

Behavior = emotion made visible.

Rule 4: Pick meaningful details 🎯

Don’t describe everything — choose what matters emotionally.

Weak:

The room had chairs and tables.

Better:

One of the chairs squeaked like it didn’t trust him.

Small detail = big personality shift.

Rule 5: Thoughts can blend into narration 🧠

Instead of:

He thought he was going to fail.

Try:

He was going to fail. Obviously. No point pretending otherwise.

No quotation marks needed — the narration becomes the thought.

4. Techniques to Improve Fast

1. “Who is noticing this?” test 👀

Every detail should be filtered through someone’s mind.

Ask:

Why does the character notice this?

What does it mean to them?

If it doesn’t matter to them → cut it or change it.

2. Upgrade boring verbs ✨

walked → drifted / stormed / shuffled / escaped

looked → stared / glared / inspected

sat → collapsed / dropped / sank

Example:

He walked into the room.

Becomes:

He drifted into the room like responsibility had been cancelled for the day.

3. Let narration match personality 🎭

anxious character → overthinks everything

angry character → sharp, judgmental narration

tired character → blunt, minimal, slightly bitter

Example:

The hallway was empty.

Becomes:

The hallway was empty, which somehow felt worse than if it had been crowded.

4. Selective observation (VERY important)

Characters don’t notice everything — only what affects them.

The party was decorated with lights and banners.

Becomes:

The party was decorated with lights, which meant expectations were involved. Unfortunate.

5. Simple Practice Method 🧪

Take a basic sentence:

She went to school.

Rewrite in 3 steps:

Add emotion

She went to school already tired.

Add interpretation

She went to school already tired of everything waiting for her there.

Add voice

She went to school already tired of everything waiting for her there, including the building itself.

Same fact. Different depth.

Final Summary 🧠

Good third person writing comes from:

controlling narrative distance

filtering everything through character perspective

replacing neutral description with interpretation

showing emotion through behavior

letting narration carry personality (when appropriate)

There won't be hate on my end, nonnie, so please don't worry about that. As far as what you can do, I won't tell you that you have to reblog, but it is highly encouraged. Anyone who says they don't have followers; it could still reach someone and that reblog does matter to the writer/creator. Likes don't do anything for the algorithm, which is why many aren't encouraged in general by likes.

If you do decide to reblog, you can leave comments in the reblog, quote back parts that really stuck out to you, share a gif, emojis, keyboard smash, scream in the tags. If reblogging really isn't your thing, I still encourage you to comment or send in asks as that is still a form of engagement.

If you are someone who serial likes fics, please don't be surprised if some writers block you. This is the same if all that is stated is "Part 2" or "more". Comments like that make people feel like creator vending machines and that's not what we are. If there is something you really want more of, try letting the writer know why you want more and what you enjoyed about the fic.

Remember, something that may take you a few minutes to read could've taken the writer days, months, weeks, or years to write (and that's not even getting into having things beta read, making moodboards, formatting, etc.). A lot goes into the process. A little "thank you" of sorts goes a long way and we hope you know in return how much we appreciate it.

Lovelies, feel free to chime in with more thoughts and suggestions. And nonnie, I hope this helps!