First vrs third person narration

Ok, so I started my novel in first person but didn't find a very believable voice. I switched last night (after 7k words written in first person grrr) to a third person omnitient narrator. Does anyone have any opinions of whether chick lit should have first vrs third person?

Third omniscient can be distancing, which might not be the best choice for a chick lit as the genre depends so much on being in the heroine's head, IMO. Third person from your heroine's POV might be a balance between first and third omniscient. You could also add another third from the hero/ BFF'/ whoever if you need more than one POV.

I ended up doing the opposite - I wrote the first 2500 words in 3rd person, then switched it to first person. It just didn't feel like I was able to really tell the story properly in 3rd person. I'm very happy I switched, as it's flowing much better.

I, personally, wouldn't get stuck on what the genre should or shouldn't have, just focus on how well your story flows - does the story work better in 3rd person? Then write it that way. There are some books where you totally get into the character's head despite being 3rd person (not Chick Lit, but Harry Potter is a good example), so I think it's all in how it's written.

Good luck!

I agree that it all depends on what feels best. I started rewriting my NaNo novel from 2009 in January of this year and wrote almost the entire thing in 3rd person. When I went to re-read it, I realized it needed to be 1st because that just felt right for the type of story I was telling, so I had to put something like 150,000 words into 1st person from 3rd and that took a loooong time.

To me, it all comes down to how close you want us to be to your main character. The novel I'm writing this year works best in 1st person b/c it's told as it's happening and I want the reader to experience the events along w/ the main character. For other stories, usually ones where you have a lot of people and you want them all pretty equally represented, then 3rd person seems to work best.

I'd planned to use 3rd person then switched to 1st person the night before NaNo because I just couldn't get it flowing properly in 3rd. I spent the whole afternoon of 31st October reading snippets of every chick-lit book on my shelf to see which ones used which voice. It was a pretty even split. I even realised that Cecilia Ahern writes some of her books in 1st and 3rd person. She picks her MC and writes their chapters in 1st person and then has one other character (the love interest) in 3rd person chapters interspersed throughout. So - anything goes. You'll find your voice and then you won't be able to shut it up!

Perhaps I should clarify - there is a difference between third person limited (as in one character at a time) and third person omniscient (as in all characters at the same time). First person and third person limited are both used often in chick lit. (More clarification: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198638)

I write in first person, i found that it explains my MC thoughts,feelings and charecter better.the story flows easier for me, but every writter is different, as is their book. I say do what feels right for you

I can't imagine writing in first person. I just do a close third person, Harry Potter style.

Many novels, including chick lit novels (see Birthday Girls by Annabel Giles), switch between different points of view and even different voices. You can switch between a first person narrator entering a party and describing how they feel about different people there to an omniscient third person narrator that describes how everyone at the party can see that somebody stumbles out of the bathroom and pukes into the chocolate fountain and over to a completely different character's first person views when they wake up the next morning.
In the editing stage you might then try and see whether the reader can detect the changes in POV or whether you lost them in transit.

I personally prefer first person when reading chick lit, as I just feel as though I can get into the story more and relate to the MC when it's written in first person. Having said that you'll find many people prefer third person because the reader can see a lot more than just what the narrator is seeing. Write with what you feel most comfortable with, and what works with your story. Is it beneficial for the reader to only see the POV of the narrator?

I tried to break out of my first person narration with the novel I am currently working on but after 100 pages, I had to abandon it. I know that I write better in the first person so I'm going to go with it. I'll continue to dabble with third-person but I have yet to find a way to make it work for me.