This year's Nano is planned to be a sequel to last year's Nano which was in a thrid person POV in order to show the emotions of both the lead characters. I plan to write another sequel next year to make it a trilogy and that will probably be third person too because I'll have somewhere between 2 and 9 main chairs (I haven't decided how involved I want each of the characters yet). This year however the story revolves very strongly around a single character. I'd like to write it in first person, but is it weird for the type of POV to change between each book? I'm unlikely to ever get these published but if I do happen to get my kaboose in gear and edit them to a publishing worthy state is it going to be jarring to the reader?
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2007: 2008:
2009:
114,200 / 50,000
Okt 15, 2008 - 03 02
Well, my 2007 NaNo was a sequel to my 2006 NaNo. 2006 was in first person, 2007 was in third. Not that all that many people have read either of them - they're up on my website. But nobody has ever complained to me that I can't do that. I think since they are different books it shouldn't really be jarring. I don't think many people will get to The End of the first one and then start the second without pausing for breath.
And I'm pretty sure I've heard of it being done in actual published series books too, so I wouldn't worry about it. Go with the POV that's right for this book.
50,979 / 50,000
Okt 15, 2008 - 05 01
If it's a series of novels dealing with the continuing story of a particular set of characters, then you might want to stick with the same POV, throughout. In Herbert's Dune series, he uses third person omniscient. If it's the same setting but the characters and/or time periods do change, then a change in POV between books won't put off readers. In Anne McCaffrey's Dragon series, some are written in first person singular (for the most part), other books in third person omniscient.
Sounds like you're focusing in on one character's experiences for 2008. You don't have to use first person, you can use third person singular. That's when the narrator is the writer, using "he", "she", "they" or the name of the characters, but the experiences and emotions and thoughts revealed are those of one character only. Although this can be more limiting than third person serial or omniscient POV (no fair writing the scene in the next room, for example, while the viewpoint character is not in it), it also leads to great focus and intimacy. The reader gets to know, and identify with, that one character.
Or you can use first person. If you do, beware of getting the story too wrapped around that character's inner life. A novel is a place in which characters DO things. If they're just bundles of thoughts and nervous reactions, the story becomes boring. Think Catcher in the Rye. Great book with a fascinating, intelligent character and marvelous writing but even it wears in spots. (Oh god, I'm going to be slammed for hinting that Salinger is anything other than perfect.)
But don't worry too much about POV for NaNo. Just get the words down on the page, tell the story. If you decide to rewrite your novel, you can change the POV as part of that process.
Hope that helps,
----------May
"Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing."
- Margaret Chittenden
50,018 / 50,000
Okt 16, 2008 - 18 29
Thanks guys, that's rather helpful. I think I 'll go with 3rd person for all of them.
Thanks again.
----------2007:
2008: 
2009: 
64,622 / 50,000
Okt 16, 2008 - 22 26
I was going to say similar to maybemd: why not try a 3rd person close / limited perspective, where you're writing from a single character's POV, meaning that although it's 3rd person, you only write what that character could know and see? Personally that's my favourite POV, and it's certainly the most common in books I've read. I think it's good because it helps you get out of the character's head (too much internal monologue is annoying) but still means you're close enough to the character to really care.
Personally I think anything other than 3rd person is a gimmick, but that doesn't mean you can't do it. Freya North's brilliant Pillow Talk jumps POVs all over the place; it's mostly 3rd person close and past tense with two different perspectives, but occasionally it jumps into present tense and even 1st person. It gives a faintly dreamy feeling to the writing at times, but that actually works fairly well with the story.
----------Tom
I think therefore I am pretentious.