Just out of curiosity ...

[sholio]

Yeah, I'm using radio buttons so you have to pick one. *g* This doesn't mean that you'd never read something written in first, or rotating third -- just what you're most comfortable reading, or what might tip the balance if you had to choose between two very similar-looking books or stories. (I'm leaving off second entirely ...)

[Poll #1600796]

Feel free to elaborate on your answer in comments, if you like!

Comments

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Oh right, yes, that goes without saying. *g* I suppose that "... and written well" can be considered a corollary to any of the above (I may have a strong preference for 3rd person in fanfic, but given the choice between well-written first or clumsily written third, I'll definitely take the former every time ...).

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Yes, this.

And I'd love to see you do a similar poll on tenses. It seems like fanfic is rife with present tense, which generally makes me gnash my teeth and stop reading. Is that just me?

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

You know, fanfic has actually won me over to present tense. I never used to read it (and experimental short fiction of *any* sort was an incredibly hard sell for me), but after getting used to reading well-written fics in present tense, I now find myself slipping in and out of it in my short fiction -- not in the same story, I mean (at least, god, I hope not) but in general, as far as what feels right for the story. I think I'm now about as likely to do one as the other, especially if I'm going for a short, introspective character piece.

But that's new for me. It's only the last 2-3 years, and I'm pretty sure it's only because I've read so much fic that played with POV. I still don't think I'd read a long story written in present tense -- at least, it would have to be pretty damn good to be worth it. I vaguely remember encountering one or two of them, and finding it quite weird. And in original fiction, novels written in present just feel kind of pretentious to me ...