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Q&A Can you use third person limited in a story that begins before the MC is born?

I would start the story in the third person "cinematic" (no head-dipping), and then switch to the third person limited after a scene or chapter break, just as you plan. Third person omniscient wil...

posted 8y ago by Lew‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:47:43Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/25525
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Lew‭ · 2019-12-08T05:47:43Z (almost 5 years ago)
I would start the story in the third person "cinematic" (no head-dipping), and then switch to the third person limited after a scene or chapter break, just as you plan.

Third person omniscient will work for the beginning, too, but is arguably harder to make sound natural than any other flavors of that POV, this is why it is relatively less popular in modern writing.

Writers do switch POV within one scene more often than not—I am not a fan of that technique—it is eventually a matter of style and personal preference.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2016-12-13T14:44:15Z (almost 8 years ago)
Original score: 3