_Do you prefer writing in the first person or the third? Why?_
Though this matter is of far less importance than those thus far
considered, it serves to settle a question that has been much discussed,
probably even more by readers than by authors. That is, it settles the
question in the only way it should or can be settled--by showing that
there can be no definite answer. Not only must each writer decide
according to his own individual case, but, unless his natural bent and
ability lie very strongly in one direction or the other, he must--or at
least should--make a separate decision as to each story he undertakes.
On various phases touched upon in even this simple matter there is flat
contradiction of opinion. This wholesome difference again brings out the
point that generalities, particularly when shaped into general rules,
are not likely to be safe guidance.
The everlasting value to beginners in the writing game is that they
themselves and their material, not definite, unyielding rules laid down
by any writer or by anybody else, should be the deciding factors in
their work of conveying to the reader what they have to say.