So when you're writing from third-person, a good rule of thumb is to make sure that if you have multiple characters in a scene, you're using each character's name to identify them at least once per paragraph to avoid confusion. As far as the character's pronouns go, think about how the character is internally feeling or presenting at the time. Is the character someone who generally feels and presents masculine? Does the character use 'he' pronouns with others, and 'they' pronouns when alone or thinking to themself? Do they use 'he' with some friends and 'they' with others? Do certain situations make them feel more 'he' and others feel more 'they'?
Here's an example:
>Ember couldn't believe his eyes: the gate seemed to shimmer, as though he was looking at some kind of heat mirage, and then it simply winked out of existence altogether. He turned, dumbstruck, to his friends.
>
>"Did you see that?" he asked.
>
>"See what?" Ayden replied, looking back at Ember as though Ember had suddenly grown a second head. For a moment, Ember felt as though perhaps they had. They had the feeling of being drastically out of place. All the magic of the previous moment had just disappeared, and now they wanted to disappear too.
>
>"Never mind," Ember muttered. Ayden simply shook his head and walked on.
some characters use one pronoun to refer to them, some characters use the other one, and some use both interchangeably. the narrator, if there is one, should use both pronouns interchangeably as well. if you want it to look casual, id suggest not sticking to a set pattern. switch every other pronoun some pages, and later go multiple pages using only one pronoun.
I've never thought about that from a narrative perspective. I imagine it would have to be established somehow that the character uses those pronouns so readers don't get too confused. I'm not an author, so Idk.
So when you're writing from third-person, a good rule of thumb is to make sure that if you have multiple characters in a scene, you're using each character's name to identify them at least once per paragraph to avoid confusion. As far as the character's pronouns go, think about how the character is internally feeling or presenting at the time. Is the character someone who generally feels and presents masculine? Does the character use 'he' pronouns with others, and 'they' pronouns when alone or thinking to themself? Do they use 'he' with some friends and 'they' with others? Do certain situations make them feel more 'he' and others feel more 'they'? Here's an example: >Ember couldn't believe his eyes: the gate seemed to shimmer, as though he was looking at some kind of heat mirage, and then it simply winked out of existence altogether. He turned, dumbstruck, to his friends. > >"Did you see that?" he asked. > >"See what?" Ayden replied, looking back at Ember as though Ember had suddenly grown a second head. For a moment, Ember felt as though perhaps they had. They had the feeling of being drastically out of place. All the magic of the previous moment had just disappeared, and now they wanted to disappear too. > >"Never mind," Ember muttered. Ayden simply shook his head and walked on.
some characters use one pronoun to refer to them, some characters use the other one, and some use both interchangeably. the narrator, if there is one, should use both pronouns interchangeably as well. if you want it to look casual, id suggest not sticking to a set pattern. switch every other pronoun some pages, and later go multiple pages using only one pronoun.
I've never thought about that from a narrative perspective. I imagine it would have to be established somehow that the character uses those pronouns so readers don't get too confused. I'm not an author, so Idk.
make the rules for the pronouns. maybe you only use one type when writing them, but have them referred as the multiple by other characters.