Writing first person or third person limited for steampunk?

Question

I have a phobia of decision making and am asking for your help. I want to write a YA steampunk book with lots of made up stuff. Now, fantasy isn't really written in the first person, but I want to try the first person out. Also, I suck at writing, but I have a love/hate relationship with it too. If you bother to read this, then thanks for you pew pew

My problems with first person

• difficulty moving from to place to place.

It's just too hard for me. I don't want to make words too repetitive like "I stepped," or "The floor creaked as I took a step in," or "I walked," or... whatever the hell I do it makes it feel too repetitive for me.

• action, action, I said action click

Now, I should have mentioned this earlier, but I do not have a very creative mind. Action themes I write are just too bland. "I felt the twinblades dicing my chest as I tried to sway. My skin had frozen like it had been skinned off. Putting my right hand on the bleeding breast, I thrusted the short spear, only for it to be deflected and tossed." Jesus, this is quite boring. I also plan to add a part where he has to zip line off of broken steel cables and throw wind slices from his wrists to kill the guys trying to kill the MC.

-Describing everything

I don't want to do the 'mirror' cliche to describe the MC. Also, should exaggeration be added to almost everyone and everything I describe?

• dialogue

Writing "I said' or 'She laughed' is really sad for me Problems with the third person

• repetitiveness

Like the first person, I have to deal with this bull crap in a way that I make it look impossible, but it isn't and I'm just a dumbass.

• difficulty moving to place to place

pretty sure you get the idea

• action

• intimate scenes

Romance isn't my thing, but c'mon, gotta give some love man. Plus, it's almost in every book (amirite? no? !#$ yourself. ur opinion doesn't madder)

• info about the MC vs. info about the world

I usually give information more about what's happening around the MC than 50/50 which would be what the MC is thinking. Usually, I do one, and I'm five pages in, still describing what the MC is doing and what he thinks or describing the place around him and what is happening around him.

• what to write after dialogues

Writing 'he said' or 'she smirked' just makes me wanna puke.

These are my problems with the two perspectives.

Answer 1

Everything you have a problem with is stuff that isn't a problem, or that you needn't do anyway. Regardless of which POV you choose, the symptoms you are experiencing are common novice symptoms and are easily cured. So go cure them and choose either perspective. It really doesn't matter a whole lot.

Asking and answering multiple questions in one post is supposed to be off topic here but I'll give you brief answers to illustrate my overall answer, which is: it's all in your head.

Moving place to place: you don't need to describe the action of it. Just start a new chapter/paragraph and describe the room in one sentence and move on. Omit the action of entering the room, and describe the first thing the MC does once she's in the room, eg grabbing a beer, or setting fire to the sofa. Same applies in either 1st or 3rd person.

Describing the MC: Don't do it. Who cares what the MC looks like? If he looks bad, other characters will cross the street to avoid him, and if he looks great they'll blow him kisses. The interaction is what matters. Even in 3rd person describing the MC isn't necessary.

Dialogue: the he said/she said problem isn't a problem. There are very good solutions on this site. Short version, the word 'said' bothers writers more than readers. Again POV is irrelevant.

Action: your example is fine. Write more of it, learn to write it as fast and with as few words as possible. Swap 'dicing', 'had frozen', 'thrusted' for slightly more immediate, 'dice', 'froze', 'thrust'. Read some action novels to pick up more incisive vocabulary, especially verbs. If you still don't enjoy it, write 'they fought.' and move on.

Intimate scenes: if you don't want to, don't write them. About 10% of the books I have read include them. That's sci-fi, thrillers, fantasy and humorous versions of those. I'm sure these scenes abound on certain shelves but you don't need to go there. And again POV is irrelevant.