I've got a plot, a cast, and a beginning, middle, and end. What I don't have, is a perspective/style and that's where I need help. The story is about three high-school aged teens (though technically one is a third-year repeat senior) who get caught up in a war between Heaven and Hell. My problem arises in that I want to feature each of the three teens as main characters as much as possible, but writing in the third person terrifies me (I find myself repeating their names "Jason does x... Sam does y... Jason responds" and reading it back to myself is like nails on a chalkboard).

I guess my question is this: does anyone have any stylistic suggestions that would allow me to avoid third person while still focusing on all three characters? or, failing that, a means to write in third person without constantly feeling the need to repeat the character names to describe their actions? One theory has been to divide the book into shorter sections, with each 1/3 being told from one of the main character's perspectives, but I'm worried this will be too jarring from a reader's perspective for it to read smoothly.

I'm not published, though throughout the various levels of schooling I've been repeatedly encouraged to attempt it, so here I am just getting my feet wet.


--- Magis

ps- I'd like to shoot a big Thank You to JB for his 'writing classes' on his blog. I'd love to see more of that if you ever get the time Jim.