I like first person.. it's simple, easy and a lot easier to follow along. My favorite thing about reading a book in first person, is I feel like I'm the main star/character. I'm doing these things or experiencing this world, it makes the book feel more realistic and the events occurring in real time.
First person is superior because it makes the reader feel like they are going on the amazing adventures you describe and not some random person.
That's interesting. I never thought of it this way, but of course you're right about the unreliablity of the narrator. In the "I" mode, you only "see" what you yourself would see. This makes you just as prone to error in character mode, as you would be as a real person. In third person, the author always has a slant on things. Even if the author is only describing what a particular character thinks, feels and sees, there will still be that distance and word choice that gives hints about reliability. I've never written serious fiction in first person. I think it would be fun to try.
I used to write exclusively in third person. Growing up, I had read lots of YA works, fantasy, etc. and most if not all were written in third person. I matured, and years later, got 7 short stories published and all were written in first person. Writing in first person was a huge step for me. I couldn't tell you why exactly, but I'll boldly say I don't anticipate writing in third person again. I'm primarily focused on character pieces. I like writing unreliable narrators, stream of consciousness stories with layers. I suppose that's easier to do in first person. I remember some time ago on this forum, a thread shared an essay by Chuck Palahniuk, and he suggested avoiding dull verbs such as "I thought, noticed, decided, etc.," which is what Cogito pointed out above. First person can be tricky in comparison to third person. You don't want every sentence starting with "I," you have to work your way around that and have your first person narrator/character show the story instead of just explain their day to day routine. I'd venture that third person may be a tad easier to adapt to than first person, because the narrator and character(s) are separate, so the narrator may use discretion, if that makes sense.
personally i prefer third person, that doesnt mean to say i cant/wont write in first, but with my current project, third person lends itself better as it focusses on several characters.
Hello again all, After reading numerous posts on this forum, I started doing a bunch of research on POV and "showing, not telling." After finding a lot of good information over the last couple of days, I went back and started rereading things I wrote, and I discovered I have a big weakness. In many instances, my POV wasn't consistent and in most cases, I was just telling. Even after finding a lot of good information, I'm still struggling a bit. I went and rewrote a small section - below is the original, along with my rewrite. I hope it's okay that I'm posting this here - if not, I apologize. I'd like some feedback on the changes I made, make sure I'm moving in the right direction. Thank you. Original: As Tim lay there, he had no problem getting into the mood. The last couple of weeks had been rough, both physically and mentally and he was looking forward to his massage. Him and his wife didn’t have a lot of money to spare, monthly massages were the only thing he splurged on; he had a standing seven o’clock appointment the third Wednesday of every month with Malinda, his masseuse of choice at Body-Right. The room was the same windowless one he was always in. Situated in an old dentist’s office, it was once used as a cleaning room. Now, it housed a large, sturdy massage table in the middle, with a sink almost pressed up against the foot of it and a small dresser along the wall where Malinda kept a CD player and various massage oils. Right now, nature sounds were coming from the player. Tim was familiar with this particular CD and knew that soft piano music would soon follow. A tall, covered lamp provided the only light in the room, keeping it dim enough to relax but not so dark you couldn’t see. Tim was laying face down, covered by a couple of blankets with only his boxers on as Malinda entered the room. Her face was neither ugly nor pretty, just plain with no remarkable or memorable features. She was short, just under five foot two and was a rather robust 160 pounds, with brown eyes and dark brown hair that was cropped too short. Physically, the entire package was unappealing to most men, including Tim. But she had strong hands, was good at her job and a really nice person; Tim didn’t care much about her appearance. In fact, he preferred his masseuse to be unattractive. He had gotten massages from some bombshells before and found that he could never fully relax around them – professional or not, it was hard to get comfortable while lying nearly naked while some hot chick rubbed oil all over him. Changed: Worn out by stress and beaten up by sixty-hour work weeks, Tim had no problem getting into the mood. The last couple of weeks had been especially rough and he was looking forward to his massage. He felt a little guilty since he and his wife didn't have a lot of money to spare, but it was the only thing he splurged on; he had cut way back on his alcohol purchases and gave up new video games altogether in order to afford an hour-long massage at seven o'clock on the third Wednesday of every month. The room was the same windowless one he was always in; it was Malinda's, his masseuse of choice at Body-Right. Situated in an old dentist's office, the small space was cramped with a small dresser and tall, skinny lamp joining the sturdy massage table. An unused sink jutted from the wall, almost touching the foot of the bed. Still, the atmosphere was relaxing. The lamp was covered, keeping the room dim enough to unwind but not dark enough to make the clients uncomfortable, and a small CD player on the dresser was playing nature sounds. He was familiar with this particular disc, it was one of his favorites; soft piano music would soon follow. Dressed in only his boxers, he laid face down on the table and pulled the thin blanket over him just before Malinda entered the room. In her early fifties, her face was neither ugly nor pretty, just plain. She stood just under five-foot-two and was a rather robust one-hundred-sixty pounds with brown eyes and dark brown hair that was cropped too short. He didn't mind that she was unattractive; in fact, he preferred it. His previous masseuse was a young, leggy blonde and professional or not, he found it impossible to relax while she rubbed him down with oil while he was nearly naked. Besides, Malinda had strong hands, was good at her job and was a really nice person.
If you write 8 more posts and have 2 critiques, you can pose this inquiry in the writer's workshop area where it belongs. Or, you could trim this down and just ask about a sentence or two at a time in this thread.
I have a sneaking suspicion someone is just trying to get past the wait limit on story submissions...
I'm a huge first person writer normally. It helps me to write when I can relate to the character and be drawn into the story. Just by saying things like 'I' and 'me' it allows me to see through the main character's eyes and be more descriptive of the surroundings and actions. Sometimes it can be difficult to write the story when bad things are happening to the MC or when the MC does bad things, but at the same time it can also be therapeutic when certain things are going on in my real life.
Your sneaking suspicion is wrong; I'm not trying to get past anything, at least not intentionally. I spent the last few days reading hundreds of posts and found numerous examples of people posting small samples in various locations, and many had the same amount/less posts than I have. Having said that, I have no issue deleting/editing this post and meeting the requirements of the board. However, I don't see a place to Delete or Edit my original post.
It is very difficult to manage complex stories and plots involving several/many people and simultaneously occurring events in first person unless you jump POV a lot. It may be an extreme example, but imagine writing Lord Of The Rings in first person.
Jeeze! thats also reason why i write mine in 3rd, having several simultaneous P.O.V's would be a nightmare to remember
I, for one, didn't think you were trying to pull anything. I was wavering between answering and reminding you of the rules because I didn't think it was intentional. A small sample is perfectly acceptable here. Your OP was right on the borderline. Just cut it down and I'll be happy to answer your questions.
Sure...can you tell me how to cut it down? Do I just reply? Or is there a way to edit the post? I'm sure there is a way to edit but I just don't see it...
Don't worry, you didn't do anything bad. Are you asking about POV or "showing, not telling"? We don't need the before, just the after. Is there any place in the rewritten version you aren't sure if you switched POV? Are you intending to only be in Tim's POV? You can describe anything Tim sees, including what he thinks others think, as long as you don't describe what the masseuse was thinking. I don't see any POV issues right off the bat in the 'after' piece. POV is straight forward, but can require re-reading to check for errors. If you are looking for tweaking the showing not telling, pick one or two paragraphs and ask if there might be a better way to show whatever it is you think was still telling. If you are looking more for reassurance you understand the issues, I didn't read the before but I think the after suggests you are.
Firstly, don't force yourself into anything. If you're going to write it has to take a natural progression. If it feels natural to be in third person, do it in third person. If it feels natural to do it in first person, do it in first person. Also, sometimes the character needs to sound like you. I suppose that is where first person is better - you can make a better connection with the character as it is, in a way, you. I always try to put a little part of myself in my main characters because it makes it easier for me to know how the character would react. Third person is better if you want to get in the viewpoint of more characters. If you want to explore the emotions and thoughts of a single character, go for first person, but if you want to capture more people's viewpoint, go for third person.
I copied the below quote off the internet because I want to use a narrator who is not a character in my book. I want an omnicient third-person narrator not involved in the story. I have a lot of dialogue (which requires present tense); and facts, which in my book must be past tense because it is set in the 1920's. "In third-person narrative, it is obvious that the narrator is merely an unspecified entity or uninvolved person that conveys the story and is not a character of any kind within the story being told." (Narrative Mode) A narrator is, most often, an unspecified entity rather than an uninvolved person. Yes, I have read stories where the narrator tells of events that happened to people in his past and who takes someone other than himself as the viewpoint character (or it may turn out, at the end, that the narrator was, really, the viewpoint character). That said, what I'm interested in here are those stories in which the narrator is not a character. Please tell me if this type narrator will work for me and if so, give some examples of successful contemporary books using this style. Thank you, looking forward to your replies. P.S. Dear Wreybies: I don't know what "stickie" means.
A "stickie" is Forumese for when a thread is altered behind the scenes to make it always stay at the top of the list in the given subforum in which it resides. In this forum, you'll know a thread is a stickie because it will have a little red push-pin icon. We do this with threads that contain important information about the subforum's use (usually written by the Staff), are particularly well written and informative (usually written by regular members), or are topics that come up sooooo often we stickie it because for some reason people are blind to the search function no matter where you put it on the front page of the forum . That's a stickie, Bet.
Just a quick comment: Your book doesn't have to be past tense just because it's set in the 1920s. If it's present, you'll have to present those facts as if they're current reality rather than in a history-lesson sort of way, but history lessons rarely work well in a novel anyway. (Edited to add: I'm not suggesting present tense; personally, I dislike it. Just saying that the choice is just as open as it is with any other book.)
I'm looking for examples of successful contemporary books written using one unspecified third-person omniscient narrator. In other words, the solo narrator is not a character in the book and has no identity.
In my current work I alternate between first person and third person limited, chapter by chapter. My story jumps from present day to the character's past, and my narrator is unreliable and biased. I did this because of POV limitations-- if I kept the past in 1st person, I would have to write from the perspective of a young child, which I didn't want to do. I also think it helps tell about the past more objectively, since the story isn't filtered through my main character's distorted lens. I'm not sure if it would work for every novel, but I like it for this one.
Read "The Farseer Trilogy" by Robin Hobb if you haven't already. Amazing first person narrative. Personally I think when I have a bit more experience writing I want to make my epic tale a bit of both. Like the main protagonist has written his part of the story in 1st person, but then the other main characters have told there side of it, which has then been written in 3rd person by the main protagonist.
1st person is best coz you are in another person's skin. and this leads to the use of an unreliable narrator which i love. i write 1st person pov only. but in my books i try to pick some topic, but some how use that to write through what ever pain and misery i have in my real life. it works pretty good. a book about divorce, tentacles, and old nuthouse, leviathan sign me up
I have always liked both but would always prefer 1st person because it gives you a good insight into a characters thoughts and feelings.
