1. mbinks89

    mbinks89 Active Member

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    Dispositions to first and third person narration

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by mbinks89, Jul 6, 2013.

    Do you guys find yourself writing in a particular narrative perspective for most of your work? For me, it's third person, but I've begun to dabble in first person. I like the idea of looking through the lens of a character, and using their language to sculpt the world.
     
  2. blackstar21595

    blackstar21595 New Member

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    It's been a 50-50 mix of the two for me. I notice that I use third person when I'm not focusing on the thoughts of a single character.
     
  3. Erasmus B. Dragon

    Erasmus B. Dragon New Member

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    I tend to gravitate towards first person. I just find it easier. It's not always the best choice for the story, though. The novel I'm working on now, I've got my first draft finished, and it's in first person, but I'm debating rewriting in third so I can flesh out my secondary characters a little better.

    My current favorite writers, Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, and Laurel Hamilton (pre-Obsidian Butterfly), all write in first person, and it works. It's possible my preference for first person comes from an unconscious desire to emulate the stories I like best.
     
  4. A.Tad.of.Conrad

    A.Tad.of.Conrad New Member

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    Only third, I have a hard time with 1p and enjoy reading 3p a lot more as well.
     
  5. mbinks89

    mbinks89 Active Member

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    I have a hard time with first person too, but I like it. I'm currently writing a story (no idea how long it'll be, but longer than average) and it's a first person narrative of somebody who has antisocial personality disorder then goes insane and is terrorized by a demon that may or may not be real. It's really hard. I can't decide if I should make my narrator "likeable," or include a little bit of black humour, or make him utterly unemotional, and almost like a camera lens, as if it's a first-person Blood Meridian.
     
  6. maskedhero

    maskedhero Active Member

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    Third person seems to be it, for now. My shorter stuff is sometimes first person though, but maintaining that for an entire novel means missing out on a lot of details, unless the first is a narrator as well.
     

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