The First Person

[scribblemyname]

This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series December Ramblings

Because naturally, the first person in importance and existence is oneself.

So, prompted by in_the_blue: my thoughts on the first person point of view in fiction.

I have an odd relationship with these sorts of things. Fiction is fiction. It's all a device. It's all a way to convey a story and lock you, the reader, into the moment. Which is a fancy way of saying that I have no opinion on the point of view as a point of view and I often wonder why so many people get up in arms over this.

Divergent by Veronica Roth is in first person. We are told "I" and "we," etc., and that's the narrator/main character, Tris. But once the story gets going, as a reader, I am swept along and forget the point of view, the verb tense, and so forth because I'm lost in the story. When I read a third person point of view story, such as Emma by Jane Austen, the same thing happens. I forget how it's written and get caught up in what is going on. I forget half the words, except as they let me speed faster through the panorama in my mind. If I notice the framing for too long before getting sucked in, then there's a good chance you're doing it wrong. Equally half of my favorite books ever are in first person and the other half mostly in third. The book of poetry, naturally, doesn't count either way. :grins:

There is one thing that I'll admit is difficult to pull off as gracefully in first person—names. You're stuck with self-referential names and thus, Andrew and Natalie, the names of Tris's parents in Divergent, are only mentioned once each. I had to ransack the book to find them for fanficcing. Other than that, they are rightly referred to as Mom and Dad.

So there you have it, the bulk of my opinion on the first person. Though if you think about it, "the first shall be last..." and all that jazz.

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Originally published at Liana Mir. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Unsurprisingly, I love first person POV (almost as much as I dislike omniscient POV). I think first person lends an immediacy to the story that isn't really there otherwise. That said, I don't think it's the right venue for every story. I know I've been using it a lot the past year, almost exclusively in fact. I can't say it bothers me at all in fanfiction. It didn't bother me in the Divergent series until the last book, where Veronica Roth had multiple characters with first-person POV and even that wouldn't have been a problem if they'd sounded less alike.

I know I'm probably in a minority with it. I also enjoy second person when it's done well, and a lot of people can't stand that. I notice that I start out a lot in third person, then shift to first. I know when I shift that I've got a good enough grasp on the character to want to tell the story through their eyes. Right now I can't imagine telling DJ's story in third person, for instance, but I can't imagine going back and retelling Drowning Again in first person. What's right is right in the moment.

I guess some stories just lend themselves to it more than others.

[scribblemyname]

Every story has its own best flow, and I agree with you on that wholeheartedly. I prefer 1st person multiple POV to use 3rd for the secondaries myself; otherwise, it makes me have to notice the switches and pay attention to the framework. Never good for me. I read to turn the editor brain off and sink into story, but I see your point.

I like 2nd with small caveats: I'm a girl so the "you" in relation to any masculine-only related body actions tends to throw me out of the story for a moment. Otherwise, I like it when it's done right.

I know I love your stuff in 1st or 3rd. :grins: But yeah, there's a different comfort level involved to write 1st.