Go away and Die First Person writing!
First Person writing?
Imagine for a moment you are listening to a really interesting story. In fact, let’s be specific. You are listening to Rob Roy MacGregor tell his story. After years of dealing with the Marquess of Montrose, “Robert the Red” borrows 1000 pounds, which goes missing. When his lands are seized by the authorities, his wife and children evicted, and his house burned, Rob Roy leads a rebellion against the Scottish nobles that ends in his surrender.
The is one of those rare times in history where what happens actually makes a great story, one that has inspired plays, songs, and two movies (one with Liam Neeson as Rob Roy—how cool is that!) There are a lot of great characters in this story: Rob Roy himself, his wife, the chief herder who might have stolen the money, James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose, and the men who fought for either side.
On the surface, this story seems ideal for a First Person Narrative. “I am Rob Roy MacGregor, and this is what happened to me.” First Person is also easy on the writer. No need to sweat all that Deep POV stuff; it doesn’t get any deeper than First Person! Only one character voice to keep in mind.
Then why not First Person writing?
But Dear God, do you lose so much! You get none of the anger from James Graham at Roy’s “theft” and uprising. You get none of the helplessness of Roy’s wife watching her home burn and their livelihood taken. The 1995 film with Liam Neeson had a fictional character that stands as one of the top five greatest villains I have ever seen, Archibald Cunningham masterfully portrayed by Tim Roth. When Archibald’s young mistress tells him she is pregnant by him, he replies “Well, he won’t be the first bastard born in Scotland.”
If the events of that 1995 film were made into a book that was written in First Person, we would never have that scene, unless Rob Roy was in the room hiding behind a curtain when it happened. Some authors attempt to escape this limitation by writing a First Person book from several persons. That’s even worse! Why? Because readers are trained to hear all First Person narratives in the same voice — their voice. Conan saying “I then split his head to the teeth with my sword” sounds exactly like Albert Einstein saying, “And that’s when I discovered the theory of relativity” because it’s your voice in your head saying those words! But when you read, in the Third person:
Conan broke the spells, snatched his sword from the throne, and split the dark wizard’s skull to the teeth.
That’s not Conan telling the story. That’s the narrator’s words in your voice. Add a little brain splatter, a grunt of satisfaction from Conan, and you’re right there in the room with the mighty barbarian king, safe and invisible, enjoying his revenge as much as he did.
Workarounds
There are writers who are aware of the limitations of First Person and try to get around them. They will even surprise you by killing the character off in First Person (“And the room grew dark as my intestines filled my bloody hands”)—no, No, NO. It never works. Readers are too trained to read First Person as if the person were standing in the room and telling his story. How weird would it be for the man telling you what happened to him last week ending with, “And then I died.” You’d be like, “Ah, dude, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but you’re not dead.” It’s equally weird for a second or third person to push the one telling you his story aside and say, “And then this is what happened to me! There I was…”
Think of the greatest stories you know: The Last Supper, Monroe and Livingston telling President Jefferson about the Louisiana Purchase, The Battle of Midway—heck, even the birth of your first child—think of all those stories and tell me any of them would be better in a First Person narrative. Such amazing events demand the contributions of all characters to fully bring out their power. I don’t like First Person writing, and you should stop using it! When you tell your story, tell it from all angles. Don’t be lazy!
Write on!
landofoyr April 19, 2017 at 8:17 am
Replyan alternative approach is to change between chapters from third to first person so as to give a certain perspective in some events
i have tried this in some chapters of my second short story and i will see how it feels.
Shadyia April 19, 2017 at 8:37 am
ReplyCurious to see the result!
Elizabeth LaHoustonian April 19, 2017 at 1:16 pm
Replygreat post!
Shadyia April 19, 2017 at 1:18 pm
ReplyThank you!
susantrombleyblog April 19, 2017 at 3:47 pm
ReplyI could never quite articulate why I dislike first person POV so much, but this post just did it! Now it makes sense, especially the part about reading in your own voice. That’s probably why all first person POV characters sound alike to me. Great post!
Shadyia April 19, 2017 at 3:48 pm
ReplyThanks so much for the compliment. Yes it’s weird to watch a movie in your head where you are each and every character. 😉
E.A. Copen April 19, 2017 at 5:35 pm
ReplyI’m going to disagree with you. First person writing is actually a lot more difficult because of some of the issues you’ve listed. No, not every story will work in first person just like no, not every story works in third person. It’s a decision that every author has to make at the craft level.
Look at The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s in first person. In 3rd, it would lose a lot of its power.
Look at Moby Dick. I think the book’s boring as hell, but it’s a classic for a reason.
Some of the most moving parts of Shelly’s Frankenstein are when the monster tells his narrative in first person.
NYT best sellers like Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs have done great things with first person in urban fantasy.
Yeah, there are some authors who pick up 1st person and make absolutely terrible stories with it because they don’t understand that it’s difficult. There are also some really good stories in first person.
Any writer with any skill knows that first person is limiting. That sometimes makes it more difficult than third person. You learn to work within those limits. First person writing is designed to tell a singular character’s story through their experience, while third can let you explore multiple perspectives and a larger world. It really depends on the story you want to tell.
If you discount an entire group of books just because of the point of view, you’re missing out. Challenge your perspective. If you aren’t at least a little uncomfortable, you’re really not growing as a person or a writer.
Shadyia April 19, 2017 at 7:45 pm
ReplyOh, you are absolutely correct. It is far more difficult to write well in First Person. And yes, there are writers that did First Person brilliantly—in the past. In the 1990s, I fell in love with Harry Harrison’s “Stainless Steel Rat” sci-fi series. “Slippery Jim” diGriz was that awesome, rare character in an amazing, fun universe of star ships and galactic empires. I loved it! First person works ONLY when the character is incredibility appealing. So much so, you can’t get enough of the character and the world in which they live. But that is so rare. Even Gandalf the Grey, Daenerys Targaryen and Luke Skywalker couldn’t carry the entire story on their own. The problem is that not everyone can create a character so amazing, especially today when we demand flaws in our characters to make them “real.” For that reason, the age of the First Person Narrative has passed, just like cassette tapes and Saturday morning cartoons. If you can prove me wrong, go for it! Just make sure your “Slippery Jim” diGriz can give that amazing story in your head all the narration it deserves.
sundale2 April 19, 2017 at 6:13 pm
ReplyNever say never about any writing style. Would “The Hunger Games” book have been better in third? I don’t think so. That really was Katniss’s story to tell, on only she was best suited to tell it. Third would have diminished what she went through, and made it harder to connect with her on the level that we did. There is a time and place for first person to work very very well.
Now I do agree, many new writers start with first because it seems easier, even though third really is better for their story. But I cringe myself into a pretzel any time anyone says this or that is the absolute right or wrong way to write. Every style and method has it’s place. The hard part is learning when to use which. Instead of telling writers they should never do this or that, we should tell them WHEN to do this or that because it works best at that time.
One thing about third is sometimes, you can try to show too much, connect with too many, and you lose the connection with your main characters. Focused third held bridge the gap, and it sometimes the best way to go, but omnipresent third is not always good as you can drag your reader in too many directions. Just as first or focused third can show too little. Now I agree with Copen that first person can actually be harder, because now you have to find a way to convey moments and emotions from only one perspective. Your point of view character isn’t a mind reader (unless they are, but that’s beside the point), so somehow, you have to give some idea of what the other character is thinking/feeling. Not at all an easy task, and that’s not the only limit. You have to show the world through only one set of eyes. Though that can be the power for first, for those eyes may be the only ones that see everything in the best way.
When do you use which? That’s too tricky for any person to say. I do think when you have a central character with a personal story to tell, like Katniss, first can give you the connection you need. In theory, focused third can as well, but not always to the same degree. You feel more being in the heart and mind of the character that just riding on their shoulder the entire time.
It’s a constant balancing act as we search for what works and what doesn’t for the given story. But writing as a whole should never do absolutes in anything. There are writers who CANNOT write every day. They just can’t, it doesn’t work for them. Yet others MUST write every day, or they lose their edge. Neither is wrong or right, except for them. So let’s not tell writers how they should or shouldn’t write. Instead, let’s help them figure out how to write their given story best. Some may well be better in third. Yet some really are best told from the eyes of just one character.
veeray76504 April 19, 2017 at 10:08 pm
ReplyI was going to remark on Tolkien,but this video does it better than I could ever hope to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXAvF9p8nmM
The character view is, perhaps, the most engaging and exciting form of Fantasy, and in your example, what if the view had shifted from character to character, as it does in Tolkien’s work. Talk about moving, and heart-wrenching. That’s the way to tell a story.
Christopher di Armani April 20, 2017 at 9:09 pm
ReplyWell said!
I find most first-person stories I come across these days are simply not well-written enough to pass the test. While I’ve written in the first person and for that set of stories it made sense, I prefer third person as it gives me so many more options to tell my story, a point you make very well in your article.
I find it hard to keep track of who I’m supposed to be when the author keeps jumping from character to character when using first person. If you want to tell the story from multiple points of view, then why not write it in third person so it’s far less confusing for your readers? I think in that specific sense, it’s simply lazy writing and their stories would be far better served in third, if only for the lack of confusion in the reader.
zarawest April 23, 2017 at 9:35 pm
ReplyThought-provoking post: I just read Entry Island by Peter May, This book alternates between third person and first person. The third person is about a contemporary murder. The third person is the detective’s great grandfather’s story. I found it awkward reading at first, but I got lost in the story and the changing viewpoint no longer bothered me. I believe that when a story is strong, a writer can get away with almost any approach as long as it is consistent and done well.