Any Author will tell you that finding your point of view, or POV, is one of the most important parts of the process of writing a novel. The right story can be broken very easily by using the wrong perspective. The key is deciding which fits the story you want to tell.
There are four main POV’s to be chosen from. All four offer varying degrees of good and bad points. These consist of:
- First person. Use of the “I” pronoun.
- Second Person – which is rarely successful.
- Third Person – Giving the opportunity to swap between characters thoughts.
- Third Person Ominiescience
This post today is more about the first one in the list. The use of first person as a story technique, and why writers should stop using it. (This of course is my own opinion, and you are free to have your thoughts as well).
The common advantage to first person is that it feels similar to real life, which allows the writer to create the world easier because it’s done from the inside of one person’s thoughts. One person’s psyche. Like real life, you don’t have anyone else’s thoughts to worry about (unless you’re a telepath, in which case please fill out the registration papers at your local government office). 😉
The commonly discussed disadvantages of this are that the writer, or reader, can’t go into other characters thoughts for a different view on the scene happening at the time. The narrator that you choose to follow must also be present at all points to be able to follow the story.
While this works, and for the most part the character you follow will probably be in the scene anyway, it doesn’t work most of the time. The biggest problem with first person perspective is that it is very rarely done well. The reason, which at least for me is not something discussed in writing blogs very often from what I’ve seen, is because of one main reason:Â tension.Â
Tension can make or break your novel. Without the build up of tension, there is no threat to the characters. No conflict that they need to overcome. Why do I say this? Because from the beginning of reading a first person novel the tension is lost simply because first person always makes it feel to the reader that it is being written after the fact, after the action, after the threat. There is no conflict, or tension left for the audience to hook onto. No reason to care about the characters because you know that they get out of it if the protagonist is writing about it.
Coupled with the fact that you can’t introduce the “bad guy or girl” until the protagonist meets them, and is in the same scene, then it leads to slight boredom in the story.
Now, I’m not saying that it can’t be done. However, first person must be looked at extremely carefully to be done well. At the point of writing this, I can’t think of one that plays it off well. But I know I’ve read at least one. It is very hard to do correctly.
So, before you start your novel. Choose carefully as to whether first person really suits the story. If you still decide that it does, that’s fine. But keep a watch for the tension in the plot. Let it breathe. Let it grab the reader, and hold them. Make them believe that the protagonist is in danger when they need to be, and worry about they get out of it.
Feel your story.
Do you agree? Do you disagree? Feel free to tell me why…
Good luck with your writing. Keep the tension, and conflict.
Dreaming Screenwriter 