Wednesday, March 16, 2011

She's Crafty: First Person Narration

I had a break through at group people. I got a request for my manuscript. Winning, duh. But at the conference, during the first-page critique, they wanted to see my story written in first person narration instead of third. I don't like writing in 1st but I see their point and I'm willing to put in the work.

A tiny problem, I'm not comfortable writing in 1st. Awkward, cuz I'm doing it right now but this is blog blah not a complex adventure. So I'm currently surrounded by my favorite books written in 1st for help. The Hunger Games is on top. Help me Katniss, you're my only hope.

What style do you prefer writing in: 1st or 3rd? Do you have any great tips for writing well in 1st person?

My Top Ten Fave Blog Posts on Writing in 1st Person POV
  1. Third Person-Style Narration in First Person @ Kidlit.com.
  2. Point of View (POV) @ The Other Side of the Story.
  3. A Few Thoughts on First Person @ Edittorrent.
  4. What does choice of POV mean? How does it challenge a writer? @ TalkToYoUniverse.
  5. Hypothetical Dialogue vs. Inner Monologue @ Plot to Punctuation.
  6. Deep POV: Three Mistakes and How to Fix Them, Part 1 @ The Blood-Red Pencil.
  7. First Person or Third Person? @ Nathan Bransford.
  8. Me or You? Choosing Between First and Third POV @ The Other Side of the Story.
  9. Changing Your Manuscript's Tense, Point of View @ Kidlit.com
  10. Pitfalls of Introspection...How Much is Too Much? @ Dark Angel Fiction Writing.
Pirate sidebar: Ask and you will receive. My daughter went to a pirate party on Saturday. Now I have a patch for my twitchy eye. Do I look ridiculous? Yes, but it helps a ton.

2 comments:

  1. I can write in first person past, but not first person present. Logically, it bothers me. Good luck!

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  2. Great links, Brooke! Thanks!

    It took me two years to write the rough of my first novel, and it's in first person past. I'm writing another and again it's first person past. I didn't plan it that way -- it just seemed like the right POV. I would prefer to write in third person. The only tip I can think of (and I wish someone had told me this two years ago) is find another way to start each sentence instead of with "I."

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