POV Week Two

First Person Singular

First person is usually considered the most intimate, inside the character's skin, approach. This can be uncomfortable, particularly if the character is an unpleasant person. Some writers will also shy away from first person for fear of revealing too much of themselves whether it is actually revealing or simply because the readers tend to identify an author with his or her characters.

Nevertheless, not only is first person the preferred person in some genres, such as many romances, but even authors who dislike writing in first person may find they have a story that can only be properly told using first person. Also, the diary approach is, at times, very well received.

Whether or not you are fond of first person you will find that practicing writing in it has many advantages. When you are writing in first person it is easy to see when you deviate from a "tight POV." Another advantage occurs when you have a problem character or a scene that doesn't work right. Re-writing the scene in first person will often reveal much about the problem character or at least give some clues as to what it is about the scene that doesn't quite 'click.'

Keep the reader reading.

Keep the reader reading.

Keep the reader reading.

No, the repetition is not a mistake. "Keep the reader reading" is a thought to keep in mind whenever you are writing anything other than a diary. As writers we have many tools available that help us catch the reader's interest and keep it.

We also want to avoid confusing the reader. The confused reader tends to lose interest rather quickly, and having lost interest, is likely to stop reading. If the reader cannot find a character with whom to identify because you are dipping first into one character's viewpoint and then another and another, the reader gives up.

This week we will be experimenting with first person POV. We will see something of its strengths and weaknesses, how to take advantage of the strengths to increase reader involvement and how to overcome some of the weaknesses.

What is first person POV?

In first person POV the reader is drawn into one character and sees, hears, and understands from that character's viewpoint and only from that character's viewpoint. Usually the use of the pronoun I as in I saw, I heard or I thought is a strong indication of first person POV. Exceptions are mostly found in dialogue.

One helpful technique in writing from the first person POV is to imagine yourself an actor playing the role. Anything you, as the actor, cannot see or hear is out of place.

One of the advantages usually cited for first person POV is intimacy. There is little or no distance between the reader and character. When you write from either the protagonist's or the antagonist's viewpoint you'll find this gives you greater insight into the character. There are times, however, when you want to maintain a greater distance. Using the first person uninvolved character can give you this distance.

Another advantage, and a big one, is that when you use a tight first person with all the restrictions on not showing any other character's thoughts or feelings except through what the viewpoint character actually can see or hear, and do not include anything the viewpoint character is not aware of, you are almost forced to Show Not Tell.

Writing assignment

Take your scene from the first week and select one or more paragraphs in which at least two characters interact. They need not be in conflict with each other. Even two people who are working together or have the same objective may have very different reasons for cooperating.

If another character who was not involved in the scene was present, then that character will be your third. If you did not mention a third character in the paragraphs you selected, that does not mean you cannot add one for the purposes of this assignment.

Write the paragraphs over using each of the three characters in turn. Use first person singular for each rewrite.