I need opinions.

OK, so I have a little problem. I was thinking of writing my novel with multiple first person narrators. You know, having one person's POV one chapter and a different person's the next? Well, I'm not really sure if I want to do it. So, I was wondering what people think about multiple first person narrators. Love it? Hate it?

So, I'd really appreciate it if you guys could tell me if you like multiple first person narrators, and why. Or tell me if you don't like it, and why. Thanks.

It could work but we would need to be totally clear on "who" was speaking. Perhaps each Chapter could begin with the character name? If you have several main characters, however, I would suggest third person for a clearer format. If there's no artistic purpose for writing in first other than you prefer that style, I'd try third for this particular project.

It depends!

It really matters how the story is written. It has to be done well; if two characters sound exactly the same, it gets boring.

It works out pretty well most of the time (unless you're like me, and don't put the effort and time in! ) But, remember to give each of your characters a unique voice.

Good luck!
June

I've got to say, I hate multiple first-person narrators. Hate hate hate with a fiery passion. They feel confusing and schizophrenic, as if the "I" narrator has a bunch of (usually poorly-signalled) multiple personalities running around.

I did enjoy Sarah Monette's dual first-person narrator novel Melusine, which leads me to think that tips for making this work well are:

* Clear signalling of exactly which viewpoint you're writing in.

* Different voices. If the voice isn't obviously different for each viewpoint, enough so that I can tell which is which without needing a signal, the "I" narrators are just going to blend into one mass of first person.

A novel in this format would need a lot of stuff going for it for me to pick it up, but it can be done.

Alternating first person views is the only kind of first person I can stand.

It can be done well. It can be done beautifully. Case in point: Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. One of the best books I have ever read, and it definitely benefited artistically from the multiple viewpoints. There were five narrators, but I was never confused about who was who.

That's the most important facet of writing from alternating first person viewpoints--differing the voices enough so that the reader only has to skim a page and know instantly who's talking. And the characters have to be radically different enough in personality and worldview for the narration to work; there's no point in alternating narrators if they're all of similar personalities or beliefs.

In The Poisonwood Bible, each narrator in essence represents a different aspect of views on white intervention in Africa. No, that is not as dry as it sounds. They each had their unique turns of phrases ("jeez-oh-man", "in my Adah eyes..."), different things they held important (contrast Adah and Rachel), and different reactions to the tragedy that happened (lock, stock and barrel). No, I don't think I'm making sense (unless you read the book)...gaah, I'm just rhapsodizing about the book now. Feel free to shoot me.

All I'm saying is a) differentiate the voices radically, and b) make sure there's a reason for multiple narrators other than you just want to do it.

Multiple first-person narration can get confusing, but personally, I like it, because it gives different views on a story. But also, as Bickazer said, you have to have a reason to do it. One book I love that has multiple first-person narrators is My Sister's Keeper, which is great because each new chapter is titled with the name of the person speaking, so it doesn't get confusing. However, I have also read books where the viewpoint switches multiple times within one chapter, so switching between characters has to be skillfully done.

Multiple narrators has a lot of advantages, even if it can get both confusing to write and read, because, if you have a multitude of varied characters, it shows differing viewpoints and allows people to view a conflict or issue in different ways. I think, if you feel up to the challenge, that multiple first-person narration would be great.

If you're going to do it, do it well

I did a a story with multiple points of view and it went pretty well. The main thing is that your characters have to be completely different but connected at the same time.

And by that I mean that their stories connect, their feelings connect, but how they interpret things is different. People think differently, so make sure you get that part down. Some characters are observant and others are oblivious to the obvious.

-Shina