Young Writers Society

So my friends tell me I'm really good using third person point of view, but I want to write with first person....

The problem is, I can't seem to create the emotions needed to make a character relatable in first person. It's as if I can't connect with my characters in order to make them believable (although I can in third person) ARRRGH! DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M EVEN SAYING? If anyone does, can you please help? :3

I actually know exactly how you feel. I also write in third person, and find great difficulty using the first person POV. I totally understand what you mean. I would also be interested in any advice on this matter.

First and third have different approaches/perspectives when it comes to writing. I personally prefer third-limited, since it's a bit easier to convey actions and the magnitude of events than in first (not to say that it's impossible to do in first).

First person is more allowing the character to talk through you than your creating a character and connection. If you can't "hear" a character talking to/through you, you can do two things:

Keep writing their story. Their voice and quirks will make themselves known over time. By the time you get to the revision stage, you'll have a very strong grip on your character's voice.

Find a different character who talks to you right off the bat. Every once in a while, a character will come to you with such a strong voice and story that you'll feel compelled to write it. It's just a matter of finding and pinning down that character so you can tell their story.

Kyll is right that first person requires a character who talks to you pretty clearly. I've found that characters need to talk to me directly about 50% of the time to qualify for first person writing, else the story feels fairly strained.

First person requires you to ask "what makes this character so important and so unique that I absolutely have to write it in first person?" On top of a character talking to me at least half the time, I make sure to have something about the character that simply couldn't be shown (or would be much more difficult to show) in third person. Usually it's something about their world view, that gives them a rather alien view (at least, from the reader's perspective).

And even then, you can still run into problems because of how first person stays within the character's head, and the character might not be aware of their own emotions (or actions, sometimes).

My own technique is to use as many "reaction descriptions" as possible. So instead of saying a character is a combination of angry and grief-striken, I describe their desire to fight because that's the only thing that makes sense. Because you're completely inside their head, you have to think of how they are seeing their emotions. Which means figuring out how aware of their own emotions and what they do when faced with emotions.

Show, don't tell, in action.

This has opened my eyes so much. I've never thought of it in that way, just as in 'what would I do if I had their personality?' I guess I haven't fully developed my characters! I suppose I must go write some more and talk to them some more (I'm not the only one talking to my characters right?) before I can write first person!

Thank you sooooo much!

First person tends to not be something the author choses to write in. It's something the character choses to be written in.

I talk to my characters a lot, and it's not me talking to them in general that determines whether or not I'll write them in first person— it's whether or not they're already narrating their own scenes in first person, quirks and all, that determines it. That's what I meant when "they have to be talking to me directly 50% of the time."

For example, I have one character who would be very difficult to fully capture in first person. She has nothing particularly special about her, and so much happens to her that capturing the scope/scale would be very difficult (I'm choosing third person limited for the reasons Kyll listed above).

While it is possible to coax a character from not so solid to a prime candidate for first person, it can take awhile. It also takes a lot of focusing on how their history has shaped not only how they behave towards others, but how they see the world and how their past makes them react to everything.

Which is why it's often much easier to begin with a character who narrates their own story right off the bat, because then you have a starting point they came with instead of trying to create something. (And, even then, it is possible that some characters are too unique— it's why most Sherlock Holmes stories are narrated by Watson; Holmes was simply too smart and unaware of how he made deductions to be relatable. Watson existed to ask all the questions readers were asking)

This article might be of interest. It's on first person.

Thank you! MANY MANY THANKS! I loved the article, it helped out a lot

Time to tackle more first person projects >:3