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Adding Dimensions (1) -- First Person Narration



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Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:37 am
Master_Yoda says...



The First Person Narrative

It's interesting to note that many beginner story-tellers tend to instinctively write their stories from a first person perspective – that is that they tell the story as though they are a character in it. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but certain techniques and restrictions need to be adhered to when writing in the first person if the story is to be believable and if the readers are going to be able to relate to it.

This article is intended to allow the reader to get the most out of his first person narrator, and to help him cope with some of the more subtle points of the role and effect of his use of first person narration in the story.

When writing a story, choosing the appropriate mode of narration can make and break your story. It's therefore necessary to establish what the advantages and disadvantages of the first person narrator are.

The Advantages
A first person narrator allows an extremely close level of penetration into the story through the character's eyes. It ensures that the reader can see directly into your narrator's mind and allows us to feel his emotions from as close a position as is possible.

It also allows you to introduce a certain level of bias which the reader may or may not agree with into your story. This can create a tension between your reader and the narrator, or it can help establish a bond between them. Both of these results will absorb your reader into your story a little more.

Finally, the first person narrator can effectively foreshadow drama and action when the story is told in the past tense, far more effectively than a third person narrator can. This is apparent when reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The narrator, Scout, tells the reader that Jem had a broken arm, and then proceeds to tell us how his arm was broken. The overwhelming desire to know how these events lead to a broken arm keeps the reader absorbed throughout the book.

The Disadvantages
The main and overwhelming disadvantage of a first person narrator is his inability to see or experience anything beyond what the reader would expect him to see.

He can't see anyone else's thoughts, unless he is instinctively a mind-reader.

He can't see what's going on in China when he's in Bosnia unless he's looking through a TV monitor or some other device that would realistically, or at least fantastically allow this.

He can't smell the bread from the bakery next door, when he's in a butchery, because the smell of the meat would be too overwhelming.

He can also not know that he's going to be struck by a flying bullet until it actually hits him. If he did, he would have dodged the situation.

But what tends to be forgotten most frequently is his inability to notice or narrate events that he would experience subconsciously. Yes, this means under almost all circumstances sighing, glancing, rubbing his eye with his elbow, or any other such action.


Then there are one or two other disadvantages:
Your character's fame complex: Why is your character writing his own story to success that makes him look invulnerable? Is he so vain? This question makes many first person narrations, especially fantasy and action pieces, fall flat on their faces. When you're telling a story from the point of view of one character, you need to ensure that there's a reason that you're telling it from his perspective.

Your lack of suspense: if your character is telling the story from a first person past-tense perspective, he knows what's going to happen at the end of the story, and we know that he survives to tell the tale. You thus encounter several potential plot holes that you will need to fill, and need to work your entire exposition around what the character already knows.

When to Use First Person Narration
First person narration should be used when a very close connection with the reader needs to be made. Tragedy and other stories where your character's feelings are pivotal are often suited to first person narration. Stories which rely on the presence of a biased narrator, such as those with character twists are often suited to the first person. The bottom line is, where you want the reader to invest maximum emotion, rather than focus on the story, the first person is often, though not always the best point of view to use. Where you want the story and events to be a primary focus, and you want multiple paths or perspectives to be visible at once, the first person is often not the best point of view to write in.

Writing in the First Person
When writing in the first person, it is important to note that you are always restricted to the character's sight. To maintain believability as a narrator it is essential to become the character to such an extent that you can convince the reader that you are him. This is the ultimate key to unlocking your story with your first person narrator.




So to end off I leave you with two questions:
Does your story achieve its optimum from your first person point of view?
Are you sure that you have correctly described everything as your character would see it?

Have a great one! :)
#TNT

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

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Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:50 am
LowKey says...



As far as examples for young writers go, I think the Pendragon series is a good one to look at. The main character is writing down the things that have happened to him because he's supposed to. It's his job as a 'Traveler' and most definitely as the Lead Traveler. So he needs to keep a record of everything in his journals, which he then sends through a portal to his friends on Second Earth (aka here). Most of the problems posed by writing in first person are addressed by the fact that it's written not only in past tense, but also because in situations where the MC gets knocked out or something, he has people there to fill him in on what happened later. And because it's his job to write down what happens, he makes a note that so-and-so said this is what happened, and then continues the story.

The author takes care of the "Meanwhile, on the other side of the world/universe..." problem by switching out of first person and into third. When Bobby sends a journal through, Marc and Courtney (earth friends) get together and read it, then decide what to do about it. The scenes with them are written in third person, and make up a good portion of the book. It can almost be compared to having a third person book with letters or journal entries shown and actually written on the page, except for the fact that the journals definitely take up over half the book.

In a nutshell, the author addressed most of the bugs of first person by creating a unique character situation and story around it. There's a reason for everything, even the first person narration at certain parts. Without the reason (they're journals, after all, and people tend to write journals in first person), the author might as well have written it all in third person. In some ways, it might have been easier that way. But because there was a reason, it ended up working well for him.
Necropolis SB / Necropolis DT

Once was Dreamer, is now LowKey_Lyesmith.

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
  








That there's some good in this world, Mr Frodo - and it's worth fighting for.
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