Perfecting First Person POV – Part 1
The point
of view of your main character will depend on the kind of story you want to
tell, and the style you want for it. It’s an important choice to make.
Most
stories are told in first person or third person, the most commonly used types.
There are other, lesser known types of POV, such as second person, but this one
is unwieldy and not at all reader friendly.
Each type
has its own merits and shortcomings; each one fits different styles and genres
better than the other. Each one may suit
the writer better than the other. This is why choice of viewpoint is so important.
First
person point of view is the viewpoint of the main character only; everything is
seen through their eyes. It’s quite an intimate POV because everything is done
as the main character, which is very different from a third person, which
allows the writer to explore more than just the main character. But unlike
third person POV, there is no skipping from character to character to gain more
insight, perspective and emotions.
There is
only one insight, one perspective and one lot of emotions in first person POV.
The main
thing you notice with first person is the use of tenses. There are specific
tenses associated with first person POV:
First
person present tense – e.g. I stand in the doorway and look at John.
First
person past tense – e.g. I stood in the doorway and looked at John.
There isn’t
much between these two, but writers mix these up constantly, slipping from
present to past or vice versa without even realising, so the first thing every
writer should understand about first person POV is that it’s not easy to
execute, especially by first time writers. Maintaining such a consistency
throughout a full length novel is difficult, and even established writers make
errors when working in first person.
Advantages
It’s a
useful viewpoint if you want to create a sense of immediacy. This allows the reader to easily connect with
the main characters because the entire story is written from your main
character’s viewpoint. It allows the reader to fully immerse in the main
character’s world; it’s a unique and close viewpoint.
First
person POV suits short stories and novellas better than full length novels,
simply because of the difficulty in maintaining consistency with verb tenses
over a full length novel.
I stand in the doorway and look at John. He saw me and nodded
and I walk over to greet him.
See how
easy it is to make this mistake? The above example skips tenses from first
person present to first person past, then back to present again.
Disadvantages
The main
drawback is that it’s very limiting. You are completely stuck in your character’s
head for the entirety of the story, so you can’t explore other character’s
personal thoughts, emotions or actions in the same way you could with third
person POV. And because it’s not possible to explore other characters as deeply
as you would third person, characterisations tend to be slightly different and
restricted. You are limited to the first person’s actions, thoughts and
emotions only.
The other
disadvantage is that for full length novels, first person can be grating with
the constant ‘I did this, I did that, I went there, I looked at this’ and so
on. It’s very limiting structurally, emotionally and descriptively. Writers
have to find different ways of structuring the narrative to avoid this constant
use.
The reader
knows who is narrating, so the need to say ‘I’ can be dispensed most of the
time. And of course, descriptive narrative is another way to get around it, for
instance, instead of saying ‘I saw the door open to the darkness’, you could
write it as: ‘The door opened to the darkness...’
Another
disadvantage is that it’s difficult for your narrator to describe him/herself
to the reader, without resorting to the ‘character in front of the mirror’
cliché. There are other ways to let the reader imagine what your main character
looks and sounds like. Writers do this by using dialogue other characters, with
one of them perhaps mentioning the main character’s hair or stubble or scar
under the left eye. Hints like this help the reader build up a picture, all
without you having to place your character in front that obligatory mirror.
There are
other problems, other than the limiting reach of characterisation. Unlike third
person, where suspense and tension is an integral part of the narrative build
up, it’s not really possible in first person because the reader will only
be privy to narrator’s thoughts. They won’t know how character B or C is
feeling in tense scene because they are not privy to them. Any tension and
atmosphere will only come through your narrator’s eyes. It loses a lot of
impact.
The
limitations come thick and fast – emotions, tension, perspective and atmosphere
are all limited, as is the ability to describe settings without the narrative
sounding awkward, for instance:
‘I walked up the stone steps to the ornate ballroom, full with
golden chandeliers dripping crystals and an exquisite marble floor that
reflected all around it like a beautifully polished mirror...’
This is
just ungainly because it’s just too much telling. And the narrator isn’t
narrating a documentary. But this is a common problem with first person, yet
writers still make this mistake.
Writers
have to be smart about how they write, so they have to weave those hints into
the narrative or in dialogue, for example:
‘I walked up the steps to the ornate ballroom and saw the
golden chandeliers. I made my way across the marble floor. I remember how
much it reflected like a beautifully polished mirror...’
There is more to consider in first person in order to get the structure right. Next week we'll look at how this is achieved and how to perfect this POV.
There is more to consider in first person in order to get the structure right. Next week we'll look at how this is achieved and how to perfect this POV.
Next week:
Perfecting First Person POV – Part 2.
One tip AJ is to include direct thoughts in italic. Those direct thoughts are in the present tense. Of course if the entire novel is written in the present tense, that's hard.
ReplyDeleteHi Joan,
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean. The general rule of thumb is that by virtue of the first person narrating, direct thoughts don't need italics, since we know who is doing the thinking. The thoughts can only be those of the narrator.