First person? (this is an informal poll)

[mersipan]

 What do people think about first person narrative?  Personally, I rather like it...but I've heard a lot of people complain about it, the 'dreaded' first person narrative!  I didn't realize there was an anti first-person PoV movement!

Do you prefer third person?

Comments

[filkerdave]

I suppose it really depends on what's being narrated. There's a certain loss of tension if you know, for example, that the viewpoint character can't die.

[mersipan]

Hmm. I think I see what you mean....although in general I usually hope the main character doesn't die, it is pretty jarring to the novel as a whole.

[tbosky]

I like it. It's a good ground-level view of the action.

[mersipan]

I do too! Some 'voices' are less appealing than others, of course.

[tbosky]

Yes, but there's also something to be said for unreliable narrators.

[mersipan]

I shrug, a terribly original gesture.

:)

[badmagic]

1st person PoV is a tool, and like any tool, can be used well or poorly.

If you want proof that 1st person narrative can be high art, bring up The Sound and the Fury. Benjy never uses the word "I," but parts of that book are from his PoV, and that book is a classic of Western literature.

If you want proof that 1st person can be successful, look at Butcher's Dresden Files, or MacDonald's Travis McGee books. If 1st person is dreaded, it's dreaded by a small fraction of the reading population.

[mersipan]

Very true. I suppose I found the small fraction who seem rather outspoken about it. I wondered if it were a greater movement, you know, like avoiding using passive sentences (ok in YA Lit for the most part, apparently less ok in adult fic for whatever reason)

[sabatoa]

I don't mind it at all. Of course right now I can't think of any examples except for video games though...

[mersipan]

Ha! I don't know what sorts of things you read so I can't hazard a guess :) There's plenty of sci-fi stuff written in first person.

[mersipan]

In general, I prefer it as well. I was trying to figure out if I get more drawn into the work if it's from first person PoV...I think I do, somehow.