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First person POV done right

first person pov Nov 23, 2022
 

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First person point of view can be so me me me. All that time stuck inside someone’s head! 

Yet many writers mistakenly think that writing in first person is somehow easier than writing in third, precisely because of this endless monologue quality.

Who hasn’t gotten on the phone with a good pal and talked for an hour without ever once running out of things to say? The words just pour out.

Isn’t writing in first person is more or less like that? So we may naively think, and writers desperate for word count may find the notion of turning on a word spigot very appealing.

Now, listen, my dear storytellers: Writers may long for a word spigot, but readers all want the same thing: a great story, vividly and memorably told, and populated by iconic...

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the last word about first person POV

 

I've heard it too many times from too many writers: Isn’t first person easier than writing in third? And isn't writing in the first person more intimate that writing in third? Doesn’t first person have more voice than writing in third?

Nope, no, and not so, my friends. And yet these notions persist. This week I want to put them to bed, once and for all. We’ll bust the myths and examine just how much complexity lurks in this deceptively simple way of telling a tale.

Lots to say about this topic! Expect some discussion of one of my favorite butlers in literature, too. 


My weekly livestream happens on Wednesdays at 1 PM Pacific. Come live and participate! Or catch the replays here on the blog.

To watch live and ask questions, you can join the Path of the Storyteller Facebook group right here.

And subscribe to the YouTube channel here. 

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