The Problem with First Person Narratives April 11, 2008
I’m going to say it. You might hate me for it, but I’m going to say it. Outside of YA and High literary genres, many first novels written as first person narratives are no good. Why? Nine times out of ten a novel written in the first person is a signal that there might be a bit of laziness narratively on the part of the writer. There is a reason many choose first person stories; writing in the first person is the easiest way to get a story out; to feel what the character is feeling on paper; and it often cancels out the pesky need to develop other characters emotionally. First person works in a YA because teenagers are inherently self-obsessed; and also in high literary works because the author usually chooses an emotionally detached character to do the telling. However, in commercial fiction, I find that first person narratives suck the life out of stories that could otherwise have worked well if only the characters weren’t so obsessed with the minutiae of their lives. Think about it, if someone sits down at a coffee shop and tells you every little detail of their morning it would get mind numbing right?You’d be checking your watch while wondering how long you could keep actually looking interested in what’s being said. But, if someone sits down at the coffee shop and tells you how someone else got ready in their apartment, all of a sudden a simple recounting of events becomes a character study.
Do you have an okay novel written in the first person that would be amazing if it weren’t bogged down by a first person narration? Be honest with yourself; it may be the just the thing that’s stopping you from getting read.
It’s a good point, Elizabeth.
Some authors use the first person point of view so they can put themselves front and center in their own creations. It’s called self-indulgence. These people have never met anyone more interesting than themselves and they want to show the rest of us just how clever and funny they are (usually they’re neither).
I used first person on my novel SO DARK THE NIGHT after vowing I wouldn’t. But no other approach seemed to work. I never identified with my character personally (he’s very different from me), so I was able to render a balanced, warts-and-all portrayal. And it seems to be working, my readers downloading copies of the novel by the thousands and telling me how much they love Evgeny and are fascinated by his take on the world as well as his relationship with his partner and colleague Cassandra Zinnea.
I usually employ first person sparingly but in this case, honest, there was no other choice.
Sharp, clear-eyed post as always, Elizabeth…
I never even considered first person. For my purposes, it left too little to the imagination. I wanted to control what readers knew, from who, when and where. I wanted to keep them guessing, misdirect them, and let them run with the wrong impressions at times. First person would spoil all the surprises!
How about a first person narrative a la “Sunset Boulevard”, the narrator speaking from beyond the grave? There are variations that work. But it’s an over-used device, no doubt…
I wonder if there’s an exception for mysteries as well. A LOT of the mysteries I read are written in first person. For the second draft of my first mystery novel, I tried hard to make a third person voice work, but couldn’t do it. First person just “felt” better. (Most of my other work has been in third person.)
A lot of Mysteries are written in the first person, but a majority of the reoccurring bestsellers are not. You have to ask if there is a reason for that. I mean, if your character comes with an interesting perspective and you possibly can’t trust them , then that’s a bit interesting. However, ” The assassin lunged at her” is still arguably more interesting then ” the assassin lunged at me”. I’m just saying, there’s something to be said for the drama of the third. First person from beyond the grave has been used a lot, but people still love it because you can have it get as twisted as you want.
I think it’s the drama associated with voyeurism .
Yeah, you either love first person - or hate it. Personally,. I enjoy reading it - I like the memoirish feel first-person fiction leaves (I also read a lot of memoir). There’s nothing like living out James Frey’s life ( AMILLION LITTLE PIECES) or Clay’s in LESS THAN ZERO or Sidalee’s in LITTLE ALTARS EVERYWHERE. For writing, I use first and third, but the novel I’m marketing now is in multiple first person. Of course, the first few drafts were ‘bogged” down in “minutiae”; much of that is cut.
I loved ATONEMENT, but talk about details, details, details! And it’s written in third. Peace…
I like reading it, but not in a first novel really. Though, multiple first person accounts are pretty great.
P.S. I love how you interjected Frey’s Oprah Kryptonite there. LMAO! Seriously, I knew that was no memoir fromthe first ten pages…but boy can that man write.
I have absolutely no interest in “memoirs” (real or faked) by twenty- or thirty-somethings who think they’ve suffered unduly from the slings and arrows of fate and want to, Dr. Phil-style, share their suffering and torment with the rest of us. A memoir is a narcissistic, over-dramatized, melodramatic branch of writing. I prefer an “autobiography” where someone has lived a long, full life and is looking back to gain some perspective and insights…and hopefully offering words of wisdom to readers based on hard-won experience. The mewling and whining of one-time junkies, prostitutes and losers offers no appeal whatsoever. Now, Luis Bunuel’s THE LAST SIGH or Anthony Burgess’ LITTLE WILSON & BIG GOD or Graham Greene’s WAYS OF ESCAPE on the other hand…