First-person allows us to see the unfolding of events through the narrators eyes. It invites the reader into the narrator's world. In writing humor, first-person is a great choice. One of the tricky aspects in writing from a first-person perspective, is that the narrator is telling the story. "Show, don't tell" takes on an added level of challenge. Still, it has been done and it has been done well by plenty of writers. If first-person is decidedly the best choice for a particular project, here are some things that may come up:
How do you pick your viewpoint character? Who should tell the story?
How do you show and not tell with first-person?
How do you effectively carry other character arcs with first-person?
How do you create tension and suspense if you know your first person is going to live?
What if you get bored with your narrator?
If you write in first-person, why did you choose it?
What genres are typically in first? Why?
2 comments:
I'm currently writing a novel in 1st person, and not sure it's working! I've considered changing to 3rd, which I'm more comfortable with, just to see what happens.
These are all interesting questions, Rebecca. I have thought about them myself. I let my inner voice tell me if I should tell a story in the first person or not. Normally when the story begins brewing in my mind the answer becomes clear. The showing versus telling is something that unfolds while I write the story, and then I work on it during the editing process. I love to add humor as well. It is starting to come naturally in my stories these days.
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