Tips for First Person Narrative

Hello fellow writers!!

Are you curious about the Savannah Writers Group? Fantastic! My advice is that you come to a meeting, and soon! We can't wait to meet you.

Our meetings take place every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, like clockwork! We meet in the super swanky back room of Uncle Maddio's Pizza, which is located at Chatham Plaza.

Group members range from those new to the craft, seasoned professionals, hobbyists, folks who are published, folks who are not, non-fiction dabblers, speculative fiction wizards, poets, essayists, and everything in-between!

Sometimes we even present wondrous guest speakers. In case you missed it, earlier this month we heard from author Lance Levens.

Since your faithful blogger (that's me) hasn't posted anything of interest lately, I thought it was about time that I rectify that with today's writerly advice.

Today's topic is writing in first person.

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

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When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. she must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.

The first quote represents the opening lines of the immortal classic, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The latter is the start of The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.

One was published in 1925 and the other hit shelves in 2008, yet both are written in first person.

What I love about Gatsby unfolding in the first person, is that we see all of the characters and the wildness of the 1920's era setting as seen through narrator Nick Carraway's eyes. Had it been presented in third person, would audiences have recognized Jay Gatsby's nuances, his many sides, his humanity, and what Nick admires about him? Nick is an easy person for me to empathize with and because he feels a certain way toward his wealthy neighbor, I pretty much feel that way, too.

The Hunger Games works similarly. It has the added bonus of being written in present tense. (And for you speculative fiction writers out there, notice how quickly Collins introduces the element of science fiction! She mentions "the reaping." What she doesn't do is add a long drawn out explanation of her world and what the reaping is exactly. She's going to show you instead. You're about to experience it through Katniss's eyes, first-hand, as it happens. And its pretty scary!)

So, lets examine a few aspects of writing in first person.

1. If you choose to write in first person, recognize that you are constantly limited to what your point-of-view character can see and smell and hear and touch and know. If I'm writing horror, I can't write that someone is hiding in the closet with a butcher knife until my narrator knows this. Either he must see or hear this person, or have been warned or notified in advance...or maybe be a psychic, again for spec fic writers. This means first person isn't great for your large scale, global conspiracy genre. You can't write a meeting taking place in the oval office, then jump to a jungle in Panama, then skip over to arms dealers ridding camels in the desert. Unless your character is physically present, or uses Skype a lot, you're going to have trouble sharing these other scenes. Even then, nothing is impossible. You might consider using multiple point-of-view characters. You can use a different narrator for each chapter.

2. Writing first person can be difficult to master when you do pair it with present tense, as Suzanne Collins did. There's an art to it and it can take practice. My early attempts at writing this urgent and enveloping style sounded more like there was a weird film director sitting around watching things unfold and reporting back to someone over the phone. It went something like this: Lily hears the phone ring. She walks over to the receiver and picks it up. "Hello?" she says. It can even come off as plain, voyeuristic, dull, and strange.

3. To avoid problems, always remember to utilize all of your narrators senses. Put us in the room as that character. This can make your work hugely compelling and suspenseful. The audience will feels as thought the events of the story and happening to them first-hand. You can also show (not tell) so much about your narrator. We learn what they like and dislike, we hear their inner psychology. Just remember that your character's tone and personality will come through the first person narration and it must match the character's background. A PhD Historian will have an academic vocabulary and will tell a story much differently from a stereo-typical car salesman from the deep south.

4. Another mistake I'm battling with now is inadvertently using words that distance the reader from the narrator. Writing things like, "I saw," "I heard," or "I wonder," actually add distance. That's bad. Its much more evocative to write, "There's a fluttering sound coming from the window. My heart begins to race. What could it be? I can't see because of the long yellow curtain obscuring the glass. I approach slowly, my every footstep creaking the old wood floor. I swallow my dread when my feet reach the end of the room at last. Taking a moment to prepare, I finally rip away the curtain." Notice there was a fluttering sound. I didn't "hear" the fluttering sound. It just was. I didn't "consider" or "decided to walk approach slowly." I just did it. ("I" being the narrator.)

5. Finally, the best piece of advice is to read other author's who use first person well. The more you read great authors, the more you learn how to write well. Notice how they solve certain first person narrative problems such as gracefully describing the narrator's appearance. None of us have an inner dialogue like this: Of course, I looked spectacular in my sweeping, floor-length golden gown. Well...maybe your narrator would say that if she were a self-obsessed Queen. Again, there are ways around this problem. Have your character glance in a mirror and briefly describe what she sees. Have another character comment on her looks.

What are your thoughts on first person narrative?

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By the by, if you're looking for some really great reading material, why not buy our book!? Yes, we have published an anthology of our work!


Tributaries: An Anthology of the Savannah Writers Group is available for purchase on Amazon in two formats.

It is $9.99 in Paperback......https://www. amazon.com/dp/1533628106/

It is $4.99 for your Kindle in e-book format......https://www. amazon.com/dp/B072FJG62L/