First Person Point of View
First person POV utilizes I, me, we pronouns.
In this POV it’s difficult to get out of the POV character’s head, so you won’t fall into the head-hopping trap. In this POV the writer chooses a character (usually a main character) to tell the story. The pronoun I is prevalent. Many beginning writers (and advanced) use this POV narration quite effectively.
On the pro side, first person makes it easy for readers to relate to your POV character. It’s also a great POV for YA and some say even the preferred POV choice for that age group.
One drawback on first person POV is that your POV character must be present in all scenes and/or hear what happens from someone else. If that isn’t a problem in your story, then first person POV may be the narration to choose. If you have more than one main character you want to feature in your story, choosing one perspective may be a challenge. Often people will say you shouldn’t use multiple first person narration, but this barrier is being busted all the time. Witness Barbara Kingsolver, Jodi Piccoult, Kathryn Stockett to name a few who have used this technique successfully.
The main thing to remember is to make sure your sections/chapters are labeled so the reader can easily follow whose POV we're in now. The writer must skillfully distinguish the character voices. If you choose to use multiple first person POV each character's narrative should be distinctly hers.
One caution if you choose this POV, be aware of using "I" too much. Once you've established "I" as your main character POV, you don't have to include I in every sentence.
A first person narration with a strong voice often creates compelling reading.
I'd love to hear from you on this or any other writing topic. Please contact me through the comments below or email me at authorsassistant@hotmail.com
First person POV utilizes I, me, we pronouns.
In this POV it’s difficult to get out of the POV character’s head, so you won’t fall into the head-hopping trap. In this POV the writer chooses a character (usually a main character) to tell the story. The pronoun I is prevalent. Many beginning writers (and advanced) use this POV narration quite effectively.
On the pro side, first person makes it easy for readers to relate to your POV character. It’s also a great POV for YA and some say even the preferred POV choice for that age group.
One drawback on first person POV is that your POV character must be present in all scenes and/or hear what happens from someone else. If that isn’t a problem in your story, then first person POV may be the narration to choose. If you have more than one main character you want to feature in your story, choosing one perspective may be a challenge. Often people will say you shouldn’t use multiple first person narration, but this barrier is being busted all the time. Witness Barbara Kingsolver, Jodi Piccoult, Kathryn Stockett to name a few who have used this technique successfully.
The main thing to remember is to make sure your sections/chapters are labeled so the reader can easily follow whose POV we're in now. The writer must skillfully distinguish the character voices. If you choose to use multiple first person POV each character's narrative should be distinctly hers.
One caution if you choose this POV, be aware of using "I" too much. Once you've established "I" as your main character POV, you don't have to include I in every sentence.
A first person narration with a strong voice often creates compelling reading.
I'd love to hear from you on this or any other writing topic. Please contact me through the comments below or email me at authorsassistant@hotmail.com
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