By: Carrie Lynn Lewis
I love writing in first person.
My two favorite manuscripts are written first person. My favorite one is
written first person male and that lead character is my favorite son. He’s also
head strong, opinionated, and difficult to manage, but that’s another post!
Writing in first person comes
with inherent risks. It’s such a turn off to some people, they won’t even
consider a novel written in first person.
Some publishers, editors, and
agents have the same reaction.
The first person point of view
naturally limits the amount of information you can share with your readers.
Because one character is telling the story, that character can tell only what
he or she experiences, knows or assumes.
First person also, therefore,
challenges the writer by forcing him or her to find creative and believable
ways to present necessary information to the character and, through the
character, to the reader.
But there is another aspect of
first person story telling that’s more important than all the regular rules.
What is this most egregious of writing errors?
Putting yourself too far forward in the writing.
We can’t avoid showing up in our
work. It’s just not possible. The stories we write reveal who we are and what
we believe about the world. The things we write about and the way we write
about them are influenced by our personal beliefs. They are part of what makes
our author voice unique.
But there’s a huge difference
between the platform on which your stories are written (your worldview) and you
standing up on that platform and shouting your worldview to all and sundry.
The first is highly
recommended.
The second is not.
. . .
To
read the rest of the post, click here:
~*~
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•♥ ˚ˆ*♥∗ •♥ FREE TODAY ~ The Ruby Brooch https://t.co/oKQqHF05oR Start The Celtic Brooch Romance #Series Today! https://t.co/RKY31wMbtN— Katherine L. Logan (@KathyLLogan) March 19, 2016
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