Writing 1st person POV

[birdsofshore]

I love to write in 1st person. I think I am a little bit hooked on it, tbh. I have been writing 1st person Draco for ages, but last year I wrote a lot of alternating 1st person, and really enjoyed that, too, and then this year I felt compelled to write 1st person Harry. With debatable results, BUT, I still very much enjoyed writing it, and wouldn't rule out doing it again.

My dracotops_harry fic was quite a long 1st person Draco POV, and I noticed a real trend in the comments to talk about the fact that people had liked it despite it being 1st person. This came up again and again, as if it was a complete rarity to enjoy a 1st person fic. Someone also left a bookmark which really made me laugh:

Usually first-persons are stinkers, but this wasn't.

WOW THANKS :D

Anyway, I mentioned to Mr Birds that apparently people felt mistrustful of 1st person, and he was surprised as well. We googled for a list of novels that were written in 1st person, and what do you know, a ton of my favourite books are 1st person. Catcher in the Rye, Jane Eyre, Lolita, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, To Kill a Mockingbird, Breakfast at Tiffany's, A Clockwork Orange, The Perks of Being a Wallflower are all 1st person narratives. As a reader I find it a stunningly immersive experience, and if the narrator is unreliable or twisted or damaged then I enjoy it even more.

As a fanfic writer, obviously I'm not aiming for anything approaching those novels, but I find writing 1st person an easy way to make a connection, first with the character I'm writing, and then with the reader. I find writing other POVs distances me and the reader from the story that I'm telling. Maybe it's become a lazy habit and I should attempt to get that immediacy by other means, using 3rd person? I don't know. But I feel conflicted - I want to go on writing 1st person whenever it seems appropriate, but readers are telling me that they actively avoid 1st person fics.

Do people mistrust / dislike 1st person in original fic, or just in fanfic? Do you agree that 1st person fics are usually "stinkers"? If so, why? Do you enjoy reading 1st person? In fic? In original novels? Do you write it? Do you avoid it? I have all of the questions and none of the answers!

Comments

[groolover.livejournal.com]

I do actively avoid 1st person in everything I read, original or fanfic. I have read quite a few things that are in first person, but I've always felt a bit uncomfortable while doing so. There are a few things that I've enjoyed despite them being first person - in fact I'm often surprised to go back and re-read something I remember loving if I then remember it was first person.

I won't read a first-person story if I'm aware it's first-person (so it does irritate me a little when people don't warn for that... silly, I know, but it's one of the few things I care about when deciding whether or not to read!). (Second-person even more so... *shudder*.) If I start a story and it turns out to be first-person, I won't read on. The only circumstances in which I'll read them is if (a) the author is one I know and like; AND (b) there is some extra reason to make me really, really want to read that particular story - e.g. the plot sounds extra-intriguing, or (more likely) a friend who knows what I usually like pesters me to read it. Just having an author I like isn't enough on its own, sorry. (I do love your stuff, but haven't read the story in question because of all this, sorry!)

So, you will quite reasonably ask, WHY does it make me so uncomfortable? I've thought about this a lot over the years, and I've come to the conclusion that it's the hint of arrogance. It's really, really difficult to have a first-person narrative in which the POV character never comes across as arrogant (in their thoughts), and arrogance is not usually a likeable trait. An example that springs to mind is the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. I love that series, and will continue to read it, DESPITE the fact that Harry Dresden is the first-person POV character... but I do feel uncomfortable while doing so. I'd be really interested to see how a book in that series would come across in 3rd person.

Does any of that make any sense? I suppose it all boils down to: there are so many great things I'm yet to read, so why choose ones that I know will make me uncomfortable?

[birdsofshore]

Yes, it does make sense, of course. I agree there is no point reading things that make you uncomfortable. This is meant to be enjoyable! And please don't apologise for having not read this fic or that fic. You're very kind to reassure me about liking my stuff, but please don't worry.

And, gosh, arrogance - my 1st person Draco is usually DRIPPING with arrogance. Bizarrely I do find it an attractive trait... in fanfiction, not in RL. It's kind of a surefire winner with me, really, an arrogant Draco!

Your explanation was really interesting and I was glad to read it. People's thoughts on this have been very enlightening. Thank you!