VBT Day 3 Discussion
May 9th, 2007Today, mystery authors, Peter McGinn, Marjorie Abrams, Susan Waller Miccio and I, Cheryl Hagedorn, will be discussing:
Peter: I write in the first person most of the time now. The first couple of novels I wrote I did in third person. I try to feature wit and humor in my writing, and I used to accomplish it through dialogue. Then a light came on and I realized that first person narration is sort of like dialogue from the narrator to the reader. So what better way to inject wit than through the voice of the narrator? Plus I like using the limited point of view so I don’t have to weigh how omniscient to make the voice. Having said all that, Caught Holding the Bag is in the third person but it follows in the heads of the two main characters pretty closely, and it works better than first person would, I think. So I prefer first person, but sometimes the story decides it for me.
Susan: I write in first person because it’s easier for me to get in the character’s head and speak the character’s words. Unfortunately, it also makes plotting more difficult because I have to contrive ways for my first person character to be made aware of events that take place out of her presence.
To make it a little easier, I transition to third person narrative when I’m writing the sections from the dogs’ perspectives. That way, I can introduce events that the dogs have seen but the first person character has not.
Cheryl: Gosh, I feel kind of strange admitting that my book is written in the third person. There was just so much that I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise that I never really considered first person. I wanted to keep track of each of the four killers as well as the detective and the senior center director. I did, however, switch to first person and present tense for the special sections entitled “Murder.” That enabled me to give the reader the view through the killer’s eyes and to hear his or her thoughts.
Maggie, you’re the most experienced of the four of us.
Susan: Hey! I’ve got two books in print as well! Don’t forget my book, The Tibetan Spaniel - A Gift from the Roof of the World.
Cheryl: Right, Susan. What I meant was that Marjorie has two mystery books to her credit. So, how about it, Marjorie. Do you personally prefer to write in first person or third person narrative, and why?
Marjorie: I prefer first person.
| Author blurbs and books | |||
| Interviews | |||
| Peter McGinn |
Susan Miccio |
Marjorie Abrams |
Cheryl Hagedorn |
| Return to or visit Cheryl Hagedorn's web site |
At Speculations, filed under First Person and Marketing, I found the following post from Brian Blalock.
“The main point is to chose the voice that tells the story the best.
“From a marketing standpoint, it seems that the majority of things I see in print are third person limited viewpoint. I’ve got two stories that scream for first person, and am re-working one that was first person, but will probably be much improved by going to third person limited … too many elements are simply too difficult in first person for this one. (The two that are in first person are also in present tense, a mix that seems to be poison in the market, but which, in these cases, I think is for the better.) Of the whopping two stories that I am currently circulating, I’ve got one of each type. It will be interesting to see how each does.
“I think that the smart question, when evaluating a story for submission, is to ask if it can be told just as well or better in third person. If it can, then perhaps that’s what is best. If it screams to be told in first person, then go for it! (As has been pointed out, there is a lot of stuff getting published in first person, and, I may add, a lot of stuff in present tense … you just have to do it well.)”
Comment by Cheryl ? May 9, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
I’m with the late John Gardner on this. I think the natural storytelling voice is third person. I write third person/close and usually switch between characters, although I try not to use more than three or four because it might confuse the reader. The one I’m working on has only two POVs.
For a short story, first person works well. And, frankly, for mystery, first person is a natural. But in the work I do (kinda mainstream, kinda magical realism), first person would be far too limiting and I don’t think I could tell the whole story that way.
Have to argue with the previous person about present tense. William Gibson’s “Pattern Recognition” was in present tense and sold very well. I have one book in present tense/third person, and I tell you, even for those who object, it soon seems to slip into the background and they don’t notice it anymore. I like present tense for its immediacy and excitement. I’ve only used it once though. I’m getting some resistance from publishers and one agent (Gibson’s!) turned me down because of it. Pretty ironic.
Lynn
Comment by Lynn Voedisch ? May 9, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
By the way, Jeanette Clinkunbroomer has an excellent article on the Chicago Writers Association website, entitled “Grappling with First Person.” She lists both the weaknesses and the strengths of first person.
Comment by Cheryl ? May 9, 2007 @ 6:14 pm