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

“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.)”