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A Story Told in First-Person
Topic Started: Nov 1 2009, 07:57 AM (1,688 Views)
messyhead
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I think the trick is that the main character (whose point of view the author has taken) has to surmise what everyone else is thinking. It would be a challenge, but an interesting one.
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bionic4ever
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I had Jaime do that a couple of times in Legacy. She'd say something like "Probably thinking....*insert thought*...I'm guessing."
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messyhead
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Yeah, in 1st person you are forced to stay inside one point of view.
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OJFan
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You mean write it in third person, but stick to only one characters point of view? It sounds easier than first person, but harder than being omnipotent.
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messyhead
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Exactly! I've always thought that was how it was 'supposed' to be done, but I'm not quite sure why. It's a rule (if it is actually a rule) I don't quite understand.
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OJFan
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I've gotta say though, I've read plenty of books where the author is inside the head of all the characters. There was one that seemed to be inside the head of only one, but at least described what they "thought" was going on inside the heads of the other characters. That was fairly effective, but honestly it left me wanting more - I wanted to know what THEY felt. I've always heard there are no hard and fast "rules" when it comes to writing :)
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bionic4ever
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Especially when it comes to fanfic! :)
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messyhead
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I keep trying to think of examples of each - but I've come up dry. I do think that mostly when authors switch points of view they do it individual scenes - and don't switch within the scene. What do you think - am I all washed up?
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bionic4ever
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I did it in my very first story. Used the little "- - -" between sections but switched repeatedly. Also did it in Goodbye. It's probably much easier to follow if it's done in separate chapters, though.
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messyhead
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I suppose that IS the danger - that the reader can become confused by who is feeling what at any given moment - if you stick with one person's POV throughout the scene, it's rock solid. You definitely have to work harder though.
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OJFan
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I agree - I DO get confused when the author switches TOO much. I usually try to stick with one person per "scene". If it's a long scene I might switch, but I try to avoid it. Sometimes I might just describe what one person is DOING and then what the other is FEELING. I think I'd be a stronger writer if I could avoid using the easy way out like this.
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bionic4ever
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It's hard to switch from one mode back to the other. Just caught myself partway through a chapter of Summer, writing in first person!
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melchycat
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Nov 27 2009, 11:04 PM
I've gotta say though, I've read plenty of books where the author is inside the head of all the characters. There was one that seemed to be inside the head of only one, but at least described what they "thought" was going on inside the heads of the other characters. That was fairly effective, but honestly it left me wanting more - I wanted to know what THEY felt. I've always heard there are no hard and fast "rules" when it comes to writing :)

I know exactly what you mean Heidi. Sure you know what one person thought, but what the heck were the other people thinking? It's annoying as heck.

I read a book The Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy and I loved what she did. She would write a scene like two people in the woods and then two people would walk by. In the next chapter she would write the scene from the second sets POV. If only more people did that!
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