26 September 2010

Thinking in first, writing in third

In previous posts, I compared writing to method acting. The key point was that you need to be in your character's head to write in your character's head. For this reason, I like to encourage new writers to write at least some of their stories in first person. It's a great way to work on getting the thought process of characters on paper and avoid the trap of simply "telling" the story like a distant, uncaring narrator.

I've discovered that when I'm truly in a character's head, I think in first person even if I'm writing in third person. Let me explain. Say I'm writing from the POV of Joan and something bad happens to her. I might think: I can't believe this happening, not after all I've gone through to get this far. If I happen to be writing in third person, it might appear on the page as, Joan couldn't believe this was happening, not after all she'd gone through to get this far. Alternatively, it might also appear on page as thought: I can't believe this is happening, thought Joan. . . .

The downside of this technique is that sometimes I forget what I'm doing and start writing in first person. I have to go back and change it. But, for me, the upside is worth it. It allows me to remove one more barrier between author and character and (hopefully) give my writing a greater impact.

4 comments:

fairyhedgehog said...

I can't help wondering what stops you from writing in first person altogether?

lesleylsmith said...

Ha. fairyhedgehog asked the real question: why not use 1st person?

Actually, my MFA program is having quite a 3rd vs. 1st debate this month. Okay, I started it. :) It was prompted when my mentor said my thesis, which has three 1st-person povs, needed to have at least one 3rd-person pov. Why, you ask? Well, he said it would be more "sellable".
One of my other professors said mixing povs is just annoying.
So, I've been pondering the 1st vs. 3rd pretty heavily lately...

David E. Hughes said...

I'm doing 3rd person because I wanted to have two pov characters. I've seen two POVs with first person, but I think that's hard to do.

Keith said...

I often write in first person and then translate to 3rd. The point that first person focuses the viewpoint is well taken.

There is a superstition that says first person is bad. There are many great first person stories, but unfortunately many editors believe in the myth that 3rd is better somehow.

(The story that I sold here was in first person.)