I have this problem. I’m a little too fond of people’s brains. Not in zombie way, in a… I want to crawl inside their heads and rummage around sort of way. (I was going to reassure you that I didn’t mean you, I meant my characters, but you know what? If I could I’d go strolling through your head too. So.) This means that when I write it’s either first person or close third (which is third person with a viewpoint that’s right up behind someone’s eye sockets). Which, you know, is fine. Those are probably the most common P.O.V.’s used in fiction. The problem is I can’t seem to stay there. I want to look out the eyes of all my characters, hear what’s going on in their heads, the difference between what they’re saying and what they’re thinking, the quiet commentary that runs alongside everything they do.
The novel I wrote during honours was multiple first person. That was just bundles and bundles of fun. (I’m being sarcastic. Except where I’m not.) It’s very cool to do but can quickly devolve into chaos. So when I wrote Path I stuck to close third and stomped firmly on my desire to be in everybody’s heads. And that worked out fine.
But Wizards… the first things I wrote for that were all over the place. I was writing it in first person but when I made notes or tossed out little scratch sections they came out in third. And I lasted about two thousand words into the story before I was writing the first person perspective of both of my main characters rather than just one. And… okay, mostly I chose first person with Wizards because there’s something I don’t want to tell the reader and the only way to avoid doing that is to write it in first person. (I know that sounds weird, but trust me. It’s the only way.)
And it’s fine while the story’s just these two guys charging about getting drunk and setting fire to things. But at some point there are going to be other characters. I know who they are, I think about there. And I rather desperately want to crawl into their skulls and poke around. This is going to be a problem.
Kandace Mavrick
Paul McLaughlan
wolflullaby
17/01/2012
I enjoy reading books written from first person perspective, and especially multiple first person. I love how an excellent writer will give each persons thoughts a slightly different taste and style, and you can tell who it is you are following so easily. And I enjoy how two people will view the same events in such different way.
My favourite is when you get first person from the ‘bad guy’ of the story. You get to really see why the bad guy is the bad guy, and what their motivations are, and how they have convinced themselves that what they do is right, or how perhaps they know it’s wrong but just don’t care.
The first book that I remember noticing it being written from multiple first person perspectives was ‘A Dark Horn Blowing’ by Dahlov Ipcar. And each chapter was from a different character’s perspective. I don’t remember much about the story itself, but I remember really enjoying the writing style, and the way the perspectives complimented each other.
Kandace Mavrick
17/01/2012
My favourite version of that is Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons dangereuses, it’s epistolery style not strict first person but the effect is similar. And his voices are so beautifully clear. Which given it’s set in 18th century France is pretty impressive.
Wendy White
17/01/2012
I find I tend to swing towards the omnipotent narrator, who is just a bit of a jerk and very selective about what they let you know.
That said, most of my short stories are written as first-person. The thing is, after writing in first person for a short story/novella length, I’ve had enough with that person. “Geeze,” I think, “it’s not all about you, you know.” So if I was going to do first person for a whole book, I can definitely understand wanting to switch first person perspectives to different characters.
Whenever I switch to first person, it’s usually because someone is very, very broken, and I want to show a glimpse of what it means to be like that. That said, I’m looking forward to writing someone broken from the omnipotent third person viewpoint where you only begin to realise what’s going on in their head after a very long period of time – because they’re very good at hiding it.
Kandace Mavrick
17/01/2012
I love unreliable narrators. I think that’s one of the reasons I went so quickly towards getting in the heads of both my main characters in Wizards – they lie a lot, to each other but also to themselves. Getting both perspectives means it’s a lot easier to explore that.
I like the idea of that slow reveal and the things you don’t know, but I always end up wanting to get in there and play, explore the possibilities of being in the mind of the madman… The insides of peoples heads are irresistible. 🙂
arkayspark
17/01/2012
I like all points of view..they all have their charms. And all are unreliable!