Guest blogging: Week One - Amanda Pillar (co-editor of The Phantom Queen Awakes)

[markdeniz]

amandapillar writes:

Pet Hates

Over in my LJ, I have started to write up pet writing hates as I think of them. Today’s is First Person Fiction.

It took a long time before I could bring myself to read first person fiction. Why? Mostly because when I was younger, I’d read it and think, ‘But I don’t empathize with you at all, I’m not you’ - (I used to take the ‘I

Comments

[l_j_hayward]

First person is like any other tool - it can be used well and it can be used badly. Your example is a very common one, but I'd add the tendency of some authors, when using first person, to italicised the narrator's thoughts. This really gets my goat.

Cheers, Lisa.

[amandapillar]

When using first person in third person?

[l_j_hayward]

Heh, I just came off an overnight shift when I wrote that. Perhaps I didn't explain myself well.

I'm currently reading a book (author's name shall remain anonymous to protect the guilty) written in first person and quite frequently, the narrator's thoughts are italicised to highlight the fact that they're direct thoughts.

For example...

The house on the corner of the street looked ominous. Clouds had gathered over its rooftop, the grey a smothering blanket. A sign from God. Turning my bike around, I headed for home. I'm such a coward.

This sort of thing seems very pointless. First person is generally the narrator's thoughts, so the need to highlight direct thoughts bugs me.

But then, I'm of the opinion that it doesn't matter what POV you use, first or third (limited), because if you've done it right you shouldn't need to highlight thoughts.

Clear as mud? ;)

Cheers, Lisa.

[amandapillar]

Oh no, perfectly clear and I totally agree.