PERSPECTIVES SERIES
First-person Narration
How to catapult readers into the world you created.
When creating a new story, you also have to decide on the narrative perspective. Everything changes if the narration is done in the first person or another way. For this reason, we start with a new series: the Perspective Series and the First-person narration.
In this article of the Perspective Series, we explain First-person narration and what it is all about.
What is the First-person Narration?
This technique involves the story being told and described by a character in the first person. Usually, the writer uses “I” and “we” to emphasize that the narrator is not external to the events. On the contrary, this character is part of them, just as all the others are.
You can implement first-person narration with an inner monologue, a dramatic monologue, or an explicit narration.
The particularity of this technique is that the narrator using the First-person Narration technique is not always aware of the events. For instance, the narrator undergoes them just like any other character. However, thanks to their narration, we better understand their feelings, thoughts, and those of the other characters.
The First-person Narration: how and when
A detective story or a thriller are types of narration that lend themselves well to the use of this technique. They become very engaging as the reader proceeds through the story at the same pace as the protagonist, which allows a natural bond to develop between the character and the reader.
Writing in the first person is about making the reader live a story through the eyes and actions of the narrating protagonist.
It is writing that brings the reader and the protagonist closer together in an absolute way, making them almost the same thing. In this way, inconsistent behavior can not be allowed. It isn’t easy to create twists and turns.
On the other side, it is much easier to bring the reader to the tension, going straight down the ladder in the dark with him.
It is preferable to write in the first person when the protagonist is the center of the story. This presupposes a linear and time-ordered narrative in mind so that the coherence between the story, narrator character, and course of events is absolute.
This will benefit action, thriller, and detective stories with brilliant, curious, and courageous protagonists.
I would so hate to be a first-person character! Always on your guard, always having people read your thoughts!
Jasper Fforde, Lost in a Good Book
Conclusions
Writing in the first person is immediate, rhythmic, and emotional. It allows the writer to catapult the readers into the world created. Besides this, the readers could experience the protagonist’s emotions, living the situations with their eyes.
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