I’ve been doing a bit of writing and reading over the weekend, and something sort of occurred to me– writing first person in the present tense feels more natural than writing first person in the past tense.
First off, uh oh, a post about writing. Let me make it clear that I’m not arrogant enough or confident enough to suddenly start giving lessons on writing, so that is not what I mean to do here. If anything, I would like to just start the discussion because it’s interesting and I might learn something or come away with some evolved thoughts on the subject. So to get on with it…
First person can be good to tell a story where you want the reader to be intimately close. Personally, I find first person stories easier to fall into. I like the idea of looking through the world from someone else’s eyes, even if it’s someone I might not agree with. Another possibility with first person is the narrator who is telling a story as if the reader is one of their friends, which is also an interesting way to get a story across.
But there are problems with first person. What if the reader doesn’t want to be that particular character? What if they don’t like them or can’t identify with them? I don’t think it’s possible to create a first person narrator that will connect with every single reader.
Another issue is the tense. If the narrator is telling the story in the past tense about one of their adventures, well then we can assume that they have lived to tell this tale. There is a possibility this will diffuse some of the tension of the story that is being told.
So what’s the easiest way to retain tension? Write it in present tense. Have the character tell you the story as it happens to them. This is my preferred method. I use it to purposely make the reader feel a little anxious– not about the story though. The use of present tense just seems to have this effect on people, which is why many don’t like to read stories written in present tense.
But of course there are still issues. The big one is the fact that your narrator is narrating their life as they live it. They’re telling you and themselves when they’re opening doors or when they’re sitting down and picking on their nails. It is sort of strange, and I try to be aware of just how strange. One of the things I do to get around this is have the character talk about physical sensations against their bodies and leave narration for other characters’ actions. But nothing is perfect, and neither is this method. Sometimes, for the sake of clarity and simplicity, the character just has to say what they’re doing.
I choose the point of view based on the experience I imagine I’d like the reader to have. Of course there’s one other thing about my first person narrators in particular. You can’t really trust them. I mean, they’re telling you the truth as far as they’re concerned, but that doesn’t mean it is the absolute truth. They could have been lied to or they could have formed a wrong opinion based on what they’ve been told. I try to use this as part of the narration, characterization of the speaker and the story. First person is really just one technique I enjoy messing with.
To me, it’s always dependent on the story. I have used both extensively. Some work as first-person, some better as third. What the characters need to share will dictate the perspective. As for whether the reader wants to be in the head of the main character, well, if they don’t like it, they are simply not the intended audience. You’ll never appeal to every person by writing something a particular way, so you just have to go with what works best for you!
~Ashlee
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Wel, yeah, it’s dependant on the story, but that is sort of general when it comes to the decision of what pov to use. Specifically, I think about reader experience and then I think about about what’s in this post here: namely the pros and cons of whatever I’ve decided on, and finally I think about the character who is the focus of the story.
There is no story that will ever appeal to everyone. That is so important to keep in mind!
When I say depends on the story, I mean quite literally that. In my writing, for one story, it was a big focus on what the main character was going through, personal change and all that, so it was natural to have it in first-person so you could follow that character’s progress. Another story was more about how several people came together to achieve the final goal, and that needed the overall view of third-person. Another story, again, was written so the reader didn’t know what was coming from some of the integral characters, and the best way to portray that naturally was from first-person from a character who similarly didn’t have any insights into the plans. If the story is about a crowd of heroes, I cannot imagine writing it first-person, because it would miss out on so much information from inside the other character’s heads.
~Ashlee
I get that. I’m talking after you’ve narrowed down what POV is appropriate for the story. Some types of stories would do well with third or first, and that’s when it’s a good idea to think further about the story and the effects of the POV.
That’s what I’m meaning to examine with this post.
My impression is the differences you mentioned fall under “voice”, or mood/setting rather than direct extensions of the POV. I mean, each of the examples (friendly narration, skewed description, unreliable narration) can still be employed from other perspectives, it would just have to be done in a different way to accommodate.
~Ashlee
Really? Huh, now that is interesting! I tend see third person as slightly more clinical and distant. So the stuff I’ve mentioned here about first person aren’t things I’d think about for third. Third person is usually an outside voice in my mind, even when it is close and personal, so I always trust it.
Like say a character has a wrong idea about something. First person, they’d just tell you and you have to decide if they’re right, wrong, or trustworthy. Third person automatically puts you at a distance, so you know that it is just what they are thinking. (“He thought the world revolved around him.” Versus “The world revolved around me.” Each have a very different power in my mind that doesn’t necessarily cross.)
I’ve never read a story where the third person narrator was unreliable. Do you know any stories or writers that are ready good at using third person in this way? Recommend please!
Third person in my weakness. I’ve been trying to learn more about it.
Yeah, I understand! Hmm, I can’t recall many titles in particular.
Stephen King is pretty remarkable at giving a third-person story a lot of the characteristics you’d find in first, one which comes to mind is The Shining.
~Ashlee
I’ll check that out. I’m not a big King fan. XP But I have managed to find some examples that I’ve read recently that do use voice very effectively. I have another post to post.
First person is a really interesting technique. Of course it does depend on the story, but many of my favorite books are told first person. One of the things I love about that is how it tends to tell us how to feel about other characters. What reader loves a character that the main character hates — especially when we’re in their head with them? Not many. And I think that can be a really powerful tool. The author can guide the reader’s opinions of certain events and people by making the first person narrator feel strongly. I could talk about this for hours, but I’ll shut up now. =) Cool topic!
Oh, that’s a good point! The first person narrator can totally pollute how you think about a character or about events. That can be useful!
First person is a really really fun POV to discuss and examine.
Weirdly enough, I find whether I go with first or third dependent on–of all things–the setting. It’s kind of a strange thing to base that decision around, but I’ve found that whenever I have a fantasy/sci-fi world that deviates substantially from our own, I like to describe it when it fits, and it’s just so much easier in third person to make something like that seem natural. With contemporary settings where that’s not much of an issue, though, I like first person–generally also because when I’m writing in a contemporary setting, there’s usually some sort of social commentary involved.
But I’m bad and I like using multiple POVs, even in first person novels–so if Character A isn’t a good fit for Reader X, maybe they’ll like Character B better? I think we might be sort of on the same page about choosing the POV character, though. I pick the characters based on what I want the reader to know–who will be party to the information they need in that particular scene, and who would be in the dark about the information I don’t want them to have just yet. And yes, the narrator’s reliability is always a factor. Some characters are fairly honest, but still biased. Others might need to justify themselves, others may omit things, others may be telling the truth but in a misleading way, etc.
That and I’m too flaky to commit to one head for an entire novel
I can sort of agree with you about present tense having more tension? I’m generally not wild about present tense–I find it reads more slowly in my head and I usually don’t like that–but it can work quite nicely when combined with first person. Present tense plus third person almost never goes over well with me.
*barely coherent comment is barely coherent*
…I need to get back into the writing world! I thought all the creative writing classes would help with my productivity but if anything I’m finding them stifling and alienating
Renee, long comment is awesome!
On the setting! Oh, I never thought about before, but that makes so much sense. I mean, a character that has been in their world, grown up in it, wouldn’t waste time describing what they’re familiar with. That would be a problem with a new world. People want to hear that stuff!
Though if the character is unfamiliar with the setting, I find first person is still a possibility and maybe even a helpful way to introduce the world. That’s part of why I chose Paula to introduce Ruin. So long as the character avoids the Too-Stupid-to-Live trope that seems common with this use.
Multiple views in a first person novel can be really confusing unless the voices are clear and different. In third person, it’s much easier to switch focus and have it be less disorienting. At least that’s what I’ve noticed as a reader.
As for present tense, I actually find that present tense reads more quickly in my head and it’s smoother than past tense. It might actually be a sound thing? Because past tense is filled with “was”es and “ed” type words. Present tense flows more smoothly because verbs generally end in “s” which is a soft sound, the verbs are also shorter in present tense as “ed” seems to add an extra syllable. Crap, is that too much thinking? Haha.
Present tense and third person is weird, but I recently read a book that managed it so well that the others who read it with me didn’t even notice the tense had changed from past to present throughout the book.
Also, yes, you do! It’s a travesty that your writing classes are alienating you. I miss your insightful blog posts.