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@youseeatortoise

Why first person? What's the draw?

CW: I rambled.

I think 1st person the natural way people tell stories about what happened to them. Personal stories with all the warts are the best, I think. If you look at all my responses to all the prompts, you'll see I'm telling my story, and to get meta about it, I'm telling you my story now. This is actually my writing style.

To me, 1st person POV feels very personal and I feel it is relatable by all readers. Most people don't go around telling stories that happened to other people (3rd person in a nutshell), nor when they do so, do they feel comfortable asserting what those people felt about those events, especially if those events are impolitic or sexual. Maybe taking on the role of the narrator, they may say how they feel about the people who act they way they do in their story—but that's another level of complexity and can off as hypocritical. Furthermore, I feel betrayed when a 3rd person narrator doesn't tell the absolute truth. I expect truth from 3rd person, whether it's from the POV character's perspective, or a limited or an omniscient one.

It's very hard to master all the requirements of good 3rd person narration. It proved so for me. That said, my #RSMarsNeededWomen is the first 3rd person story I've written in many years. I chose that because 1st person isn't exactly a compact or concise POV, and fitting a novel into 31 long toots is hard.

In first person, as in life, the POV tells their story their way, making observations and commenting on what they feel about that. Imagine some embarrassing or revealing situation. How are you going to tell that story starting with the word I? Right, you will spin it. 1st person is all about perspective. Ours. We all censor. 1st person by definition is unreliable narrator, but as listeners we've learned how to read between the lines, to detect the white lies and black, and interpret the spin. Conversely, people may also be confessional. Maybe the POV wants to be seen in all their evil glory, or is simply rude and impolitic, but isn't so foolish as to let it leak out in word or deed. The dichotomy between private thoughts and public action can be breathtaking. Who doesn't like some unfiltered wise cracking and unvarnished cynicism, especially when paired with external integrity?

I hope that answered your question.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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