I got an interesting question at a recent conference I attended: “Do all YA’s have to be in the first person?”
I was a little surprised by the question; I immediately wanted to answer no.
But then I thought about it – and I realized that the asker had a good point; because from all the examples out there, it certainly does feel like first person is the norm.
But why? Going even deeper into this question – why is YA most often in first person…and adult genre fiction most often in third?
My answer to this relates back to my post on YA vs. Adult – voice. It is easier to pull off the self-centered, emotionally vibrant and raw voice that is YA in first person - mainly because, let’s face it, YA authors are often pulling from their inner teens.
But that is not the only reason. The second layer to my answer is all about how relatable the characters, situations and worlds actually are.
Contemporary YA deals with themes and situations that are directly relatable – and it’s almost always in first person.
But a snarky miss toting from one glamorous ballroom to the next, swept away in an elegant waltz…and then diving out the window in chase of a jewel thief? Not so much easy to relate to.
Adult genre fiction is often a complete escape; pure fantasy - and it is most often in third person.
Let's look at some more examples:
-genre YA (more commercial, fantastical novels) tends to feature more third person – again, I'll argue, because they are harder to relate to.
-contemporary romance, despite being set in our world, often features a situation we can't relate to at all - love at first lust (...ok, sight), and a clean, happy ending. We are reading these stories HOPING we'll have it...but we can't really relate to it.
Quite simply: if you’re reading I in a novel, you’d better be able to put yourself in I’s shoes.
So, what to take away from this?
If you’re debating whether or not your novel suits better in first or third – ask yourself what your end goal is. If you want your readers to relate more to your character, first would be a better fit.
Even complete fantasy, such as Dystopian YA, despite being far from situationally relateable, draws on many of our own fears – we can directly relate to what is going on, because so many of us have felt the same way - so it’s not hard to see why so much of it is written in first person.
But if you want your readers to truly escape, release all inhibitions and disbelief grounded in our reality, give third a try.
You can always find and replace it back. ;)
Thanks for this. I've got a flip-flop question. My first & second ms I wrote in first person, mainly because the heroine's voice spoke to me that way. The first was YA, no biggie, but my first ms so I put it under the bed, labeled "experience." My 2nd ms is an adult genre, humorous romantic suspense, and after I wrote it, I realized 1st person is a little unusual (or so I inferred when my contest critiquers liked my voice but called it "strong"). Now I'm on my third ms in adult genre and trying third person w/multiple POV. It's going all right, but feels more generic. How hard is it to break into adult genre (romance) in 1st person? Is 1st too YA for adult now? Thanks! I enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post--I write YA, sometimes in 1st person, but what I'm working on right now is in 3rd. And I honestly couldn't ever think of writing it in 1st. But yeah, there's so much 1st person in YA that it almost seems like 3rd is a little taboo.
ReplyDeleteIf you were reading a ms written in one POV, but felt another POV would better suit it, is that a revision you would suggest to an author, or would that be a reason to reject the ms?
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting perspective on a topic I've been discussing with my writer friends a lot these days. A former member of my critique group couldn't understand why his contemporary YA novel written in third person garnered nothing but rejections, while most of the fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian titles he'd read were written in third person.
ReplyDeleteDear Natalie,
ReplyDeleteWhen I wrote my first book I wasn't writing to fit into any particular genre... is that wrong? I mean, I was just writing straight from my heart. I really just hoped that someone would connect with my work.... is that ok? I mean, I knew it fell vaguely into philosophy but I wasn't really bothered about the genre at all... !!!
Larissa - it is nearly impossible to sell a romance in first person. Don't make your journey an uphill battle.
ReplyDeleteMs. Snip -I would never reject a manuscript just because it seems to be in the wrong point of view, but if I'm not connecting...I'm just not connecting. Just another reason to send in your BEST work!
Kitty - I'm going to borrow your comment for a new post...
Natalie
Thanks Natalie.
ReplyDeleteLarissa
This was a great post for me. This is the first time I've seen the reasons for different POV set out so clearly. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading the Y/A Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which is written in 3rd person, and actually shifts viewpoint occasionally from the female to the male protag's POV. It's just such a brilliant book, and I was so thoroughly sucked in. I can't imagine what it would have been like in 1st person--I think you're right, it would have seemed crazy to try to put yourself in the shoes of a flying chiron girl with blue hair!
ReplyDeleteI love the intimacy of first person POV, and the teens I've talked to often say that the characters seemed so "close" to them. "They became friends," one girl said. "And I wanted more of them."
ReplyDeleteWell, I naturally write in first person, past tense. If you ask me, your best writing will come from the style you are most used to, kind of like how people read faster in the fonts they see most often.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean I'm limited to YA? Eh, I doubt it. Arguably, putting yourselves into the shoes of another can also be an escape.
First person works in adult novels, such as the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher, probably because the reader would 'like' to be that character.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I write YA and MG, but favor 3rd person. Since there's so much 1st person out there, it's refreshing to read this from an agent. I appreciate your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteThanks Natalie! I've always found it easier to get my character's "voice" in third. I've tried first (and still attempt it on occasion) but I find I often struggle to get the story out. Maybe I just haven't found the right story for a first person novel yet :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway thanks again!
Great advice, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Natalie! I think you explained PoV very well. I almost always write in first person and I think what you said makes sense. When I write I always want to feel like I'm right in the narrator's shoes. Writing in third person makes me feel more distanced from the story––which works in some cases, but not often for me.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing about writing in first person:
ReplyDeleteI suspect that part of the reason so many readers had a hard time getting close to Bella Swan in the TWILIGHT novels is because of one of the major disadvantages of writing in first peron point of view.
Stephenie Meyer sees Bella Swan as extremely self-sacrificing (as evidenced in the version she wrote from Edward Cullen's point of view which appeared online as MIDNIGHT SUN), but because a truly self-sacrificing character would never see herself that way, it was almost impossible for Meyer, as a new writer, to figure out how to get that information across. So Bella seemed, to many readers, to be wishy-washy and whiny and other unpleasant things.
It wasn't until I read THE HOST, with another self-sacrificing point-of-view character, and then read BREAKING DAWN, that I realized that Bella was also self-sacrificing. For me, Meyer had learned better how to convey that by the time she wrote THE HOST.
Since a truly GOOD character can not believably think of herself that way, writers have to be very careful when they use first person point of view, and they have to figure out other ways to get those good qualities across to readers, so their first-person-point-of-view characters won't be sadly misunderstood, as I fear for too many readers, Bella Swan was.