tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post6956942863456744856..comments2024-01-22T01:33:12.564-08:00Comments on Adventures in Agentland: Why I?Natalie M. Lakosilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11558113325014783721noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-5466998057346682732012-11-19T14:28:29.422-08:002012-11-19T14:28:29.422-08:00Not everyone responds to first person and third pe...Not everyone responds to first person and third person that way. So saying "the reader" like those are universal reactions isn't right because there are many readers and not all respond the same way. Some readers, maybe. A reader, sure. But not THE reader, because there is no such universal entity.<br /><br />Personally, I HATE first person in my fiction. Hate it. So I don't feel "actively part of the story". I feel annoyed. There aren't many authors whose first-person works I love. They exist, but they are rare.<br /><br />I can and have related very well to characters in third person novels. In one novel, the author wrote a secondary character who I related to. And I'm absorbed, too. For me, third person does perfectly what you claim first person does.<br /><br />It all comes down to the skill of the author. A good one can create an engaging, absorbing story with relateable characters no matter which person they're writing in. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-64225244609047267792012-06-29T15:08:08.292-07:002012-06-29T15:08:08.292-07:00Good and another post from you admin :)Good and another post from you admin :)STD Symptomshttp://www.std-symptoms.us/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-39362612415641540842012-03-12T15:09:40.749-07:002012-03-12T15:09:40.749-07:00Another thing about writing in first person:
I su...Another thing about writing in first person:<br /><br />I 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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Nanakathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11138862619129125182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-11648601815825022642011-11-02T06:53:43.508-07:002011-11-02T06:53:43.508-07:00Great post, Natalie! I think you explained PoV ver...Great 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.Brigid Gorry-Hineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-24909255865874145572011-10-29T10:02:00.727-07:002011-10-29T10:02:00.727-07:00Great advice, thanks for sharing.Great advice, thanks for sharing.Toyin O.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08429675861306256504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-89796390260972308622011-10-26T08:53:10.417-07:002011-10-26T08:53:10.417-07:00Thanks Natalie! I've always found it easier to...Thanks 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 :)<br /><br />Anyway thanks again!Darahttp://inthewritemind.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-41609560441811448162011-10-25T12:47:11.122-07:002011-10-25T12:47:11.122-07:00Thank you for this post. I write YA and MG, but fa...Thank 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!David P. Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17259276981865439853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-8645588795544545272011-10-21T04:56:14.593-07:002011-10-21T04:56:14.593-07:00First person works in adult novels, such as the Ha...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.Martin Willoughbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05605554706836638988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-46155325009602537732011-10-20T16:19:25.271-07:002011-10-20T16:19:25.271-07:00Well, I naturally write in first person, past tens...Well, 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. <br /><br />Does that mean I'm limited to YA? Eh, I doubt it. Arguably, putting yourselves into the shoes of another can also be an escape.McKenzie McCannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11707799179783394809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-29068506097248324412011-10-20T09:33:39.550-07:002011-10-20T09:33:39.550-07:00I love the intimacy of first person POV, and the t...I 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."cleemckenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15456109243453726483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-50009689927473247792011-10-20T09:21:29.791-07:002011-10-20T09:21:29.791-07:00I just finished reading the Y/A Daughter of Smoke ...I 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!Gail Shepherdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16998497900316232330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-14551770906275639912011-10-20T07:56:30.360-07:002011-10-20T07:56:30.360-07:00This was a great post for me. This is the first ti...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!Reecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16610242701129500313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-66102715003551663512011-10-20T04:47:59.916-07:002011-10-20T04:47:59.916-07:00Thanks Natalie.
LarissaThanks Natalie.<br />LarissaLarissa Reinharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02483331518276860201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-52013736710483123372011-10-19T21:29:47.684-07:002011-10-19T21:29:47.684-07:00Larissa - it is nearly impossible to sell a romanc...Larissa - it is nearly impossible to sell a romance in first person. Don't make your journey an uphill battle.<br /><br />Ms. 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!<br /><br />Kitty - I'm going to borrow your comment for a new post...<br /><br />NatalieNatalie M. Lakosilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11558113325014783721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-41127190803490679502011-10-19T21:05:41.920-07:002011-10-19T21:05:41.920-07:00Dear Natalie,
When I wrote my first book I wasn&...Dear Natalie, <br /><br />When 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... !!!kittybuddhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09985862307580860288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-47265600045712187342011-10-19T20:35:19.751-07:002011-10-19T20:35:19.751-07:00This is an interesting perspective on a topic I...This 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.Lyn Miller-Lachmannhttp://www.lynmillerlachmann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-24847108321564118442011-10-19T20:18:14.408-07:002011-10-19T20:18:14.408-07:00If you were reading a ms written in one POV, but f...If 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?Sara Raynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04679068025825860239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-80190338973093826222011-10-19T18:37:34.069-07:002011-10-19T18:37:34.069-07:00This was a great post--I write YA, sometimes in 1s...This 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.Francesca Zappiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16876692064254806825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965176195649202077.post-60010848597699433982011-10-19T18:04:37.486-07:002011-10-19T18:04:37.486-07:00Thanks for this. I've got a flip-flop question...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.Larissa Reinharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02483331518276860201noreply@blogger.com