My Reading Problem: J.L. Myers – Finding Your Voice: Writing in First Person @BloodBoundJLM

Finding Your Voice: Writing in First Person (or Third)

What Lies Inside is written in first person. When I initially started writing it I didn’t even consider writing in third—first just came naturally. In contrast to this most of the novels I read are in third person, and when I write notes about my characters, jot out parts of scenes, or even write dialoge notes, I write in third person. I’m not sure why I do this, and until I actually took my first notes and went to incorporate them into sections of manuscript I’d already written I hadn’t even realized I’d change from first to third.

In the case of What Lies Inside, I think for Amelia’s story first person just worked. The story is all about her and her struggles and inner demons, and how she perceives the world and everyone around her. First person highlights her struggles and her personality, showing how everything that happens influences her emotions and behaviour, which like a snowball affect, plunges the story forward and forces the actions of others.

Despite my writing preference with this series, I do see the strengths in third person. The way you can switch perceptions from a character in one scene to another in the next is a great tool for character personalization and exploration. It also shows the reader my intimately who different characters are on a deep and relatable level.

In the future I do plan to change my writing voice and challenge myself with third person, multiple points of view and omniscient points of view, depending on the story I want to tell and which options would suit that story best. I will no doubt write first person again, but I don’t want to box myself into a style anymore than I want to write repetitive stories with predictable characters that operate in one genre. Writing to me is an adventure and I want to explore as much of my creative mind as I can.