Jash's Writing Tips: Understanding First Person POV

I am a writer who tends to stick to using one Point of View (POV) when writing. If I write outside of that POV then, well, my writing falls flat on its face. The thing is the POV I like is First Person POV (using the pronoun "I") which is very hated among readers it seems.

It really sucks going on a site like tumblr and getting these First Person POV hate posts. It seems people think that just because a story is written in First Person POV that it will suck and there is no saving it. I think this all stems from the fact that many people might not know how to use First Person POV properly.

This post will try to explain the basics of this POV. I have been told by people that normally don't like First Person POV that they like my writing. So I think that gives me enough credentials to write a post about this POV.

We'll start off today by looking at why using First Person POV is good.

Pros of Using This POV
This is my preferred POV to use. I started using it, and continue to use it, because it provides me focus. I only have to worry about writing down what one character feels and not worry about mixing in about what other characters are thinking.

It's not that I don't know what everyone else is thinking when I write, I'll cover that later in this post, but that I don't know what things are important enough to include in one of the Third Person POVs. I look at Third Person POV (limited or omnipresent) and see too much information to write down in a pleasing manner.

Another benefit of First Person POV, is that you get the reader closer to the action. In S&N my readers can get even closer to Nazilla as her humanity starts to fade away. It also allows you to experience Nazilla's struggles in a personal manner.

One of my English Professors remarked that I liked this POV because it allowed me an easier way to escape. As a writer I got to really live in the worlds I created. And, for me, writing is an escape from the life I actually live in. Writing, for me, is a way to escape the pain of everyday life.

And if you're worrying that using First Person POV will be honest, have no fear! There exists the unreliable narrator to fool your readers. Edgar Allen Poe used that tactic as did Henry James for The Turn of the Screw. The latter having such ambiguity that it has never been solved with the author taking its secret to his grave.

For a more recent example of the unreliable narrator, I would suggest checking out Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

You have to remember when using First Person POV that the narrator is telling his/her view on what is happening, not what is actually going on. Imagine a Gay Right's Activists' viewpoint on DATD being repealed compared to a homophobe's. In both viewpoints the same thing would be going on, but with two totally different opinions.

Picking a POV to Use
Now all Points of View aren't created the same. Deciding on a POV depends highly on what kind of story you want to tell. As I said before: each character has his/her own view of what is happening. With different characters' viewpoints you can get wildly different stories from the same exact events.

In New Beginnings and Second Chances, there are three stories that can be told if you look at each character's viewpoint. With Tobias, the one I picked, you get a romance story with a sprinkle of mystery. With Marco you get a mystery mixed with romance. And I don't want to think about the horrific story you'd get if you looked at Rachel Berenson's POV.

With New Beginnings and Second Chances I wanted to do more of a romance story, hence choosing Tobias.

Tobias and Me was a gift fic for a friend. The title of this fic was a leftover from me trying to decide whose POV I would be using. It was either Cat or Tobias who I was looking at as the narrator. I finally decided on Tobias for the simple fact that I felt I understood what he was going through better than Cat. Plus the friend had the benefit of one of her favorite characters falling in love with Cat.

So sometimes choosing a POV won't be easy. Sometimes you'll ponder for hours on end, sometimes days, about who you should use. If you get into a writer's block, just go over what you can and can't do with each character. What type of story each character will be able to tell and if you like that story more than another character's.

You can also do multiple POVs in the same story, switching up POVs chapter by chapter, but if you do that remember that each character you write is unique. Any of the Megamorphs books by K.A.Applegate can show you how multiple viewpoints in a single book can be done well. Allegiant by Veronica Roth, on the other hand, is an example of it not done well.

You Need to Understand Everyone’s POV and Not Just the Narrator’s
Now you may be thinking that with writing First Person POV that all you need to understand is how the narrator feels. This is not true as to make everyone in your story believable, you need to understand them at all times.

Even though all you'll write is one person's POV, you still have to understand why another character is acting the way they are. In Inbetween: The Darkening I understood how all my characters thought. It would've sucked majorly if I didn't. I was writing from Will Graham's POV, but understanding Hannibal Lecter's POV was beyond important too.

Sometimes the narrator will be heavily biased and unreliable and will misread another character's actions. So you have to think of what the original action is and how the narrator is misinterpreting it. Such as if a narrator believes the world is going to end, they might misinterpret everyone's actions as ignoring the truth rather than knowing there isn't a problem.
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