Sunday, May 31, 2009

Mirror, mirror


My accupuncturist told me she thinks I need a vacation. She's probably right.
One of my online friends suggested I take a break from Long Road and work on something new. She's probably right, too.
But I'm too busy procrastinating in my rut. (That's why I haven't posted all week.)
So, while I'm grinding the gears of my mental state, I have some writerly questions for ya'll. (We don't really use that contraction in Nebraska, but I think it's funny when TV characters make Nebraskans sound like backwoods hicks. HA!)
Today's questions are:
In reading or writing, which do you prefer: as story told in first person or third person?
As a writer, what do you see of benefits or drawbacks of either technique?
As a reader, what frustrates or pleases you most about either technique?
Let's get a conversation going.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Neither attract or repel me as a reader - - I care more about the story itself.

As a writer, it completely depends on wat I am trying to accomplish. I have written in 1st present, 1st past, and 3rd omniscent...all are good.

Elana Johnson said...

I am a lover of first person. I like the intimacy of the being so close to the character. It does have some limits, like you can only see and hear and taste what that person does. Sometimes it's nice to know what someone else in a novel is doing, thinking, etc. But I still love reading and writing first person stories.

Sorry about your rut! I love that you go to an acupuncturist. Did I spell that right? Probably not. ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm more of a story girl...doesn't matter the tense. Then I can get other peoples senses and how they interpret the situation.

When in first person, I'm stuck with only what one person is feeling...

I just wrote my first story ever in third person. It WAS really fun getting SO deep into one person's mind/thoughts...but, I hear that first persons are hard to sell (an agent told me that.) So....

I say, write what you want but to keep writing.....write every day. Even if it's not on your main project.

When I first moved on from Shelby (my first book EVER written), it felt weird. But then I fell in love with my next characters. Emma and Jake.

Write on my friend! Write on. :-)

KM Wilsher said...

In reading or writing, which do you prefer: as story told in first person or third person? Third person
As a writer, what do you see of benefits or drawbacks of either technique?
First person restricts to one POV. I can get into the other character’s heads.
As a reader, what frustrates or pleases you most about either technique?
I think the same as my answer above. I like to get different perspectives on the story.

Elizabeth McKenzie said...

I write third person because, well, I think I'm too lazy to write first. And I like to get into the heads of all my characters. I don't mind read first person, however. Third person seem, IMO, to have a little more depth. Maybe because the author has a little more latitude. Maybe.