Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Mon, May 03 2010
The main character and I are from the same place, but are not the same one
I was listening to someone campaign on TV today and it occurred to me that folks who campaign have a tough row to hoe when it comes to using the word "I". They end up using it again and again, when maybe what they should be talking about is the people they're hoping to lead. It's very difficult to use "I" in a campaign without sounding egotistical and self-absorbed. It's the same reason some of us who write have a hard time writing fiction using first person. Many fictional characters wouldn't mind being egotistical at all, but many characters would be uncomfortable talking on and on about themselves. Writing in first person causes a very subtle shift in thinking, unless the writer makes it obvious that the reader is reading a written account, such as a diary. I may be in the minority on this point, but third person seems to work best for me and keep things in storytelling mode instead of giving an impression that story is mixing with writer ego. One might use a narrator voice, but that removes the reader a bit from the emotion of the story. Third person seems best most often for conveying action and emotion and pulling the reader into the life of the main character.
posted at: 20:47 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
I was listening to someone campaign on TV today and it occurred to me that folks who campaign have a tough row to hoe when it comes to using the word "I". They end up using it again and again, when maybe what they should be talking about is the people they're hoping to lead. It's very difficult to use "I" in a campaign without sounding egotistical and self-absorbed. It's the same reason some of us who write have a hard time writing fiction using first person. Many fictional characters wouldn't mind being egotistical at all, but many characters would be uncomfortable talking on and on about themselves. Writing in first person causes a very subtle shift in thinking, unless the writer makes it obvious that the reader is reading a written account, such as a diary. I may be in the minority on this point, but third person seems to work best for me and keep things in storytelling mode instead of giving an impression that story is mixing with writer ego. One might use a narrator voice, but that removes the reader a bit from the emotion of the story. Third person seems best most often for conveying action and emotion and pulling the reader into the life of the main character.
posted at: 20:47 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
