Over to you, Jo.
In Praise of the First Person Narrator
Handle with Care bears the distinction of being my first longer work written in the first person, and I thought I’d share a bit today about why I chose to write it that way, and the challenges and delights of having a character narrate their own story.
I’ve always been wary of writing a longer story in the first person as I know there are a fair few readers out there who don’t like that type of narration. Although I don’t share their dislike of I-narrators, I can understand why they might feel that way. With a first person narrative you are stuck in the narrator’s head, with only their view of the fictional world to go by. In a romance this presents a huge problem, as most readers want to know what’s going on in both the main characters’ heads. There is a solution to this involving alternating the first person viewpoint between them, but this is a really tricky one to pull off well. Not only do you need the two narrative voices to be distinctly different from each other, but readers can find it a real wrench being taken from one viewpoint to the other, getting thrown out of the story every time you switch.
Another big difficulty with first person narratives is in giving the readers a physical description of your narrator. Unless you resort to the tired old device of having them peer in a mirror, it’s a challenge to find natural ways of having them describe themselves. This was something that worked to my advantage in Handle with Care, though. Ben is ill and paranoid about his appearance, so his lack of self-confidence infuses the early descriptions of himself. Not only has he lost his muscle definition through being too exhausted to exercise properly, but the peritoneal dialysis he is on means he feels bloated with fluid and has a catheter tube sticking out of his belly, surrounded by a shaved patch. It is only through the other characters you get a more accurate view of just how Ben really appears. His sister Zoe tells him:
“You don’t look half as bad as you think you do, Benj. You might be a bit flabbier than you used to be, but you’re not overweight.” Zoe reached out and pulled my T-shirt tight against my belly before I managed to squirm away. “All that’s happened is you’ve filled out a bit, like all blokes do when they hit their thirties.”
Ollie, on the other hand, finds Ben incredibly attractive—something Ben doesn’t understand at all until Ollie attempts to explain it:
“You’re this incredibly hot and sexy bear of a man, but you don’t seem to know it.”
In this sense Ben is an unreliable narrator—giving the reader a biased account because of his skewed worldview. He might not be self-deluded to the point of insanity like the narrator in Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, but he’s definitely got the wrong idea about many things. As he grows in confidence through the novel, his understanding of just what others see in him results in a healthier body image.
The other reason I really enjoyed limiting things to Ben’s point of view was that it enabled me to keep parts of Ollie’s past a mystery. Ollie might be young, but he’s been through more in his short life than Ben realises. Sticking to Ben’s narrative viewpoint enabled me to hold off these revelations until the end of the novel, where they have the most impact.
I can understand why the first person narrative isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but providing I can feel empathy for the narrator, I’ve always enjoyed them. Some of my favourite books have been narrated in the first person, such as JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Jordan Castillo Price’s PsyCop series, and Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English mysteries. All of these writers used the limitations of one character’s perspective to their advantage, allowing the reader to go on a journey of discovery along with the narrator.
So what are your thoughts on first person narrators? Do you have strong feelings either for and against them, and if so, why? And who is your favourite fictional narrator?
Handle with Care by Josephine Myles – the blog tour
To celebrate the release of my second novel, Handle with Care, I’m on a two week blog tour. A grand prize will be awarded to a randomly chosen commenter during the tour: an exclusive Handle with Care mug (which I’m happy to post worldwide), and a $25 voucher to spend at All Romance eBooks (or alternative ebook retailer of your choice). I’ll make the prize draw on Wednesday 9th May at 9am (GMT), and will announce the winner on my blog. Visit the tour itinerary for a list of all the stops, and comment on each to increase your chances of winning!
http://josephinemyles.com/published-stories/handle-with-care/the-blog-tour/
Blurb:
The best things in life aren’t free…they’re freely given.
Ben Lethbridge doesn’t have many vices left. After raising his little sister to adulthood, he wasted no time making up for the youth he lost to responsible parenting. Two years of partying it up—and ignoring his diabetes—has left him tethered to a home dialysis regimen.
He can do his job from his flat, fortunately, but most of his favourite things are forbidden. Except for DVD porn…and fantasizing over Ollie, the gorgeous, purple-haired skateboarder who delivers it.
Their banter is the highlight of Ben’s lonely day, but his illness-ravaged body is the cruel reality that prevents him from believing they’ll do anything more than flirt. Not to mention the age gap. Still, Ben figures there’s no harm in sprucing himself up a bit.
Then one day, a package accidentally splits open, revealing Ben’s dirty little secret…and an unexpected connection that leaves him wondering if he’s been reading Ollie wrong all this time. There’s only one way to find out: risk showing Ollie every last scar. And hope “far from perfect” is good enough for a chance at love.
Warning: Contains superhero porn comics and a cute, accident-prone delivery guy with colour-changing hair. Readers may experience coffee cravings, an unexpected liking for bad mullets, and the urge to wrap Ollie up and take him home.
Kindle US: http://www.amazon.com/Handle-with-Care-ebook/dp/B0073WI0ZU/
Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Handle-with-Care-ebook/dp/B0073WI0ZU/
Samhain: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/handle-with-care-p-6754.html
Author Bio: English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.
Jo’s website: http://josephinemyles.com/
Email: josephine_myles@yahoo.co.uk
Blog: http://josephinemyles.com/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/josephine.myles
Twitter: @JosephineMyles
When I first started reading m/m I was totally against first person. HATED. IT. My daughter thought I was nuts because a lot of YA is in first person, but very little if any UF or PNR or traditional het romance seems to be. Or it wasn't at the time. Now, it doesn't bother me at all. In fact I started your book last night and to be honest, until I read this post it didn't occur to me it was first person. I don't really notice. Yay you. ;-)
ReplyDeleteOne of my main reasons was that done poorly it falls in to the "I" "I" "I" trap, or as you said, I want to know what the other person is thinking. There are ways around both so I guess I've read enough well-done stuff that it really isn't a big deal anymore. All of us readers can be trained. ;-) I did write a first person story, but with a short it's easier to avoid the pitfalls.
Interesting post guys. Can't wait until later when I can continue reading. Unfortunately I had to stop at a rather critical point, but getting at least 5 hours sleep seemed essential at the time. LOL
I forgot to mention you quoted my daughters favourite author/book/moveie. :-)
DeleteFight Club? I adore that film, and the book was good too. Edward Norton is AMAZING in it.
DeleteI suppose first person can seem like an easy option to new writers, and maybe it sometimes gets used unsuccessfully, when they haven't found ways to bring in the perspective and feelings of other characters - especially important in romance. Interestingly, my next book is written in first person too, but that was partly because it's a menage and I just couldn't handle the pronoun confusion in the sex scenes otherwise ;P
Hope you enjoy the rest of the story, Tam!
Yay for menage. :-D OMG, she watches Fight Club like 3 times a month (or more). I think she's now in the process of directing a one-act play at school based on the movie. Obsessed much? LOL She tried reading his book Pygmy (Midget? Dwarf? Something like that) but she said it was too weird, which is saying something.
DeleteWow! And that's an old film now, isn't it? I remember going to see it in the cinema when it first came out. It was such a burst of adrenaline! Haven't seen it in years now - will have to dig it out again sometime. Meatloaf's moobs always make me giggle XD
DeleteI love the first person narrator and could never see what all the fuss was about when people said they hated. My favourite books are those with unreliable first person narrators, especially if it's done well. That moment when you realise that things are not as you thought, that the character is lying to you and himself, is a special moment in a book.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I just love it when they pull the rug out from under you like that! I suppose there must be some readers who hate that too, and find it akin to a cheap trick. I love being surprised, though :)
DeleteAnd I meant to add - thanks for having me over today, Jen! It's great to be able to witter on your very fine book blog :D
DeleteYou're very welcome, Jo. It's lovely to have you :).
DeleteI've always preferred reading first person narratives, and increasingly I find myself writing them, too. I just feel closer to the narrator that way, and I find it much easier to get sucked into a book if the POV doesn't change. I really hate books where, just as you get to an interesting bit, they switch POV so you have to read whole chapters before you find out what's happened! (I usually end up skipping ahead). ;)
ReplyDeleteInteresting - I had noticed you're writing more of them, now you come to mention it! I do like switching between third person viewpoints, but I agree that it can be very frustrating at times if it's done at annoying times purely to increase suspense!
DeleteSometimes I have a problem with first person, and sometimes not. Perhaps some stories lend themselves more to first person - or the writer knows just how to tweek the story that way? Like you keeping information back about Ollie until late on in the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm a great fan of Lindsey Davis' Falco books, all written from Falco's PoV. Some indication of what is going on for other people comes from what they say or how they react to Falco, or what he interprets (may or may not be correct though).
It's all good :)
I don't think I've read any Lindsey Davis - those sound interesting :)
DeleteLike anything, first person narratives can be done well and badly. I suppose choosing the right time to use them is key...
I'm very fond of it -- for contemporaries, primarily. Not sure why that is. In my last novel I went a step further and, with some trepidation, used first-person present tense, which I used to hate. It always made me think of pretentious twits in MFA programs. ;-) But, I loved the results.
ReplyDeleteI love first person present tense, but I rarely use it because I know how it's a complete turn off for many readers. Shame though, because done well, it's brilliant for putting you right in the here and now of the fictional world.
DeleteInteresting you prefer first person for contemporaries. Many nineteenth century novels were written in the first person, but perhaps modern writers aren't so good at capturing an authentic historical voice...
I love first person POV - done well, there's something so intimate about it and it's more immersive. Keeping in mind that maybe the narrator's perception's are slewed is part of the challenge and the enjoyment, for me, any way.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly! I love it when the writer lets you see how the narrator's perceptions are skewed, but without the narrator realising themselves. I just find that incredibly pleasing - probably because it makes me feel clever ;P
DeleteMy only attempt at 1st person was ditched when a friend told me nobody takes stories in the 1st person seriously. That was a couple of decades ago and I've learned since that my friend, the sort of person who dutifully wades through every single one of the Man Bookers each year, is probably not the best authority on rompy jokey genre fiction.
ReplyDeleteAs for reading 1st person narratives, the voice of the narrator is the most important thing. If I like him I'll stick to him through thick and thin even if the story has a few problems. If I don't like the narrator, don't develop any sympathy with or interest in him, it doesn't matter how good the story is overall, reading it is a chore.
Jo's third person stories are a delight so I have no hesitation at all in anticipating a great read in this case.
Aww, thanks Elin! I know what you mean about needing to have a connection to the narrator. It's really hard to read first person if you can't stand them, because being inside their head just feels wrong.
DeleteAnd that friend of yours definitely doesn't sound like a good source of advice on genre fiction. And plenty of serious lit fic is written in first person too!
I dont think i've thought too much about it - i think a well written book is that regardless of pov used. It can get a bit annoying when pov between two mc's keep changing and you end up like a 3 year old with your fingers going he said that, then henumber 2 said that.
ReplyDeleteSo looking forward to reading this and finding out how you do it!
Suze
Littlesuze@hotmail.com
Hi Suze - I agree that switching povs, whether in first or third person, can be jarring if it's done too often. A good writer shouldn't leave you in any doubt as to which pov you are in, but I've certainly read a few books that just confused me.
DeleteWhat really doesn't help is reading Fictionwise versions of Loose Id books, where they strip out the single line between scene breaks. It's really confusing to have a sudden pov and scene change like that. Took me a while to realise it wasn't bad writing - just a formatting issue!
I am one of those people that hates first person POV. Unless it is an author I respect and know can pull it off (James Patterson come to mind), I usually don't read/buy it. Now, having said that, sometimes it does work especially if the narrator has a distinctive voice and the plot moves along. But if I had to choose, third person is the route for me...others may disagree and that's cool. :)
ReplyDeleteI knew there'd have to be someone who didn't commenting here, because I see it from readers regularly!
DeleteI think it's great that readers have such different tastes. It means that whatever I write, some people are bound to hate it, but hopefully others will love it for precisely the reasons the others hated it :D
I think first person POV worked really well in this book - and I'll have to reread it with the insights you've provided above. :)
ReplyDeleteVic from PsyCop is my favorite first person POV character - another unreliable narrator. :D
Thanks Chris - I'm glad you think it's worth rereading!
DeleteI love Vic's way of looking at the world - his narrative pov is definitely a big part of what makes those books so compelling.
I like first person a lot - in fact my favourite book that I read last year was in first person, The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness. That's the first in a trilogy and in that book there's only one first person narrator, in the second book there and two and in the third there are three. I'm often not keen on that, though Ness handled it pretty well, made the voices very distinct. One of my other favourite first person narratives is The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. He's an absolute master at first person.
ReplyDeleteI've only written one novel length story in first person myself, and I liked doing so a lot, but have never found the right story for it again since. I did start one in first recently, but after about a third of the way through I found it wasn't working for me. And sex scenes felt near impossible to write in first for me. So I rewrote what I had in 3rd and continued in 3rd. It still stuck with that same POV character the whole way, just in close third instead of first.
Well if it's not possible to write sex scenes from a male pov in first person, I can see that being a problem for you! What a pain to have to rewrite all of that, though.
DeleteClose third is great too - and it's definitely a good choice if switching viewpoints between characters. I think my next novel will probably be written in alternating close third.
I have to be honest, I'm not overly fond of 1st person POV - but a lot of my favorite books are in 1st person so go figure. I think when it's done well it can really suck the reader in but when it's not? I have yet to brave the world of writing in 1st person...may have to think on that.
ReplyDeleteI do like what you say about it forcing the reader to discover things along with the character - and also realizing that sometimes the narrator isn't 100% reliable.
Great post!
Thanks hon! I wonder if some m/m readers' and writers' reluctance to accept first person is because they started in fanfiction, where first person is very much frowned upon... something to ponder, anyway.
DeleteFrowned upon and often not very well done, but I'm inclined to agree with you.
DeleteInteresting that this post should come along when it did. Katherine Halle and I have been have been pondering the difficulties of writing 1st person POV. Those pesky tenses mainly.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader I used to steer clear, but more recently I allowed myself to be tempted and I find that, as with anything, I enjoy it when it is well done.
I don't tend to find first person makes me any more muddled with my tenses, but I do find I write faster in first person, once I'm into the character's voice. That might partly be because I don't have to think too much about pronouns - especially in the sex scenes :)
DeleteI agree that like anything, it just needs to be done well. Perhaps third person is a little more forgiving to less than brilliant writing, though...
I think you're right about third person being more forgiving. A 1st person story done badly can be very painful to read indeed.
DeleteAh yes, pesky pronouns, always a problem in m/m. I've just finished a first person short (purely an experiment on my part) and then went straight into writing my (third person pov) submission for Lashings of Sauce and I found I kept slipping back into first person by mistake.
Oh yes - I've had lapses when going from a story with one pov to a different one. Very easily done! And great to hear you're working on that submission :)
DeleteI've never been against first person narration, but I do find a lot of beginner writers fall on that as a crutch and write themselves into the story instead of writing the story. I think that's part of what makes people wary of first person, since it can muddle the lines if the author isn't careful.
ReplyDeleteI prefer third person limited, both in reading and writing, but for me, the book should be written as it needs to be told, and this one definitely sounds like it was calling for first person to you!
Though I have to argue with Ben being called an unreliable narrator....actually, I have to wonder what first person narrator is reliable!
Hi Alex. You make a good point there about it being a crutch. Unless you have a very strong character's voice calling out to be written in first, it probably is safer to stick to limited third person. I like taking risks, though, and I enjoy immersing myself in a character who is very different to me. Makes it much easier to ensure my own voice doesn't start creeping in.
DeleteI wouldn't say Ben is particularly unreliable, in the sense that he doesn't set out to withold things or lie to the reader. He just has a skewed self-image which affects the way he interprets things. And yes, first person narrators can never be completely reliable - we all have our idiosyncracies when it comes to interpreting the world around us!
I have nothing for or against first person narration. The tricky part for author is to make the person likable (we readers can't distance ourselves from him/her), not entirely self-absorbed (so we can get some info about the world and people around) and engaging.
ReplyDeleteOne of my all time favorite books - "A to Z" by Marie Sexton - is written not only in first person narration (with alternating POVs), but partly in present tense (that some people hate).
Hi Joanna - I love A to Z too - Angelo's voice is so compelling! And yes, I have to like a first person narrator or I really don't want to spend time in their head.
DeleteI only dislike first person when it isn't done well. Since I didn't notice Handle was in first person until I read this post, it must have been done very well ;-) It was very effective both in learning how Ben sees himself versus how other people see him and in learning about Ollie.
ReplyDeletesmaccall AT comcast.net
Hey - that's great to hear you didn't even notice! I'd agree that when a story really hooks me in I cease to notice the mechanics of how it's written. It's one of the curses of being a writer: being overly critical of what we read because we can't turn off our inner editors!
Delete