Thread: First Person, third person?????

Hi,

New at this and writing, so please bear with me. I am attempting to write a book about Regiments stationed in Sussex during WW2, and have been very lucky to receive a lot of information from those that were around at the time. Emails, letters etc., giving their personal accounts. When including this information what would be the best way to go about it, 1st or 3rd person????

Thanks.

First off, as a new writer, I suggest you google Turkey City Lexicon, which is a list of common writer habits to avoid, or at least be aware of. It was originally begun for SF writers, but any writer can benefit from at least some of their advice.

Unless you're planning a dry, technical history, avoid info-dumps, which slows narrative down and bores the reader. Expecially avoid the "I suffered for my art" infodump, where you feel you must reveal all the research data you've slaved to glean. For instance, you might write that an outbreak of dysentery swayed the tide of a campaign, but do you really need to give all the medical facts about dysentery that you learned in your research?

Have you read Ken Burn's history of World War II? He weaves the character's tales into history, so when you read about a particular battle, you feel like you've got a dog in the fight, so to speak. I caution new writers that 1st person is actually harder to write WELL than 3rd.

Good luck with your project.

JohnB

Thanks JohnB.

My book is going to be more of a social history, showing the interaction of Servicemen and civilians. So the details received relate to how people lived and helped one another. So wasn't sure whether to say Joe Bloggs....... This morning soanso regiment moved into our village etc etc., or Joe Bloggs remembers the day that soanso regiment arrived in the village etc etc.

John, your entire post is filled with advice I can use, & I'm glad I happened to see it. Canoch, good luck with your work. It strikes me as an important story that should be told. As far as the Joe Bloggs example (identifiers), I think using his name as well as others will bring the reality of it to the reader, & it won't seem like fiction to them. They can picture in their mind, Joe Bloggs, from Main St USA, recalling the regiment & then maybe relating to it from members of their own family who've served.

@Canoch: I had this problem, too. I eventually solved it by picking a section of the story, writing it out in 3rd Person, then writing a second copy in 1st person. Time consuming I know, I found that I was able to get a stronger reaction from my readers using first-person, because it made the events surrounding the protagonist much more immediate. However, like John warns, 1st person is usually harder to do.

@John: Love the Lexicon! Very interesting read.

Writers who are much better than I have answered this same question. I have to agree them. Write whatever you are most comfortable with.

Thank you all for your help.

as a new writer, I suggest you google Turkey City Lexicon,

JohnB this is a great site! Thanks for the tip. I have a writing partner who's currently laughing over it delightedly.

First person vs third person comes up so often on here that we probably could have a thread that comes up automatically every couple of months. One thing you could try is to write a little of the story in first person, then write some in third person. See what feels most natural and what you think you can sustain.

Thanks, everyone. I think every new writer should read that lexicon and every aspiring writer (even more experienced writers) should try to follow Heinlein's Rules. You can find them at Rob Sawyer's site www.sfwriter.com.

I wrote my entire first novel in 1st person, then went back and RE-wrote in 3rd. Since I'd written in 1st person, I was more in touch with emotions and could let those emotions carry over into 3rd. So that's the way I try to write everything now. 3rd person but get into their feelings.
I recently wrote a story in 2nd person, alien viewpoint, and it was a lot of fun to write. (and it's already accepted for the Alien Aberrations anthology) My last published novel is about a mind-swap between two main characters of the opposite sexes. which results in a wierd, romantic relationship. One of my great enjoyments as a writer is to try to get into my characters' psyches in a way that will carry the reader along with me.