First person point of view

Point of View | First person | Third person | Mixed POV | Changing the POV

Telling a story from the first person point of view is like talking to a friend. You narrate events as if they were incidents from your own past, including your feelings and reactions to what was happening around you.

With unerring instinct, Xena wound her way through narrow town streets to the seediest and most ominous of taverns. The last coin in my purse went to the crippled old man who led Argo away to the stables, and when I followed Xena across the threshold of The Cloven Hoof, I choked on the overpowering smell of smoke, stale wine, and sweating bodies. To my embarrassment, I remembered this was exactly the sort of establishment I had delighted in visiting during the early days of our friendship. In my youthful enthusiasm I had thought such places were thrilling and exotic.

The challenge of writing in the first person is to capture the voice of a particular character, determining what kind of words they would use, the cadence and rhythm of their speech, and their attitude toward life. No two people sound alike, even in their thoughts, so the personality of the character — NOT the author of the story — should be reflected in the narrative style.

I didn't need to write down an account of the day; it had been too horrible to forget. But the sky was shifting from blue to deep purple, the clarion call of approaching night. Darkness would shelter us from danger, and the familiar rhythms of setting up camp would soothe my nerves. A weary peace washed over me.

What a crappy day. But the sun was sinking fast, which meant it was almost over. That was the good news. The bad news was that no matter how tired I felt, I needed to gather firewood — now — or we were going to be stumbling around in the dark to make camp. I hate that. It's humiliating when you stub your toe on a routine perimeter check.

Ideally, the reader should be able to easily identify the speaker in either of the above two passages. The use of language and the focus of each character's attention provide all the cues needed to distinguish Xena's thoughts from Gabrielle's.

However, there is a critical disadvantage to writing in the first person: it restricts the kind of information you can convey to the reader. You can't describe events outside of the narrator's perspective.

Embarrassed by my confession, I turned away from Xena and busied myself with tending the fire. What I didn't know was that she was staring fixedly at me, too stunned to reply.

This just doesn't work. If Gabrielle doesn't know what is happening behind her back, then she can't then proceed to describe it to the reader. The last line has to be dropped, with Xena's reaction remaining a mystery, or Gabrielle has to become aware of what is going on behind her.

Embarrassed by my confession, I turned away from Xena and busied myself with tending the fire. When I dared sneak a glance in her direction, she was staring fixedly at me, as if too stunned to reply.

If you can't work around this restriction, then first person is not the appropriate POV. Use the third person perspective instead; the omniscient author knows everything that is happening in the story.

Embarrassed by her confession, Gabrielle turned away from Xena and busied herself with tending the fire. What she didn't know was that the warrior was staring fixedly at her, too stunned to reply.

For some examples of excellent use of first person narration, check out these stories:

Women in Prison by Elaine Sutherland — In this uber-Xena story, the narrator has a very strong voice of her own as she tells the story about Krieger and The Kid. Watch for the clever way in which Sutherland's narrator deals with the restrictions of first person perspective, reporting on events (such as the couple's romantic encounters) that should have remained hidden from her view.

Lila's Little Adventure by Charmer — Another strong voice, but one that is more of a player in the story she's telling. Note the distinct and consistent sense of Lila's personality as she talks about her encounter with her sister and the warrior princess. Sutherland kept her narrator removed from the action — like a voyeur watching in secret — but in Charmer's story, Lila's furtive observation of Xena and Gabrielle's romance becomes an integral part of the plot.