Shortly before my first novel was published, I submitted excerpts to a couple of manuscript contests in hopes of winning publication. One was the Gather.com Crime Novel First Chapter Contest. The other was run by an independent publisher whose name I have since forgotten. In both contests, each participant was encouraged to read and rate other authors’ work. I tried to make it through as many entries as possible. Not surprisingly, I thought some were better than others. But one thing that struck me about all the submissions in both contests was the distribution of the two primary types of narrator, first person and third person. Over the years, I’ve always been an avid reader of mystery/suspense novels. And, at least in that genre, it seemed to me that the majority of books were written in third person. In these two contests I thought that trend was reversed. I didn’t actually count the occurrences of each, but I definitely felt like I read more first person stories. Ever since, I’ve wondered if that is a new trend overall, or do just first-time authors tend to have a preference for writing in first person. A lot of established authors also seem to me to be using first person now, especially in series novels with a witty or insightful leading character.
Needless to say, there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach, and I think most authors tend to consistently go with either one or the other for most of their books. There are interesting exceptions, though. I’ve read a couple of suspense novels lately where the main point-of-view protagonist is narrated in third person (he), while the antagonist speaks for himself (I). This struck me as odd the first time I saw it, but it was an interesting way to keep the villain anonymous and yet show what the crazy guy was up to. A little gimmicky perhaps, but it worked for those books.
As an overall trend, I wonder if authors are leaning more toward the first person narration than in the past. Or could writers merely have become a bit more flexible, depending on the story and characters?
But I think there’s a more important question: Do readers have a preference?
In picking out a book to read, does it matter at all to you whether you come across “I/Me” or “He/She”?
Norm Brown is the author of the suspense novel Carpet Ride, published by Secondwind Publishing, LLC.
Indigo Sea Press Blog 
Good post.
I’ve noticed that a lot of the more modern novels I read, have a mix of both. I guess it’s kind of a staple of the ‘post-modern’ thing if you want to call it that…but more or less I think it’s a great way to investigate the old ‘two or more sides to a story’ adage.
As an example you can have characters telling their side of the story, which could be how they perceived the protagonist to be acting and why, while the protagonist can use 1st person as a way of justifying their actions.
I’ve just posted my first online chapter/blog, and it’s in first person, but I’m intending to tell the rest of the story with a mixture of first and third person, as well as newspaper articles and interview transcripts…
Hopefully I can pull it off.
I used to write a lot in first person, but when I look at those stories now I feel they sound a little childish. But maybe that’s also because my writing has improved since then!
Either way, I write a lot more in third person now. I do keep my options open, however. If I’m suffering from writer’s block, I sometimes try change the person or tense to see if things work better that way.
As a reader, I don’t mind either, although if I had to pick I’d probably say third person, if only because a lot of the first person stories I’ve read have a main character whose ego is the size of the universe.
I prefer third person, but first person has its place. I think it depends on the style, more than anything. The specific point-of-view character (not always the protagonist) and the type of story also determine which is better for that story.
Which is best used for a particular story is probably best decided by considering a few questions: How internalized is the action? How unique are the point-of-view character’s thought processes? It basically comes down to: who is the better narrator for the story: the character or an anonymous, almost invisible storyteller?
As a note, there has always been a preference for first person among new writers. Maybe because it’s an easy way to get to the protagonist’s inner workings; more developed writers can actually get closer to the protag’s thoughts using third person. Maybe it’s because the character has more style than the author has developed. But as writers develop, they can more skillfully use both, and can better determine when one is better than the other.
I don’t care if a book is written in first or third either to read or write. However, somewhat to my amazement, I have found that many readers have a passionate preference, and if they do it is for third. I have met people who won’t read 1st. Ever. At all. And their voice rises when they tell you. Since I can’t always remember after a short while which a book was written in, I have trouble understanding this.
I feel that the more hard to understand or sympathize with your main viewpoint character is, the more 1st is useful. The intimacy of the voice draws the reader very close. I think that makes it a strength for younger readers who have less life experience such as beginning and middle readers.
I also enjoy combining 1st and third or many different 1st persons. Some find that distracting and something that can draw readers out of the story.
I think we are in a period of ‘intimate’ writing. Subjects such a family members who did bad things, or intimate in that the reader wants to closely identify with the character.
That is very different from telling a story in the way it used to be with an author’s voice, much more setting and description. Maybe that will come back sometimes.
Also, what does anyone think of the use of present tense instead of using past understood as present.
Now I keep reading passages such as ‘We leave for Mary’s and I lock the dog away in the bathroom.’
Instead of ‘We left for Mary’s and I locked the dog…”
I find that hard to read.
Thanks for the thoughts
In the case of the contests I mentioned, my thinking also was first time authors feel more comfortable using first person because it’s closer to what we do all day: speak from our own unique viewpoint. Third person seems a little more complicated in that the reader mostly learns about the character through his actions and what he says to others. I like that it “shows” rather than “tells” about the character’s attitudes and feelings. Certainly either approach can be done well and I read both.
And yes, Page, I share your difficulty with present tense. I find that I adjust to it after a few chapters, but it seems unnatural to me. Maybe because I don’t talk like that. I have seen books where past and present tense are both used. It’s an interesting effect if done carefully.
Great comments and observations. Thanks
When I sat down to write Murder in Winnebago County I tried to write it in the third person, but it wasn’t working. It seemed my protagonist Corky needed to tell the bulk of the story. The downside is the limitations it presents. That’s when I decided to follow Alvie in the third person. What’s funny is when I mentioned that to a local reporter when he did a “local author” feature story, he said he hadn’t even noticed that. I like reading both first and third person.
It depends on the context and voice. I write PI stories in first person because I want to be in the detective’s head, and i don’t want the reader to know anything he doesn’t.
I use third person when I want the perspective of multiple characters, and I want the reader to know more than any of them. It gives a lot more flexibility as to how much I can let the reader in on.
I’ve written three novels using first person; two have been published, including Backstop (which is forthcoming next month from Second Wind). It can be effective, but it has its limitations.
I completed a 32,000 word novella about a year ago, and I’m currently working on a new novel, both are in third person.
Whether first person narratives, like narrow ties, are enjoying a comeback, I can’t say. Most of the novels I’ve read recently don’t seem to indicate that trend.