First time writing in 1st-person.

[WinterDusk14]

I know about the risk if the readers hate the narrator, then chances are, the book fails.

Aside from that, any advices on this? Should I still be as cautious when it comes to grammar? Since it is a narration from the MC's mind? What if the entire book itself was written as if it was written in a diary or journal?

[kzmiller]

My advice is to take advantage of the perspective in every way possible. This is a great pov to spring surprises simultaneously on the reader and the character (provided the surprise makes retroactive sense) because the reader doesn't have any more info than the pov character. This is also a great opportunity to parade a rich and well-developed character. Ones with fun personalities are great, while vanilla or shallow characters won't be as effective. You can write emotions and carry the reader along for the ride, but be careful not to wallow.

This is the most difficult pov, IMHO, to write sadness from. It's too easy for the character to slip into oh poor me stuff. So be disciplined and write a character that perseveres no matter what and then, to show profound sadness, have the other characters be nurturing and sympathetic. Or some other device to avoid wallowing.

I'm not a big fan of the diary/journal. Big big fan of first person done right as a story in progress. Good luck!

[SPMiller]

Don't filter. Don't filter. Don't filter. Don't filter. Don't filter. Don't filter.

You have direct access to the character's unique voice. Use that.

[ChaosTitan]

Watch for pronoun overload. It's easy to fall into the trap of "I saw," "I ran," "I did," "I don't," "I knew," "I grabbed," "I thought," etc... Many times in first person, the "I" is inferred.

Also, be wary of getting too far into your narrator's head. Too much introspection can make for a boring narrative. Likewise, staying too far out can be just as dull.

Read, read, read lots of first person novels in your genre. Look at how they do it.

[Loriedna]

I am writing one of the novels in the same manner. I guess it is very close to my heart and seemed very easy at first. I have been falling into every trap there is. Sometimes I feel it is very boring and repetitive. I need to edit a lot. At times it looks very true and honest and I love it again. I'm hoping to make it work.

[tehuti88]

If the character has bad grammar, then the first-person narrator should have the same. Take a look at some of Mark Twain's works for examples. BUT, make sure you get the spelling right, if it's first-person narration and not diary/journal excerpts.

If it's a diary or journal, misspelling would be tolerable since not all of us are perfect :D , but I would at least keep it understandable. I. e., don't really go overboard in terms of misspellings and/or abbreviations (such as those used in Netspeak, u no, lyke LOL, OMG, WTFJDSFLJ!).

I actually find works written in the form of a personal journal to be rather intriguing as it seems almost like the reader is peeking in on something secret, but this works only if the narrator has something of interest to say. Same as with any other kind of fiction. The other replies here have good suggestions.

Give it a try and find out. :)

[maestrowork]

Well, bad grammar would be fine if you're only doing it for voice and flavor. But after a while, if you keep repeating the same errors and mistakes, it becomes tiresome and annoying and your readers will start wondering if the writer can actually write. Read Huck Finn again -- Twain didn't continue to misspell words or misuse punctuation, even though it's very likely that Huck Finn couldn't really write worth a damn. You have to be very careful with using bad grammar as a voice thing -- there's a line between being "realistic" and simply "pain in the ass."

And yes, minimize the filtering (I think, I see, I hear, I feel...) Also, focus on the external (events, actions, reactions, etc.) other than the internals (what we call "navel gazing").

[HConn]

Remember, first person pov is as if the main character is sitting down with the reader and telling a long story. It's a lot like dialog in that you have license to fudge grammar and diction to stay true to the character's voice.

But also keep in mind that the pov character is telling a story. Anything that might come across as self-indulgent or dull if J. Random Stranger was bending your ear about it at a coffee shop should be cut.

[Karen Duvall]

I write in both 3rd and 1st POV without reservation. I'm comfortable with both. The thing to remember in 1st POV is to maintain a balance for the narrator as observer, and experiencer (I know that's not a real word, but I don't know how else to describe it). This will ensure some distancing so that the I/me pronoun won't become overused.

[JVaughn]

Watch for pronoun overload. It's easy to fall into the trap of "I saw," "I ran," "I did," "I don't," "I knew," "I grabbed," "I thought," etc... Many times in first person, the "I" is inferred.

How would one combat that, instead of using those? Probably blatantly obvious, but I'm one for getting easily muddled with the complexities of the English language.

Thanks.

[Juliette Wade]

As a writer, you have a lot more tools for point of view at your disposal than just pronouns. How do you express to your self when a situation is difficult? I bet you wouldn't say "I think this situation is difficult," but you might say "This is hard!" or "It's impossible to do this," or "Embarrassment sucks!" all of which have a first-person feel without using "I." Look out for "that" versus "this," "a" versus "the," and "the night before" versus "last night."

I second the idea that you should read other first-person works for inspiration.

I wrote an article on point of view words, which you can find in the August 2006 archive of the Internet Review of Science fiction (irosf.com) if you're interested in further details. You may have to subscribe, but it is free.

[ChaosTitan]

How would one combat that, instead of using those? Probably blatantly obvious, but I'm one for getting easily muddled with the complexities of the English language.

Thanks.

Sometimes it's a simple fix. Other times, you just have to use the "I did..."

Example:

"I thought back to yesterday's argument over rent, how we'd nearly come to blows." In 1st person, "I thought" is inferred, because we know the narrator is remembering something.

Try it as, "We'd nearly come to blows yesterday, our third argument that week about rent."

It's not a perfect example, but too many "I did this" and "I did that" treads the dangerous line of telling, rather than showing. Neither way is necessarily right or wrong, but its boring and repetative to read six sentences in a row that begin with "I...."

[FennelGiraffe]

How would one combat that, instead of using those? Probably blatantly obvious, but I'm one for getting easily muddled with the complexities of the English language.
Instead of 'I saw two plates on the table' say 'Two plates sat on the table.'

Instead of 'I heard the doorbell' say 'The doorbell rang.'

Instead of 'I smelled smoke' say 'A faint scent of smoke tickled my nose.'

Instead of 'I was cold' say 'Cold air crept down my back.'

[JVaughn]

Perfection, thanks.

[JVaughn]

Another quick POV question: is it alright to switch to the 1st person perspective of another character if that character is already well known in the story? That is to say, is it easier to make that switch than going into the head of a character we haven't even met yet (and who you'd have to get to know all over again). Say for example your main character is somehow rendered unconscious, and you wanted to keep telling that portion of the story but from someone else's eyes.