Hi everybody, and sorry. I dropped off the face of the earth for a few days & then didn't realize my thread had kept on going here. Thank you for the book suggestions and other advice.
Compare: I ain't gonna lie to you. I swore I'd never lie to no one. "I hate that woman," I shouted. "I truly do."
to: She wasn't gonna lie. She'd sworn she'd never lied to no one. "I hate that woman," she shouted. "I truly do."
But see, I'm really talking about the question of lying
to the reader, not to someone else.
So more like this:
He put his hand on me, and well, so help me I try not to lie anymore so I'll tell you the truth: it felt good. Really good.
I don't see how you'd put that into third person. Other examples (of a similar dynamic though not exactly the same thing):
"I never told her that," I said. I try not to lie. I really do. (Could go into third but I think it loses something... the irony of the narrator personally admitting she's a liar while not really admitting it maybe?)
"Wait till your mother sees that," said Lucy.
Lucy is a fun person most of the time, I swear.
The good news on my end is that I've gotten into the writing now and I feel pretty good about the three of my POVs I've written scenes in so far. I also remembered rough drafts don't have to be perfect! So I'll continue to build up the voice as I go, I think.