Third Person Narrative vs First Person Narrative
I've recently begun querying my latest manuscript. After querying the last book it's hard not to get caught in the mindset of 'Oh joy! I get to endure rejection after rejection again. And since I'm breastfeeding that means I have to do it without the consolation of beer!'
I sent out an initial query that was more of a shot in the dark. My book is written from two different points of view and I do write a lot of what they are thinking. Maybe it's from having an acting background but I like to know motivations and watch my characters self deprecate. So I sent a query that was in the voice of my female lead. I know, I wrote my query in the first person which, I found out later, is apparently frowned upon. What I didn't realize at the time was that maybe the agent would assume I had written the whole novel in first person because I was looking at it as inner dialogue, like something you would see on the back cover of the book. Well, the shot in the dark hit its mark. I was asked to send a partial. Very exciting!
And then the rejection came. I was disappointed at first, who wouldn't be, right? But when I read it I felt pretty good the rest of the day. The agent liked my premise. Someone liked my story based on the synopsis! Points for me for doing at least something right. What they didn't like was the narrative voice. They didn't like that my story was told in the third person instead of first. Looking back, (that hindsight thing) I know that the query was misleading and a new query has replaced it. It makes me wonder though if I would get farther with my writing career if I were to write in first person.
Now, I have tried my hand at first person narrative. I've played with some of the stories on this blog, tried new things, and I'll be honest - I hate writing in first person. It sucks. It is such a narrow point of view. Unless your name is Shirley Jackson and you are able to make the character well-rounded, real and somehow unreliable and ambiguous then maybe you should stick to something else. Even Shirley didn't write in first person exclusively. The readers have to be able to see more of the world, to get more information than just what is inside some seventeen year old's head. Which brings me to my question.
Why are so many young adult novels told in first person?
It seems that the popular books in this genre are almost exclusively told in first person. Which also made me realize that I don't actually like reading most books that are written in first person - besides the occasional read of The Handmaid's Tale or The Great Gatsby. There are some great books told from the first person narrative because it makes the read that much more suspenseful or dramatic. A mystery is wonderful in first person. But does EVERY young adult novel have to be told this way? If you are writing about a teenage love story and you're stalking your love interest and you're not supposed to know they are asking a friend about you then I get it. But if you were writing in third person and from different characters perspectives than you, the reader, would know what was going on and you wouldn't feel like you were being transported back to high school with all of the insecurities you thought you had left behind. Sometimes being left in the dark and only knowing what the lead knows is a good thing and sometimes it is so annoying that the book gets put down never to be picked back up again.
It's one of those things that must be easier for some people. Like how Stephen King and Nora Roberts can plow through five books a year while the rest of us can only muddle through one and a half. To each their own. Since it seems to be easier to sell first person narratives I almost wish my brain worked that way. Almost. For now I will keep chugging along. Maybe I'll try my hand at another short in first person and I'll let you guys tell me whether or not I should stick to third.
I sent out an initial query that was more of a shot in the dark. My book is written from two different points of view and I do write a lot of what they are thinking. Maybe it's from having an acting background but I like to know motivations and watch my characters self deprecate. So I sent a query that was in the voice of my female lead. I know, I wrote my query in the first person which, I found out later, is apparently frowned upon. What I didn't realize at the time was that maybe the agent would assume I had written the whole novel in first person because I was looking at it as inner dialogue, like something you would see on the back cover of the book. Well, the shot in the dark hit its mark. I was asked to send a partial. Very exciting!
And then the rejection came. I was disappointed at first, who wouldn't be, right? But when I read it I felt pretty good the rest of the day. The agent liked my premise. Someone liked my story based on the synopsis! Points for me for doing at least something right. What they didn't like was the narrative voice. They didn't like that my story was told in the third person instead of first. Looking back, (that hindsight thing) I know that the query was misleading and a new query has replaced it. It makes me wonder though if I would get farther with my writing career if I were to write in first person.
Now, I have tried my hand at first person narrative. I've played with some of the stories on this blog, tried new things, and I'll be honest - I hate writing in first person. It sucks. It is such a narrow point of view. Unless your name is Shirley Jackson and you are able to make the character well-rounded, real and somehow unreliable and ambiguous then maybe you should stick to something else. Even Shirley didn't write in first person exclusively. The readers have to be able to see more of the world, to get more information than just what is inside some seventeen year old's head. Which brings me to my question.
Why are so many young adult novels told in first person?
It seems that the popular books in this genre are almost exclusively told in first person. Which also made me realize that I don't actually like reading most books that are written in first person - besides the occasional read of The Handmaid's Tale or The Great Gatsby. There are some great books told from the first person narrative because it makes the read that much more suspenseful or dramatic. A mystery is wonderful in first person. But does EVERY young adult novel have to be told this way? If you are writing about a teenage love story and you're stalking your love interest and you're not supposed to know they are asking a friend about you then I get it. But if you were writing in third person and from different characters perspectives than you, the reader, would know what was going on and you wouldn't feel like you were being transported back to high school with all of the insecurities you thought you had left behind. Sometimes being left in the dark and only knowing what the lead knows is a good thing and sometimes it is so annoying that the book gets put down never to be picked back up again.
It's one of those things that must be easier for some people. Like how Stephen King and Nora Roberts can plow through five books a year while the rest of us can only muddle through one and a half. To each their own. Since it seems to be easier to sell first person narratives I almost wish my brain worked that way. Almost. For now I will keep chugging along. Maybe I'll try my hand at another short in first person and I'll let you guys tell me whether or not I should stick to third.
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