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[Korbac]

I never realized until today the antipathy I have for first-person writing in fiction.

I've always had a generalised antipathy for 1st - person writing. It always feels like the book is about the author.

[GiglameshDespair]

I never realized until today the antipathy I have for first-person writing in fiction.

I've always had a generalised antipathy for 1st - person writing. It always feels like the book is about the author.

But if it wasn't in first person, a lot of fanfiction would be that slightest bit less terrible, and thus less amusing to mock.

[Frumple]

First person's definitely a much harder "sell", so to speak. Has been forever. That said, I've become inured somewhat over the years, and I've still ran into enough of 'em that were sufficiently good that I'll give 'em a chance, or at the very least no longer immediately run screaming into the hills.

It's definitely something abused by poorly done/barely concealed self-inserts, though.

[Putnam]

That's the odd thing; I can get used to it during the reading, but if I read something third-person in the meantime, the transition back jars me and fills me with some sort of indescribable discomfort even if I'm enjoying what I'm reading.

[Yoink]

I've read some excellent first-person fiction. I think it's generally best done with a 'conversational' kind of style, as though it is the character telling his/her story.

My current WTF: Last night I somehow skipped the 'tipsy' and 'drunk' stages to go straight to 'completely smashed'. Must have been because I was tired.
...Or maybe it was the absinthe.

[Skyrunner]

thomas the dragonborn

too funny because of the sheer wtf value Dx

(alway posted it originally)

[Flying Dice]

You do tend to run into first-person narrative a lot in the form of bad self-inserts, but I still find it to be a really interesting format when it's done well; it's certainly a much more intimate involvement with the story. It also tends to... eeh, refocus the work to a certain degree from the externalities of the plot onto the internal conflicts of the viewpoint character, since for all intents and purposes the reader is the character, rather than riding along beside them watching things happen.

[Mech#4]

Looking over it, Sherlock Holmes is written in the first person, as it's all from the perspective of Dr Watson. It's interesting to read, though it can be confusing as to whether you're reading an account as they happen (like the character is dictating to a recorder) or you're reading what the character wrote later on. A detail which I find only clarifies itself if the last page says something like "So ends my records of the blah blah blah blah".

[Bauglir]

Goddamn it, 4chan. TILE PATTERNS?

I can say no more, lest I violate the forum rules probably, and honestly it's probably funnier to lack context.

[scrdest]

So, very recently I learned of a band quite similar to another one I happen to like, and after checking them out I literally yesterday downloaded one of their more well-known song.

But still, as far as bands that were big in the Seventies, this one faded into obscurity for the most part.


Today, as I muster the strength to properly wake up, guess what I hear? THAT EXACT SONG PLAYING OVER THE GODDAMN RADIO.

What are the odds?

[Putnam]

Looking over it, Sherlock Holmes is written in the first person, as it's all from the perspective of Dr Watson. It's interesting to read, though it can be confusing as to whether you're reading an account as they happen (like the character is dictating to a recorder) or you're reading what the character wrote later on. A detail which I find only clarifies itself if the last page says something like "So ends my records of the blah blah blah blah".

I like it when there's a framing device that explains it, such as Frankenstein.

[Elephant Parade]

Goddamn it, 4chan. TILE PATTERNS?

I can say no more, lest I violate the forum rules probably, and honestly it's probably funnier to lack context.

After utilizing Google, I can say that I agree with your statement.

[Graknorke]

A detail which I find only clarifies itself if the last page says something like "So ends my records of the blah blah blah blah".

Hound of the Baskervilles explicitly states that the first few chapters are written from part of a journal.

[Skyrunner]

I never realized until today the antipathy I have for first-person writing in fiction.

I've always had a generalised antipathy for 1st - person writing. It always feels like the book is about the author.

But if it wasn't in first person, a lot of fanfiction would be that slightest bit less terrible, and thus less amusing to mock.

I dunno, first person makes the narrator feel much closer, at the cost of reducing reader interest in the narrator, since they know all about the narrator and thus don't need to know more.

[Digital Hellhound]

I only have a problem with dialogue in 1st person. All the 'I say/saids' just feel awkward. Otherwise, though, I have no problem with it. Writing in 1st person is nicely different if you're used to 3rd, too.

2nd person writing, though...