This is going to be less like a discussion post and more like me complaining, but seriously, what is up with that?! I love first person! But you never see it anymore. Everything is always in personal third.
First person is just so intimate. You really get to know the character really well, and I love that it feels like they are talking directly to you. In first person you really get characters that feel like they could be your best friend forever.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I don’t like third person POV. That personal third person is the most popular choice for a reason. It works, WELL. But there’s just nothing like some good ol’ “I” and “me”. Am I right?
Authors, pretty please, write me some awesome first person fantasy? ❤
Never Not Reading 
I don’t write my books in first person, because I hate first person lol sorry. You could write some books in first person though.
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The book I want to write someday will definitely be in first person. I think it lends well to it. 🙂
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I agree. I prefer first person. I see third person narrative more in books these day and usually they are third person narrative but from protagonist’s POV. I often think what the point of that and why not just write first person narrative!
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EXACTLY! If you’re going to know all their thoughts and feelings anyway, why not just first person?
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I would definitely like to see more first-person narratives, and I agree with you that they feel more personal.
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The trend seems to be telling the narrative from different perspectives. I think it depends a lot on genre. Some books are better told in certain ways.
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Agreed. Changing POV could get very confusing in the first person.
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What’s your fave first person?
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Oh gosh, I don’t even know! Jane Eyre would be an obvious pick, but Life of Pi is another favorite. Recently The One and Only Ivan blew me away, and Garvey’s Choice (which are both MG novels in verse).
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Good choices!
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I love a mix of 1st and 3rd person! For example, I’m currently reading Shadow of the Fox by Julia Kagawa. It has alternative chapters between the two main characters. It’s neat to see how the character thinks about the other character. I’m not sure if that makes any sense after I say it out loud, LOL. But I do love 1st person. I feel like the characters are telling me all their secrets. It’s so cool. 3rd person makes me feel like I’m a bug on the wall watching from afar.
-Amber
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Amber, I get the same feeling! Third person makes me feel like I’m watching as a ghost in the middle of the scene, or Harry in the Pensieve, whereas first person makes me feel like I *am* the MC.
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I wonder if it’s harder to write or to keep it up while your writing so authors just revert to the easier? Good question though!
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I wonder if maybe authors think it seems childish, since it’s very popular in kids’ lit. Or maybe they think people won’t be able to remember the character’s name? lol, I definitely wouldn’t. I barely remember them now!
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Huh. That’s so interesting, because 1st person is all over the place in contemporary romance.
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Ah, see, I don’t read romance really. *is sheepish*
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That’s ok! I just thought your post was interesting because I see 1st person a lot and don’t really love it. Writing trends definitely vary widely by genre!
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I actually prefer third person. Although, I’d never stop reading a book because of the point of view. What I really don’t like are books that switch from 1st person back to 3rd.
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You’re the second person to mention that. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like that! I don’t know that I like one better than the other, I really like pretty much anything, lol.
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The one that I was thinking of was A Discovery of Witches. I liked the book, but I found the shift in POV’s jarring.
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I read that book. Are Diana’s scenes in first person? I don’t even remember that now.
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I think she’s in third and the main male character is in fist because he’s spying on her.
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I do not remember that at all. It probably would have bothered me too! (full disclosure, I kind of liked but kind of hated that series, lol)
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Actually, I read lots of books in 1st person. I don’t really have much of a preference between that and 3rd, but there is an intimacy that 1st person has that sometimes 3rd can’t give you. That said, a good writer can make 3rd person very intimate.
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I don’t know that I like one better than the other either. But sometimes I just want a change, you know?
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Absolutely.
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That’s interesting because I prefer third person but think a ton of books are in first person (at least YA, where is seems to be the vast majority are in first person).
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YA in first person???? I mean, I don’t read all YA or anything, but I can’t think of the last YA book I read in first person. Probably something by John Green?
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Yes, it does seem like it used to be a trend not all that long ago. Isn’t the whole Divergent series written in first person? And Hunger Games? And Twilight? …OK, that’s the extent of my knowledge.
It’s not fantasy, but Susan Howatch writes fantastic 1st-person novels. In her Church of England series, each novel is related by one character. You have to read the whole series to get in the different characters’ heads and see how differently they view the very same events. 1st person works especially well for that series because the plots all turn on personal growth and the characters dealing with their issues.
Anyway, I just loved her method (if that’s the word?) and I sort of copied it in my first novel, where the different characters will narrate individual chapters in the first person. I kind of had to do it that way, because they don’t all speak the same language but the reader still needs to know what each is thinking.
For the sequel, I moved to omniscient narrator because it just felt right. Also, that allows me to reveal to the reader just as much of each character’s thoughts as I want them to hear, but no more. Preserve a little mystery.
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I remember Twilight being in first, but I thought THG was in third. I don’t remember Divergent at all. The Mortal Instruments was in first I think? I don’t know, but I’m not as into YA as much as I was.
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I just finished Beach Read, which is in first person, and I do remember thinking, ” Wow, I think it’s been a while since I’ve read a book written in first person.” I loved it, btw. 🙂 Great topic!
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Thanks! I saw a bookstagram post for Beach Read this week! Did you like it?
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