Thursday, September 18, 2014

The Problematic Persepctive

     A recent event in my writing life made me confront my feelings about first person perspective.  I'm just not sure I buy it, is the thing.  I mean, what is first person supposed to be in a fictional narrative?  Is the character relating the story to us after the fact?  The detail and descriptiveness of the language are far greater than most people use when they tell us stories.  Is it the character's inner monologue?  If so, then why is it in past tense? 
     As a reader, I will admit that I can be swept up by the story and put my reservations aside.   But as a writer, I need to justify the voice the story is told in so I can make it work.  I'm still a bit dubious, but I think I might have found a way.  Hopefully, I will be able to touch more on this subject in the future.

No comments:

Post a Comment