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Topic : Re: What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing in first person? A lot of people are either on the side of first person or the side of third person. But what are the advantages and disadvantages - selfpublishingguru.com

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First person makes it easy to show a character's motivations, and using it with an unreliable narrator can add a nice twist of ambiguity. With highly sympathetic narrators, it can forge a strong connection between reader and protagonist.

On the other hand: (Most of this assumes the point point-of-view character is the protagonist, which is the option I've seen most often.) The reader can't witness any action that the protagonist doesn't. It's more challenging to describe the point-of-view character (both physically and otherwise). The reader doesn't get the benefit of multiple perspectives on the same events. It tends to distance the reader a bit from the other characters.

"Disadvantages" might not be the best word, because some or all of them can be advantages in certain types of stories. For instance, suspense might hinge almost entirely on the reader's only being privy to a limited view of events.

I would say that, generally, first-person works best with a point-of-view character who is either extremely identifiable (reader feels at home in the character's head) or not identifiable at all (reader needs an especially deep insight into the character's motivations).


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