SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME that you should check out Curiosity Stream at curiositystream.com/hellofutureme and use my code ;) Also I looked damn good in that photo and none of you will convince me otherwise. Welcome to 2020 people. What's your tip for writing first person? Let the games begin. Stay nerdy! ~ Tim
Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman is a fantastic first person series that manages to escape some of the more traditional limitations of first person storytelling by rotating through a small cast of central characters at chapter transitions. She uses this to repeat key scenes in sequential chapters, each time with a different perspective and different inner voice. Each retelling reveals different parts of those events to the reader over time, as well as ephasising the narrative weight they carry. I'd highly recomend checking it out if you're interested in writing with mutliple first-person narratives.
Changing perspectives throughout a story and seeing how each may be similar but different from one another has always been a fascinating idea. From my point of view anyway :) Thank you for the video, it was insightful and interesting as always!
Use punctuation marks to change from inner and outer thoughts and words. Divide sentences to build suspense and momentum. One sentence paragraphs for fast, and long for deep thoughts. First-person can be fun for both writer and reader if done with thought on how you feel while reading and not just the words (though those are, of course, important too).
I’m mostly hear for breakdowns of what makes Avatar: The Last Airbender a perfect TV show; eventually I just fell in love with the way Tim does his channel.
Me too. I just wanted to give my dnd character a little more personality and dimension. Allthough some of the tips were not applicable some were really helpful.
I always felt like twilight would have been better if not for Bella being the main character. We have hints of werewolves capable of making the vampire lords shaking in thier boots, ancient Egyptian magic, and lots of other more interesting avenues the story can never go in becuase this is a book about a boring teenage girls highschool drama with vampires.
“As I am telling myself of the need to check the first chapter of the book I started writing long ago and start working on the second, tim uploads some information useful for my review.” “For me the only way to write is in first person, I can become the perspective character and tell my tale to the audience over the campfire, in a Journal shared by several heroes written long after the events of the tale, or through a personality and memory storage system in a museum long past my time.”
@@monywrmtailpadfotprngs6985 At least in the book fake Moody definitely told him to do that. Not sure if he also did that in the film (would make sense, but I don't remember him admitting to doing so at the end. I'd need to rewatch it and check)
Easy cop out for soft magic systems that will still feel the way they should: Describe how the magic FEELS, and the method through which the user actually taps into it. For example, the elemental magic system I use in my novels, with Storm Energy: I felt a storm brew above me and called it’s energy to me. As I absorbed more of the tempest high above, I also felt that tempest rise inside myself. Soon enough, my arms tingle with barely contained electrical power; lightning trapped in a bottle. I let a grin split my face and heard an undertone of thunder as I spoke, my voice low. “You’re about to wish you had never crossed my path... But it’s too late for you now. All of you.” And with that, I allowed the energy to scream out of my arms, and watched as it leapt from soldier to soldier.
That is such a good technique! I noticed that it's used really well in one of my favourite songs, The Horse Tamer's Daughter (link here: ruclips.net/video/fuGIBX9FGZQ/видео.html). Instead of describing the exact techniques she used for calling the horses, the protagonist just says, "I'd feel the wild ones running / and I'd bid them "Turn again," / and a few I'd see would come to me, about every one in ten." Another great spot is when she and some horses she's called are fighting some more powerful magic users. Instead of focusing on the magic used in battling them or the moves she uses, the protagonist says, "We built a shield about the Tower, with walls of wind and thought / with hooves of light, through the Mirror's sight, we battered and thrust and fought. / The wizards flinched, the wizards fell, and cried up from the ground, / 'Have done, have done, you nine-in-one! Only tell us, what have we found?'" It's a subtle detail, but it's really powerful!
@@TheCrazymonkey316 it *can,* but one of the first things one ought to remember about writing is that there are very few (if any) absolutes; yes, using "I" a lot can feel choppy, but it can also work very well. It depends upon context. Also, if you're criticizing the excerpt of the novel up there, I think it works very well.
The djinn in The Bartimaeus Trilogy has probably one of the most interesting uses of first-person that I've ever read (footnotes!) and the trilogy as a whole really sticks the landing.
I was just thinking about that trilogy! It's one of the best examples of first person making the book what it is. The book would have been completely different if it were to be written in third person.
I love that series! Especially since the chapters are split between Bartimaeus's 1st person POV, and third person POV for the other characters, it really helps set him apart from the world and characters. It's the kind of style I'd want to emulate.
"You're here so you're probably already considering using first person." Me, who's just booted up minecraft after a long day of work during which I was lowkey constantly occupied w/ about my dissatisfaction w/ my many story concepts and my lack of emotional attachment to any of them: o yeah, writing, I'm. Thinking about doing that.
If you'd like to talk about Robert Pattinson, you should talk about his performance in The Lighthouse. It was brilliant. And so is the writing in that movie. It was one of my favorites.👌👍 I'm so glad ur back Tim.
@@HelloFutureMe Here's some required watching of some honestly great as hell movies this year. Parasite Uncut Gems Joker 1917 The Farewell Just Mercy The Irishman Klaus (I think you'd really like this one. Available on Netflix). Abominable (I surprisingly liked this one. Reminds me a lot of How To Train Your Dragon). I Lost My Body (Netflix) Marriage Story (Netflix) The Report Dark Rivers HBO's Chernobyl Richard Jewell Ford v. Ferrari Also, an animated short that I would recommend is "Hair Love". All of these are great movies or miniseries to watch and that I recommend.
My favourite first person story is "Hangman" by Jack Heath. It's about a detective who is hiding the fact that he is a cannibal. Being able to see such a close view of his thought process and mental struggles is incredibly engaging and strangely allows you to sympathies with him in a way that a third person perspective would struggle to achieve. I absolutely recommend this book, and there's a sequel too. Fun times, yay for cannibals.
Well, now *I'm* thinking about it- which is weird because I didn't ever before, not even when I was a teenager first reading Twilight. Oral would have been difficult, and intercourse should have been impossible, but honestly, I see no reason he couldn't have given Bella (very careful) manual. 🤷 Whatta prude~
What's weird is that she went to the trouble of explaining that female reproductive organs no longer work after the transition, but there's no explanation for how the male ones do... It's been a while since I've read it, so I don't remember if it said they have no blood flow or if their veins are just filled with borrowed blood. If it's the latter, that would explain how they manage to have sex. But if the ovaries shrivel why do male bodies continue to produce sperm? Those swimmers have got a pretty short shelf-life, so you know they haven't been sitting around for 50 years. Even if there was an explanation, it's an odd decision that likely stems from wanting sexy vampires while still needing an excuse for why they "make" new members of their species instead of birthing them.
19:11 This sentence made my day. 7:43 Exactly: the problem with Twilight is Stephanie Meyer herself. In my opinion, the only way Bella could become a compelling character is if you are a socially awkward, mentally ill person and project a lot of yourself on her: exactly what I did. My connection with her is completely artificial (12:45) and I fully understand why most people don't like her.
Funny thing--i've heard it argued that bella reads the way she does because she was designed to be a blank slate so a variety of readers could more easily project themselves onto her. Her only major interests seem to be edward and jacob, she doesn't describe herself as having any notable talents or flaws except for her clumsiness (and even that isn't really borne out by the story), she doesn't have much of a voice...But the less there is to define bella, the easier it is for readers immerse themselves in the fantasy of being loved by edward and/or jacob. It's a weird sort of narrative logic to me--perhaps it might almost have worked better to write the story in second person (almost)--but if that was the idea, then i guess i sort of get it?
@@stitchedwithcolor Being loved by two boys... "Guys, I'm flattered, but I don't swing that way..." XD You can make the blank slate work in a book, I guess?, but that sort of thing belongs more to a video game. Narrative is all about empathy, and in my opinion, Stephanie Meyer failed most people other than the oddballs like me. Weak plot, poor/non-existant villains, few compelling characters... I don't even remember the action scenes in the books.
@WeissM89 Hey, i don't judge. ;) Honestly, the blank slate thing didn't work so well for me either; the expectation that i would identify with a heroine with so little to her was a little...jarring? I guess that's as good a word for it as any. I come into stories wanting to know what makes someone tick, and i didn't find that in twilight. I've known other folks for whom it really worked, tho, and no shade on them. As much as i didn't care for the series, though, i do think the nerd world gave twilight and its fans more flak than they really deserved, in part because we can be so quick to reject fiction that's intended for a younger femme audience. Twilight was far from great, yeah, but i found eragon even more frustrating, and that series seemed to get a pass from what i saw.
Just a thought I mean, Eragon had its problems. The first book was a copy-paste of the plot from Star Wars among a few. However overall, the book series was great. Twilight had awful characters, no plot to speak of, and shitty lore. That’s just a few of the problems the books have. I could go on, however I don’t want to relive that horrible series.
assassintwinat8 riordan’s heroes of olympus series gives multiple perspectives in limited third person. i wanna know if that’s achievable with first person instead
It's interesting because it does that visually in the anime. In Kizumonogatari, a prequel story, environments look normal. But after he has that supernatural experience, environments become warped and distorted for the rest of the series. A school has a 7 story spiral staircase, dozens of highly specific street signs line the roads, giant trees grow out of abandoned schools, his bathroom is practically a cathedral in size and decoration. His perspective on the world had warped from his time spent as a vampire, which is one of the more subtle examples of unreliable narration I'd ever seen. Or it could just be Shaft being Shaft, and I'm over reading into it. But the normal environments in Kizu stick out to me compared to the surreal look of the others.
I'm stunned at how much of this I already use intuitively (like using First person for subjective and emotionally-heavy moments for already established characters and narrowing perspectives) without understanding logically how it works. Thanks! I hope that now that I *know* how it works I can streamline the process without resorting to guessing. PS. As a sidenote: if you're familiar with roleplaying, deep-diving into the character actually helps! First-person writing is quite close to roleplaying.
I roleplayed for years before I finally got the idea to start writing stories and fics of my own. I am so very comfortable with first person and came here to see if theres any tips I could work on - but I have learned most of this on my own by "practising" so long without actually practising if you know what I mean :D I handle third person too but I have to think harder for it and usually in my stories I have one person (Main main protagonist) POV in first and other characters POV in third
Knowing how much Percy Jackson's "Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood" lives rent-free in my head, I must admit "Confessions make fantastic opening lines" is one of the truest statements ever spoken.
3rd person limited I think has most of the benefits of 1st person. Yes it adds psychic distance and isn't as close up as 1st person but also gives the story a air of mystery when you choose to increase psychic distance. Filtering through the characters lense happens in both. 3rd person limited is different from 3rd person omniscient.
I've got a fanfic which I will probs never finish, which I had to choose whether to write in 3rd person limited or 1st, and I chose 3rd. I needed to add in a little distance between myself and the character I was writing, to keep her voice different from mine and to not get overwhelmed by her issues (or let mine overwhelm her).
You naturally get that air of mystery in first person. You can do a lot of things in third but to say it has almost all the benefits of first is misrepresenting the points made in the video. Writers who struggle with character voice seem to do better with third.
The first thing you find out when yer dog starts to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. The Knife of Never Letting Go is such a good book.
One thing I always bring up about Bella's (lack of) character is that it's, to an extent, intentional. Bella was not a character meant to have her own agency, she was meant as an easy spot to replace. The point of a book like Twilight and a character like Bella is to have readers imagine or wish they were the focus, that they were the subject of affection and quarrel between multiple beautiful and devoted potential partners. In a way, it's a first person narrative filling the purpose of a second person narrative. Granted I didn't actually _read_ Twilight, I just know this typically happens with stories like this.
Hey! Non-patron, random viewer, request: Do a video about writing a fictional biospheres I need a _"Biology is complicated"_ clip for professional reasons...
That would be an interesting video. If it helps I can give some advise: think of the general structure of your animals: i.e vertebrates on earth have four limbs with similar looking finger structures. Look at earth's food webs and how animals fit into certain niches and think of alternate ways those niches can be fulfilled in your world. Also remember that you don't have to build everything, if you're writing a story you've probably going to want to focus on one region where the story takes place.
17:06 I thought he was going to say Raid shadow legends. Honestly though amazing video, it makes me think more about how I write my stories and might make me write in first person more
Thanks for all your tips, Tim! I'm currently in the midst of writing a story told by two different first person narrators, and I'm trying to differentiate between their voices, and to capture different parts of the story through their eyes. This video certainly gives me food for thought in how to do so!💖📚📝
Hey me too! It's a method to compare two enemies' mental states and internal struggles, showing their common ground and how their circumstances encourage certain choices. I'm super excited about it and this video was so helpful!
Just don’t be Veronica Roth in Allegiant and you’ll be good to go! 👌 But seriously, good luck with your writing! Contrasting first person POVs can be hard - I’m also writing one right now haha
@@trinaq Its good to hear there are others who are trying the same thing! Antagonist and Protagonist (to oversimplify) as they grew up together somewhat. Plus protagonist is 8-12 yrs in the first, so he is somewhat restricted. If I told it only from his pov, the readers would have a very, very slanted view of everything...
I think it’s one of the first paragraphs? I...I hate that I know that. Edit: Oh my god I just checked it and it’s the first line of the book (if we’re not counting what I guess is a prologue??)
I just realized that even though I've watched dozens of videos from this channel over the course of months and followed Hello Future Me on twitter, I wasn't actually subscribed and have only found these videos through youtube recommendations and twitter. How?!
Removing filter words is often effective in third-person as well. It ties into the wider issue of "viewpoint intrusion," where in an attempt to remind the reader of the narrator's point of view, they actually get in the way of telling the story.
My favorite first-person narrative, neither SF nor fantasy, is the Quiller spy fiction written by Elliston Trevor writing as Adam Hall. The first-person choice kicks the action into a level of high-stakes suspense unachievable in any other way.
I was blown away by the character voices in that book. Six different narrators - six! And we can always tell when we’re switching to a different perspective, even though it’s not labeled, because their voices are so distinct.
How interesting that I found this video the day after beginning a novel in first person. My prose is very lavish, because the protagonist begins the story illiterate and he's writing his account of his life years after it all, having self-educated himself. I can see him sitting by a device with a theasaurus beside him! His dialogue will slowly change as the story progresses. He goes on tangents describing things a bit considering he's talking about the past and now knows what different words on a sign mean, can properly describe his feelings, and remember details he may have not have noticed back then. A lot will be mentioned about his mother in the first half. A lot will be mentioned about fear and doubt in the second half. I figure the further he gets into the story, the less he'll spend time on talking about his moments with a character dear to his heart who will die by his own hand. Good point about those psychic deviance words. I'll look out for them.
This was SOOO GOOD! Thank you so much for this! I can read two lines and tell which one sounds better, but you give detailed explanations to how and why. You're awesome!
There's an interesting sub-category to third-person that essentially emulates the rules of first-person, the most obvious example being Harry Potter. The Harry Potter books (aside from each first chapter) could've easily been written in first-person without any changes to the structure or plot, and only minimal changes to the passages themselves. Harry is with us through every scene, and we're granted access into his head but not those of anyone else. Would be interested in seeing an analysis of this choice.
Harry as the focal/viewpoint character is an interesting example because this choice constantly forces plot devices that would allow him to learn information he normally wouldn't (overhearing stuff while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, looking into the Pensieve, Tom Riddle's diary etc). This is not to mention the routine exposition dumps by Dumbledore in the last chapter of almost every book :) I think Rowling did a great job, however it shows that there are many limitations to this way of writing a story. The payoff is of course also huge, a memorable main character we can relate to!
Harry Potter is still very much 3rd person and Harry Potter in 1st would have been quite different. We get glimpses of Harry's thought but we aren't getting the same character voice as we would have in 1st. There were many chapters that were not in Harry's pov and to go from side character pov to Harry in 1st person might have been too jarring. I think people who say 3rd limited emulates 1st are still misunderstanding the differences.
@@anarchsnark That's why I called it a sub-category of third. I think it's okay to recognize the similarities to first without diminishing the differences as you pointed out. Writing style is very complex, and these creative adjustments to more popular styles can create for unique and entertaining perspectives. As a screenwriter, I especially enjoy "third-person limited perspective" because it translates well into other mediums. Movies like Chinatown or Rosemary's Baby could be cited as adapting this style into film.
I really like how George RR Martin does first person in Game of Thrones, obviously you get multiple perspectives but it’s also written in third person pronouns (she, they, her, him, Arya knew this, Jon felt this) but it’s so obvious first person as we only get information from what the character we’re following sees hears or feels, hearing their thoughts, only getting first person pronouns when it’s italicized and it’s clearing their exact thought. All the character descriptions, history, world building we get is the opinion of the character. I think it helps give a unique writing style, help the reader remember who we’re following, and gives better world building by showing how different people from every side of the world, war, religion, age, etc see the world and events around them.
I think my three favorite 1st person narratives/narrators are Lestat from Anne Rice's (early) vampire novels, Grendel from John Gardner's eponymous book retelling Beowulf from Grendel's point of view, and Loki from The Gospel According to Loki by Joanne Harris which retells Norse mythology through Loki's eyes. Lets just say, I love the unreliable narrator concept, and I even like to apply it to 3rd person works which have a framing story of being written by one of the characters (like The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarillion). Just brings such a richness to the world and the inability to actually KNOW anything for certain. Makes it feel more real, since there is so much in the real world that we just can't know either.
I grew up reading novels in first person. In fact, the first series that really grabbed my attention when i was little was The Percy Jackson series. So, now adays, i still continue to prefer first person over third, and especially over third-omniscient. I didn't realize until recently that the majority of readers like myself, don't prefer first person like I do
I absolutely love the first person as I generally find myself more interested in the actual characters than in the story itself. This stems from a theory on writing (though I can't for the life of me remember where I picked this up) that basically boils down to the idea that if you develop the characters well enough the writer essentially becomes the person behind the camera watching the story unfold and picking which shots to use. A mental exercise I use in relation to this is to simply take whatever situation I find myself to be in throughout my day and ask myself "What would this character do in this scenario?". The idea, for me, is that if the characters are interesting enough it doesn't particularly matter what they're doing, it'll still be interesting. @16:48 I call this "shopping list syndrome" and it's a bit of a flag for an amateur writer when overused (overused being the key word here) because it's one of the ways we tend to learn how to write in the first place. Avoid this by re-working paragraphs to largely avoid starting two sentences with the same word then extend this to the rest of the page as best you can. It's a simple little fix that can make your writing sound less repetitive (use this for certain words and phrases within your sentences too!) but don't get bogged down doing this on your first draft either if it doesn't come naturally to you: it's a writing muscle you'll develop over time so doing an editing pass specifically for this is perfectly fine.
This is very helpful for my creative writing class. Thank you very much, and I’m glad I found this video the day it was uploaded. Also you’ve gotten another subscriber :)
Tim. I just arrived at this video. Dude, it is AWESOME. I just, had the biggest mindblown (and then subsecuently felt stupid for not realizing it by myself) when you described the way of writing by focusing on "the thing that your character sees, and the thing that he doesn't". I all fell together. And i love it. Seriously. If you ever read this, thank you.
Part of what helps The Name of the Wind is the brief dips back into third person, which juxtaposes the voice of Kvothe, and allows for a little extra exposition that is necessary, but doesn't make sense for kvothe to tell in the story. The interludes do have other purposes as well, but these relate directly to the first person perspective.
Great video! I love how you gave tips on writing in first person. I used to hate the idea of writing in first person in my creative works, but I've come to accept that it sometimes helps put the reader in the shoes of the protagonist and can be a really useful tool
Something I'd really love to hear you talk about (because it's in a similar vein) is how to write a story from multiple shifting POVs, a la Game of Thrones or The Heroes of Olympus. Your tips on character voice have been so helpful already because nobody has given me good insight as to what a character voice is supposed to sound like, and I finally understand it well enough I can try to create different voices for each of my characters during their POV chapters, but learning how to balance, pace, and use my shifting POV chapters effectively will really help light a fire under my storytelling.
You go in to all the problems I have with most first person stories, they arent characters they're news reports or juat bland descriptions with the word I. Very few authors do it well and I almost never stay past the first chapter for first person novels or stories.
By watching this going forward, I'm going to use this as a guide for my story. Since I'm going on without too much planning, I can't waste my time editing my first couple of chapters, but I can at least go forward better now that I know how to do first pov better
I kinda wonder at a few third person perspective books, such as Harry Potter. Because even though it is written in third person, everything that was described was in Harry's perspective. Like how in the second book, it described how he talked to the snake and we, as the reader, learned later along with him that the others heard only hissing. It probably wouldn't make much difference whether it was written in first person or third person
I appreciate this video in showing me not only how to write effective 1st Person Narrative, but also comparing it to 3rd Person, as that is the form I most often use, and I gained valuable insights into how I can write more good. Sorry for not writing good right now, my brain is very very tired.
I'm writing a first person story that feels very abstract but part of that is because my main character is blind and so I can't use any visual descriptions. She was born blind and has no idea how things "look". Everything is described using the other four senses. The story also starts off more poetic as she fills the reader in on what they've missed and then becomes more grounded as the story catches up to " now".
@@BonaparteBardithion unfortunately no. I'm just getting started in my writing career and don't have a website or anything like that yet but I hope to one day.
I met a blind person who claimed to know by feel the color red from other colors. I do not know if this was a real true sensory input or a delusion. Just 'food for thought' . If I were reading your book and your character claimed to be able to distinguish colors, I would not put the book down bit I might not believe your character. However, perhaps you should ignore this reply, because saying well what you wish to say is important.
@@eastlynburkholder3559 Actually, I avoided the mention of any colors so far in the book. But I have plans for one part where a side character tells the main character she'd look good in blue but when asked to describe the color the side character struggles to do so.
"Beacon 23" by Hugh Howey is my favorite first person novel right now, it's an "old man alone in a lighthouse" story that flawlessly navigates PTSD, isolation, and forgiveness in a believable manner.
I loved this video! I'm in the middle of redrafting my novel with two first person narrations. This video (and the rest of your writing and worldbuilding videos) have helped to reframe my thinking and inspired my to write a more in-depth, compelling tale.
I think a solid first person story with a soft magic system is Worm. Every single character has a different power, a unique way to use that power, and more importantly, “feels” that power in a personal way. Taylor’s perspective on how it feels to control bugs is so interesting, and it changes throughout the serial. When we see other’s perspective, we see that their powers have so much variety in execution that it all has a very unique feel.
Robin McKinley frequently does a really excellent job of balancing soft magic systems with an intensely psychological focus on only one character (even when she's writing in the third person). There's often a surreal or dreamlike quality to her work, and her characters often have a realistically fragmented sense of what's going on around them, so they are slightly unreliable POV characters. It's quite lovely.
"The sun beat down on us from its perch in the sky. I looked up at that sky: beautiful blue and perfectly cloudless, not even a wisp of mist. My long hair whipped and tangled in the hot wind as I leaned out the window to absorb as much of that sun as possible. It reflected off my pale arms, folded under my chin, with blinding intensity. I breathed in the scent of the dry atmosphere, radio blasting in the background. I smiled to myself as she tried to sing along with one of her favorite songs behind me. It was a bittersweet smile. My mother was driving me to the airport. I was about to say goodbye to all of this." ?????
1 perspective is so hard, but also good to write. As you write by the perspective of your character, you are forced to really put his shoes. This make a really interesting exercise.
As someone who writes fantasy novels with magical based MCs. You can write magic in first person. Instead of writing the action, you write the feeling of magic, or what it feels like to use magic. You can also add how it is going to be used and you can write in how to person prepares the spell.
I've always been using first person perspective when I first started off writing, but I always feel like I lack something. Something that makes my protagonist feel. . . Not truly alive. Like yes, he is alive, he is talking, breathing and all, but I always feel like my character lacks that one thing that makes him otherwise truly human. I subsequently abandoned such kinds of writing despite people reading my books (my friends) want me to go back to my old roots. Fortunately, this video finally helped me find that problem. I shall now re-attempt to go back to writing first person, and hope that the results are actually good.
A great video about first person narratives in general, as well as a great video about voice. So much of what I see about voice doesn't give clear examples of what voice actually means, and a lot of people end up struggling with figuring out how to give a character a voice because of that. Giving examples of how it colors the way a character views the world is very helpful, and I'll be sure to direct people here when I see people struggling with that.
I think point number two is especially important in stories where you have multiple first-person narratives - it allows the different narratives to sound like different people. It would have been nice to see some Game of Thrones examples, or something from a similar book.
I think this was a much needed video to give a tip on writing. I noticed a lot of mistakes that i made for first person perspectives and realize what i should have done instead for better reveals and impacts in my story.
I'm a writer myself, seeing this video shows the challenge of writing first person, it's another form of genius I think, my writing is all regular story, but maybe one day I will write one now, thank you Tim you're awesome!
I was planning on writing a story in 3rd person, but I think that this video really persuaded me to use 1st person. I was only watching this in the first place because I am trying to watch all of your writing and worldbuilding videos.
JC McCrae/Wildbow's Worm is written almost entirely in first person, but has interlude chapters between major story arcs to provide alternate viewpoints, break the style up, and build the ongoing mystery of the world. It works pretty well.
A way to get around the use of Soft magic, is have aspects in the story that has impeded the character from using said magic for a long time, whether it be plot reasons, or personal reasons. Where the character now has to use said magic again for the story to proceed, but maybe struggles with summoning the power or having to relearn aspects, or even getting an inner view of how it feels for them to finally use said power again.
16:50 this is really interesting. I've been told so many times that changing tenses was bad and confusing, so I ALWAYS went through and "fixed" passages that read similarly to your edit to more resemble the original quote. Now that I see you doing it, I can see that you're very right, and using tenses to describe the order of actions can go a long way to make things read more smoothly.
Hey found you thanks to another RUclipsr, but I just wanted to say that you're a great teacher and have really helped me get better at writing. I've actually learned more from you in one video than a semester at my University which I really find both hilarious and sad
Stephanie Meyers need to write more books in the series it was revealed in Breaking Dawn that the Native American Magical Wolves aka Jacob Black's Tribe were not werewolves and not true werewolves in the world and that the true werewolves were in between Europe and Asia that's is room for a lot of new books/stories to introduce werewolves to the vampires(Edward's Race) and the wolves(Jacob's Race) in the world of twilight.
Love your description I was searching for information like this, thanks a lot. Sadly I can’t imagine to write the book I have in mind in German, It is so much better in English almost everything, but my English is simply not good enough. Its amazing how you describe this different aspects
I tend to write more in third person rather than first, and I would love it if you make a video on third person as well, but this was very insightful and interesting! Your videos just keep getting better and better
What about mixing first and third person perspectives throughout the book? An example that immediately comes to mind is how James Patterson does this in his Alex Cross series, where chapters following Detective Cross are presented from his first person perspective while chapters following anyone else are always presented in the third person.
Another reason I love 1st person for early drafts is that it can help establish setting and tone. How often are stories taking place in blank settings with the bare minimum of props because the writer doesn't take the time to figure out how the POV character feels about where they are as much as what they are doing in the scene? Are they in their element, or in an unfamiliar place? Do they feel surrounded by allies or that everyone in the room is against them?
I'm a big fan of what Havemercy and its sequels did with first person narration - alternate between narrators. So each story offers two very different perspectives. Like the proper but soft intellectual and the edgy ace pilot. I also liked that there's usually 2 stories running almost parallel, only meeting up at the climax. So you've got four PoVs.
My favorite first person series is the Dressden Files by Jim Butcher. That series is pure gold. Lines like "It's not being paranoid to think that a goblin might cut the cables on the elevator if it's true." Delivered after he narrates why he's taking the stairs and not the elevator and his fear of elevator.
VERY good video. I've struggle bussed every time I've tried to write first person. One REALLY good first person series that I've read is the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. Far flung future setting, very good stuff. The main character, Darrow's, evolution throughout the first trilogy is very easily tracked through the way each is written. Without spoiling anything, the way Darrow's inner voice sounds makes it very clear that he's a different sort than almost everyone around him in book 1 and against him all throughout. Then in the second part, despite there being several POV characters (who are each distinct enough to tell one from the other if you were to open to any given page), you start out in Darrow's POV again, and you can immediately feel the toll that the 10 years between book 3 and 4 have taken on him. Really really well done. (Also, highly recommend the series; the first one Red Rising is like the Hunger Game of Thrones, with all the rest continuing that sort of tone. And to go on a tangent - THAT SKYWARD COVER IS SO GOOOOOD! Seriously, the US one isn't near that good...
I also like first person framing devices, not so much narrators, when it comes to comic books. Like Hazel from Saga. She is able to reveal things that set up the story (like the backstory of the war), things that haven't happened yet that heightens tension ("This is the story of how my parents split up"), and her intinate thoughts (the missed connections after the Timesuck).
![On Writing: Prologues [ Game of Thrones l Harry Potter l John Green ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qv9qcTbwAiw/mqdefault.jpg)
SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME that you should check out Curiosity Stream at curiositystream.com/hellofutureme and use my code ;) Also I looked damn good in that photo and none of you will convince me otherwise. Welcome to 2020 people. What's your tip for writing first person? Let the games begin. Stay nerdy!
~ Tim
Would love a whole video about inference.
Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman is a fantastic first person series that manages to escape some of the more traditional limitations of first person storytelling by rotating through a small cast of central characters at chapter transitions. She uses this to repeat key scenes in sequential chapters, each time with a different perspective and different inner voice. Each retelling reveals different parts of those events to the reader over time, as well as ephasising the narrative weight they carry.
I'd highly recomend checking it out if you're interested in writing with mutliple first-person narratives.
Changing perspectives throughout a story and seeing how each may be similar but different from one another has always been a fascinating idea. From my point of view anyway :)
Thank you for the video, it was insightful and interesting as always!
somone once said curiosity killed the cat....not cool, bro
Use punctuation marks to change from inner and outer thoughts and words. Divide sentences to build suspense and momentum. One sentence paragraphs for fast, and long for deep thoughts. First-person can be fun for both writer and reader if done with thought on how you feel while reading and not just the words (though those are, of course, important too).
Tim: Now you're here so you're probably already considering using first person.
Me: Oh God no. I don't write, I just like your videos.
No shame in that
Actually I'm just looking for a guiltless way to postpone writing😝😝
I’m mostly hear for breakdowns of what makes Avatar: The Last Airbender a perfect TV show; eventually I just fell in love with the way Tim does his channel.
Me too. I just wanted to give my dnd character a little more personality and dimension. Allthough some of the tips were not applicable some were really helpful.
I don't write... I just have problems talking in first person sometimes
I now want a version of twilight where Bella is simply a bored newscaster describing the day.
Isn't that what Myers wrote?
I always felt like twilight would have been better if not for Bella being the main character. We have hints of werewolves capable of making the vampire lords shaking in thier boots, ancient Egyptian magic, and lots of other more interesting avenues the story can never go in becuase this is a book about a boring teenage girls highschool drama with vampires.
Still would be better than the original.
Edit: grammar
@@joelsasmad The universe with the creatures could be interesting, but it got swept up in boring teenage girl fates creepy vampire
The vast majority of all Urban fantasy is better than Twilight, from what I see.
Holy crud, you actually got through an entire On Writing episode without making a single Avatar: the Last Airbender reference!
who is this an what did they do with Tim
@terrorcop101 he just didn't want anything to associate Avatar to Twilight.
To be fair, this is probably the only video so far where he literally couldnt lmao
Twilight doesn’t deserve any reference of avatar in the same video
@@lamorach I was concerned for a moment. Thanks for the explanation.
My favorite line from Twilight is “back to you Jim.”
Me: Ok, time to start writing my first person perspective story today
Tim: uploads a video about first person
Me: IS THIS FATE?!?
Yes
“As I am telling myself of the need to check the first chapter of the book I started writing long ago and start working on the second, tim uploads some information useful for my review.”
“For me the only way to write is in first person, I can become the perspective character and tell my tale to the audience over the campfire, in a Journal shared by several heroes written long after the events of the tale, or through a personality and memory storage system in a museum long past my time.”
Fate
P.S. how did the book go if your finished yet
Fate? God's plan? God's script? I don't know, I only comment because I see there are 666 comments and with this one I'll make 667, you are welcome.
“But hey, speaking of Robert Pattinson, if we ever need someone to tell us to open a mysterious golden egg in a bathtub, we know who to go to.”
CNNS I’m always going to believe he was high. You have to be to even consider taking a golden egg that screeches into a bath.
@@monywrmtailpadfotprngs6985 At least in the book fake Moody definitely told him to do that. Not sure if he also did that in the film (would make sense, but I don't remember him admitting to doing so at the end. I'd need to rewatch it and check)
Roger Dräyer What? Put the egg in the bath with you? Cedric said that in the movie. Don’t remember Moody.
@@monywrmtailpadfotprngs6985 yes, but who told Cedric about it?
The fake Moody
MYSTERIOUS COLORS UNLIKE ANY SEEN ON EARTH
JUST MOVE AWAY!!!
= purple
Knowing H.P. Lovecraft, it was probably just brown.
i can hear red say it in that obnoxious way and showing the rock with stars around it...
@@arigadatred5395 Now _that_ is shade.
Or is that hue? I forget.
Easy cop out for soft magic systems that will still feel the way they should: Describe how the magic FEELS, and the method through which the user actually taps into it. For example, the elemental magic system I use in my novels, with Storm Energy:
I felt a storm brew above me and called it’s energy to me. As I absorbed more of the tempest high above, I also felt that tempest rise inside myself. Soon enough, my arms tingle with barely contained electrical power; lightning trapped in a bottle. I let a grin split my face and heard an undertone of thunder as I spoke, my voice low.
“You’re about to wish you had never crossed my path... But it’s too late for you now. All of you.” And with that, I allowed the energy to scream out of my arms, and watched as it leapt from soldier to soldier.
Subtle plug
I like it
That is such a good technique! I noticed that it's used really well in one of my favourite songs, The Horse Tamer's Daughter (link here: ruclips.net/video/fuGIBX9FGZQ/видео.html). Instead of describing the exact techniques she used for calling the horses, the protagonist just says, "I'd feel the wild ones running / and I'd bid them "Turn again," / and a few I'd see would come to me, about every one in ten." Another great spot is when she and some horses she's called are fighting some more powerful magic users. Instead of focusing on the magic used in battling them or the moves she uses, the protagonist says, "We built a shield about the Tower, with walls of wind and thought / with hooves of light, through the Mirror's sight, we battered and thrust and fought. / The wizards flinched, the wizards fell, and cried up from the ground, / 'Have done, have done, you nine-in-one! Only tell us, what have we found?'" It's a subtle detail, but it's really powerful!
Saying 'I' a lot makes it choppy
@@TheCrazymonkey316 it *can,* but one of the first things one ought to remember about writing is that there are very few (if any) absolutes; yes, using "I" a lot can feel choppy, but it can also work very well. It depends upon context. Also, if you're criticizing the excerpt of the novel up there, I think it works very well.
@@horseenthusiast9903 it was just my opinion from how I felt reading the excerpt, didn't want to step on any toes
The djinn in The Bartimaeus Trilogy has probably one of the most interesting uses of first-person that I've ever read (footnotes!) and the trilogy as a whole really sticks the landing.
I was just thinking about that trilogy! It's one of the best examples of first person making the book what it is. The book would have been completely different if it were to be written in third person.
Bartimaeus Trilogy is my favourite book series of all time!!!! Part of it is definitely partly because of Bartimaeus.
Couldn't click like on this comment fast enough.
I love that series! Especially since the chapters are split between Bartimaeus's 1st person POV, and third person POV for the other characters, it really helps set him apart from the world and characters. It's the kind of style I'd want to emulate.
Those footnotes were soooo entertaining!!
I clicked here because of Edith Finch mentioning
"What remains of Edith Finch" is my favorite game of all time, it deserves so much more attention
"You're here so you're probably already considering using first person."
Me, who's just booted up minecraft after a long day of work during which I was lowkey constantly occupied w/ about my dissatisfaction w/ my many story concepts and my lack of emotional attachment to any of them: o yeah, writing, I'm. Thinking about doing that.
I too, feel called out.
I feel that so hard.
If you'd like to talk about Robert Pattinson, you should talk about his performance in The Lighthouse. It was brilliant. And so is the writing in that movie. It was one of my favorites.👌👍 I'm so glad ur back Tim.
I still need to watch it! I will sometime.
~ Tim
@@HelloFutureMe
Here's some required watching of some honestly great as hell movies this year.
Parasite
Uncut Gems
Joker
1917
The Farewell
Just Mercy
The Irishman
Klaus (I think you'd really like this one. Available on Netflix).
Abominable (I surprisingly liked this one. Reminds me a lot of How To Train Your Dragon).
I Lost My Body (Netflix)
Marriage Story (Netflix)
The Report
Dark Rivers
HBO's Chernobyl
Richard Jewell
Ford v. Ferrari
Also, an animated short that I would recommend is "Hair Love".
All of these are great movies or miniseries to watch and that I recommend.
@@ajiththomas2465
"This year"
It's still January and that's quite the long list lol
I love that ludicrous movie so damn much.
My favourite first person story is "Hangman" by Jack Heath. It's about a detective who is hiding the fact that he is a cannibal. Being able to see such a close view of his thought process and mental struggles is incredibly engaging and strangely allows you to sympathies with him in a way that a third person perspective would struggle to achieve. I absolutely recommend this book, and there's a sequel too. Fun times, yay for cannibals.
@Tarbell Tales Someone took my advice!? Oh my god that is weird! The third book comes out in May, I'm so excited!
Can you suggest any books written in first person present tense
Definitely adding that to my reading list
....dear god you actually made me question everything.
Can the undead actually have sex? Maybe just really bad sex.
Well, now *I'm* thinking about it- which is weird because I didn't ever before, not even when I was a teenager first reading Twilight. Oral would have been difficult, and intercourse should have been impossible, but honestly, I see no reason he couldn't have given Bella (very careful) manual. 🤷 Whatta prude~
Depends on the lore. If the nerves aren't damaged and bloodflow works, it's fine
If vampires have no blood circulation how do they get hard?
What's weird is that she went to the trouble of explaining that female reproductive organs no longer work after the transition, but there's no explanation for how the male ones do...
It's been a while since I've read it, so I don't remember if it said they have no blood flow or if their veins are just filled with borrowed blood. If it's the latter, that would explain how they manage to have sex. But if the ovaries shrivel why do male bodies continue to produce sperm? Those swimmers have got a pretty short shelf-life, so you know they haven't been sitting around for 50 years.
Even if there was an explanation, it's an odd decision that likely stems from wanting sexy vampires while still needing an excuse for why they "make" new members of their species instead of birthing them.
Ernest Themadhatter-2- And is it necrophilia if they’re both dead?
“Twilight altered by Tim Hickson”
I can see this becoming a thing.
Yes he should edit the book to make more sense!
@@Alice-si8uz Not sure if he would have enough time to almost completely rewrite something.
Can we all agree that no matter what "person" you write in, it's all hard.
Great video, opened my eyes on first person writings and authors.
It's not for Edward if he's got no blood circulation apparently 🤷♂️
19:11 This sentence made my day.
7:43 Exactly: the problem with Twilight is Stephanie Meyer herself. In my opinion, the only way Bella could become a compelling character is if you are a socially awkward, mentally ill person and project a lot of yourself on her: exactly what I did. My connection with her is completely artificial (12:45) and I fully understand why most people don't like her.
Funny thing--i've heard it argued that bella reads the way she does because she was designed to be a blank slate so a variety of readers could more easily project themselves onto her. Her only major interests seem to be edward and jacob, she doesn't describe herself as having any notable talents or flaws except for her clumsiness (and even that isn't really borne out by the story), she doesn't have much of a voice...But the less there is to define bella, the easier it is for readers immerse themselves in the fantasy of being loved by edward and/or jacob. It's a weird sort of narrative logic to me--perhaps it might almost have worked better to write the story in second person (almost)--but if that was the idea, then i guess i sort of get it?
@@stitchedwithcolor Being loved by two boys... "Guys, I'm flattered, but I don't swing that way..." XD
You can make the blank slate work in a book, I guess?, but that sort of thing belongs more to a video game. Narrative is all about empathy, and in my opinion, Stephanie Meyer failed most people other than the oddballs like me. Weak plot, poor/non-existant villains, few compelling characters... I don't even remember the action scenes in the books.
@WeissM89 Hey, i don't judge. ;)
Honestly, the blank slate thing didn't work so well for me either; the expectation that i would identify with a heroine with so little to her was a little...jarring? I guess that's as good a word for it as any. I come into stories wanting to know what makes someone tick, and i didn't find that in twilight. I've known other folks for whom it really worked, tho, and no shade on them.
As much as i didn't care for the series, though, i do think the nerd world gave twilight and its fans more flak than they really deserved, in part because we can be so quick to reject fiction that's intended for a younger femme audience. Twilight was far from great, yeah, but i found eragon even more frustrating, and that series seemed to get a pass from what i saw.
Just a thought I mean, Eragon had its problems. The first book was a copy-paste of the plot from Star Wars among a few. However overall, the book series was great. Twilight had awful characters, no plot to speak of, and shitty lore. That’s just a few of the problems the books have. I could go on, however I don’t want to relive that horrible series.
Just a thought What about her love of Wuthering Heights? What the frick, Bella!? Yes, it’s a classic, but I hate it. Stupid love story, hecka creepy.
I woke up and saw this vid, it must be a sign that today is going to be a good day
Agreed, whenever Tim uploads, the day instantly goes from 50 to 100%!🙌💗
Slightly disappointed at the lack of Riordan discussion xD
assassintwinat8 riordan’s heroes of olympus series gives multiple perspectives in limited third person. i wanna know if that’s achievable with first person instead
Wolfred Trinsic the original Percy Jackson series, as well as all of riordan’s series other than HOO are in first person
The monogatari series I think could be a good example of unreliable narrators and first person character voices.
It's interesting because it does that visually in the anime. In Kizumonogatari, a prequel story, environments look normal. But after he has that supernatural experience, environments become warped and distorted for the rest of the series. A school has a 7 story spiral staircase, dozens of highly specific street signs line the roads, giant trees grow out of abandoned schools, his bathroom is practically a cathedral in size and decoration. His perspective on the world had warped from his time spent as a vampire, which is one of the more subtle examples of unreliable narration I'd ever seen.
Or it could just be Shaft being Shaft, and I'm over reading into it. But the normal environments in Kizu stick out to me compared to the surreal look of the others.
Turtlewax63
Also referring to the translated novels but shaft does do amazing work
I'm stunned at how much of this I already use intuitively (like using First person for subjective and emotionally-heavy moments for already established characters and narrowing perspectives) without understanding logically how it works.
Thanks! I hope that now that I *know* how it works I can streamline the process without resorting to guessing.
PS. As a sidenote: if you're familiar with roleplaying, deep-diving into the character actually helps! First-person writing is quite close to roleplaying.
I roleplayed for years before I finally got the idea to start writing stories and fics of my own. I am so very comfortable with first person and came here to see if theres any tips I could work on - but I have learned most of this on my own by "practising" so long without actually practising if you know what I mean :D I handle third person too but I have to think harder for it and usually in my stories I have one person (Main main protagonist) POV in first and other characters POV in third
Oh man, this is the video I’m praying for a long time. Good job, Tim.
PS: That OSP meme reference was so unexpected that I just laughed out loud.
Knowing how much Percy Jackson's "Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood" lives rent-free in my head, I must admit "Confessions make fantastic opening lines" is one of the truest statements ever spoken.
8:19 Beautiful editing! Couldn’t tell the difference. It looks just like you.
The Shrek reference made me wish I could give this video a like rating twice
3rd person limited I think has most of the benefits of 1st person. Yes it adds psychic distance and isn't as close up as 1st person but also gives the story a air of mystery when you choose to increase psychic distance. Filtering through the characters lense happens in both. 3rd person limited is different from 3rd person omniscient.
I've got a fanfic which I will probs never finish, which I had to choose whether to write in 3rd person limited or 1st, and I chose 3rd. I needed to add in a little distance between myself and the character I was writing, to keep her voice different from mine and to not get overwhelmed by her issues (or let mine overwhelm her).
You naturally get that air of mystery in first person. You can do a lot of things in third but to say it has almost all the benefits of first is misrepresenting the points made in the video. Writers who struggle with character voice seem to do better with third.
alright, I found it within the first minute and my first reaction to this is therefore:
YEAS! FIRST PERSON!
SAME!
The first thing you find out when yer dog starts to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say.
The Knife of Never Letting Go is such a good book.
Such an underrated trilogy
CAN'T believe you got away with that Shrek clip and sliding into the next tip so smoothly
12:59 OSP Reference
One thing I always bring up about Bella's (lack of) character is that it's, to an extent, intentional. Bella was not a character meant to have her own agency, she was meant as an easy spot to replace. The point of a book like Twilight and a character like Bella is to have readers imagine or wish they were the focus, that they were the subject of affection and quarrel between multiple beautiful and devoted potential partners. In a way, it's a first person narrative filling the purpose of a second person narrative.
Granted I didn't actually _read_ Twilight, I just know this typically happens with stories like this.
Hey! Non-patron, random viewer, request: Do a video about writing a fictional biospheres
I need a _"Biology is complicated"_ clip for professional reasons...
That would be an interesting video. If it helps I can give some advise: think of the general structure of your animals: i.e vertebrates on earth have four limbs with similar looking finger structures. Look at earth's food webs and how animals fit into certain niches and think of alternate ways those niches can be fulfilled in your world. Also remember that you don't have to build everything, if you're writing a story you've probably going to want to focus on one region where the story takes place.
17:06 I thought he was going to say Raid shadow legends.
Honestly though amazing video, it makes me think more about how I write my stories and might make me write in first person more
Thanks for all your tips, Tim! I'm currently in the midst of writing a story told by two different first person narrators, and I'm trying to differentiate between their voices, and to capture different parts of the story through their eyes. This video certainly gives me food for thought in how to do so!💖📚📝
Hey me too! It's a method to compare two enemies' mental states and internal struggles, showing their common ground and how their circumstances encourage certain choices. I'm super excited about it and this video was so helpful!
I am making something like that, and afraid of being generic lol
Just don’t be Veronica Roth in Allegiant and you’ll be good to go! 👌 But seriously, good luck with your writing! Contrasting first person POVs can be hard - I’m also writing one right now haha
@@thoughtsofaleo2916 Thanks so much, I'll certainly try!😁 You too!💕
@@trinaq Its good to hear there are others who are trying the same thing! Antagonist and Protagonist (to oversimplify) as they grew up together somewhat. Plus protagonist is 8-12 yrs in the first, so he is somewhat restricted. If I told it only from his pov, the readers would have a very, very slanted view of everything...
That was so absolutely helpful. I've watched probably 15 videos on 1st person writing and none of them comes close
0:47 “Now, you’re here, so you’re probably already considering using first person.”
No, no, not at all. I just watch all of your videos. 🤗🤗🤗
8:24 Wait... that's REALLY a quote from the book?
Yup, should be on the first few pages
I think it’s one of the first paragraphs? I...I hate that I know that.
Edit: Oh my god I just checked it and it’s the first line of the book (if we’re not counting what I guess is a prologue??)
Apart from the 'back to you' bit, yeah, something like that 😆
I just realized that even though I've watched dozens of videos from this channel over the course of months and followed Hello Future Me on twitter, I wasn't actually subscribed and have only found these videos through youtube recommendations and twitter. How?!
Removing filter words is often effective in third-person as well. It ties into the wider issue of "viewpoint intrusion," where in an attempt to remind the reader of the narrator's point of view, they actually get in the way of telling the story.
I appreciate the content HFM. The topic of POV is an underrated topic--so, thank you for putting together this work of art.
My favorite first-person narrative, neither SF nor fantasy, is the Quiller spy fiction written by Elliston Trevor writing as Adam Hall. The first-person choice kicks the action into a level of high-stakes suspense unachievable in any other way.
Spinning Silver does character voice so well! And I'm only able to appreciate it after watching through this ♥️
I was blown away by the character voices in that book. Six different narrators - six! And we can always tell when we’re switching to a different perspective, even though it’s not labeled, because their voices are so distinct.
How interesting that I found this video the day after beginning a novel in first person. My prose is very lavish, because the protagonist begins the story illiterate and he's writing his account of his life years after it all, having self-educated himself. I can see him sitting by a device with a theasaurus beside him! His dialogue will slowly change as the story progresses. He goes on tangents describing things a bit considering he's talking about the past and now knows what different words on a sign mean, can properly describe his feelings, and remember details he may have not have noticed back then.
A lot will be mentioned about his mother in the first half. A lot will be mentioned about fear and doubt in the second half. I figure the further he gets into the story, the less he'll spend time on talking about his moments with a character dear to his heart who will die by his own hand.
Good point about those psychic deviance words. I'll look out for them.
This was SOOO GOOD! Thank you so much for this! I can read two lines and tell which one sounds better, but you give detailed explanations to how and why. You're awesome!
There's an interesting sub-category to third-person that essentially emulates the rules of first-person, the most obvious example being Harry Potter. The Harry Potter books (aside from each first chapter) could've easily been written in first-person without any changes to the structure or plot, and only minimal changes to the passages themselves. Harry is with us through every scene, and we're granted access into his head but not those of anyone else. Would be interested in seeing an analysis of this choice.
Harry as the focal/viewpoint character is an interesting example because this choice constantly forces plot devices that would allow him to learn information he normally wouldn't (overhearing stuff while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, looking into the Pensieve, Tom Riddle's diary etc). This is not to mention the routine exposition dumps by Dumbledore in the last chapter of almost every book :) I think Rowling did a great job, however it shows that there are many limitations to this way of writing a story. The payoff is of course also huge, a memorable main character we can relate to!
Ah yes Third-Person Limited perspective
Harry Potter is still very much 3rd person and Harry Potter in 1st would have been quite different. We get glimpses of Harry's thought but we aren't getting the same character voice as we would have in 1st. There were many chapters that were not in Harry's pov and to go from side character pov to Harry in 1st person might have been too jarring. I think people who say 3rd limited emulates 1st are still misunderstanding the differences.
@@anarchsnark That's why I called it a sub-category of third. I think it's okay to recognize the similarities to first without diminishing the differences as you pointed out. Writing style is very complex, and these creative adjustments to more popular styles can create for unique and entertaining perspectives.
As a screenwriter, I especially enjoy "third-person limited perspective" because it translates well into other mediums. Movies like Chinatown or Rosemary's Baby could be cited as adapting this style into film.
That's Third Person Limited
I really like how George RR Martin does first person in Game of Thrones, obviously you get multiple perspectives but it’s also written in third person pronouns (she, they, her, him, Arya knew this, Jon felt this) but it’s so obvious first person as we only get information from what the character we’re following sees hears or feels, hearing their thoughts, only getting first person pronouns when it’s italicized and it’s clearing their exact thought. All the character descriptions, history, world building we get is the opinion of the character. I think it helps give a unique writing style, help the reader remember who we’re following, and gives better world building by showing how different people from every side of the world, war, religion, age, etc see the world and events around them.
I think my three favorite 1st person narratives/narrators are Lestat from Anne Rice's (early) vampire novels, Grendel from John Gardner's eponymous book retelling Beowulf from Grendel's point of view, and Loki from The Gospel According to Loki by Joanne Harris which retells Norse mythology through Loki's eyes. Lets just say, I love the unreliable narrator concept, and I even like to apply it to 3rd person works which have a framing story of being written by one of the characters (like The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarillion). Just brings such a richness to the world and the inability to actually KNOW anything for certain. Makes it feel more real, since there is so much in the real world that we just can't know either.
I grew up reading novels in first person. In fact, the first series that really grabbed my attention when i was little was The Percy Jackson series.
So, now adays, i still continue to prefer first person over third, and especially over third-omniscient. I didn't realize until recently that the majority of readers like myself, don't prefer first person like I do
I absolutely love the first person as I generally find myself more interested in the actual characters than in the story itself. This stems from a theory on writing (though I can't for the life of me remember where I picked this up) that basically boils down to the idea that if you develop the characters well enough the writer essentially becomes the person behind the camera watching the story unfold and picking which shots to use. A mental exercise I use in relation to this is to simply take whatever situation I find myself to be in throughout my day and ask myself "What would this character do in this scenario?". The idea, for me, is that if the characters are interesting enough it doesn't particularly matter what they're doing, it'll still be interesting.
@16:48 I call this "shopping list syndrome" and it's a bit of a flag for an amateur writer when overused (overused being the key word here) because it's one of the ways we tend to learn how to write in the first place. Avoid this by re-working paragraphs to largely avoid starting two sentences with the same word then extend this to the rest of the page as best you can. It's a simple little fix that can make your writing sound less repetitive (use this for certain words and phrases within your sentences too!) but don't get bogged down doing this on your first draft either if it doesn't come naturally to you: it's a writing muscle you'll develop over time so doing an editing pass specifically for this is perfectly fine.
This is very helpful for my creative writing class. Thank you very much, and I’m glad I found this video the day it was uploaded.
Also you’ve gotten another subscriber :)
Tim. I just arrived at this video. Dude, it is AWESOME. I just, had the biggest mindblown (and then subsecuently felt stupid for not realizing it by myself) when you described the way of writing by focusing on "the thing that your character sees, and the thing that he doesn't". I all fell together. And i love it. Seriously. If you ever read this, thank you.
So glad I’m able to watch it, been waiting and checking constantly for the new video
How did you post 17hrs ago but it uploaded 21 min ago?
Part of what helps The Name of the Wind is the brief dips back into third person, which juxtaposes the voice of Kvothe, and allows for a little extra exposition that is necessary, but doesn't make sense for kvothe to tell in the story.
The interludes do have other purposes as well, but these relate directly to the first person perspective.
Great video! I love how you gave tips on writing in first person. I used to hate the idea of writing in first person in my creative works, but I've come to accept that it sometimes helps put the reader in the shoes of the protagonist and can be a really useful tool
I read Twilight (we all have that thing we regret from when we were young) and honestly forgot that it was in first person.
Something I'd really love to hear you talk about (because it's in a similar vein) is how to write a story from multiple shifting POVs, a la Game of Thrones or The Heroes of Olympus. Your tips on character voice have been so helpful already because nobody has given me good insight as to what a character voice is supposed to sound like, and I finally understand it well enough I can try to create different voices for each of my characters during their POV chapters, but learning how to balance, pace, and use my shifting POV chapters effectively will really help light a fire under my storytelling.
I love that you quote positive examples a lot. It's so inspiring!
You go in to all the problems I have with most first person stories, they arent characters they're news reports or juat bland descriptions with the word I. Very few authors do it well and I almost never stay past the first chapter for first person novels or stories.
By watching this going forward, I'm going to use this as a guide for my story. Since I'm going on without too much planning, I can't waste my time editing my first couple of chapters, but I can at least go forward better now that I know how to do first pov better
I kinda wonder at a few third person perspective books, such as Harry Potter. Because even though it is written in third person, everything that was described was in Harry's perspective. Like how in the second book, it described how he talked to the snake and we, as the reader, learned later along with him that the others heard only hissing. It probably wouldn't make much difference whether it was written in first person or third person
I appreciate this video in showing me not only how to write effective 1st Person Narrative, but also comparing it to 3rd Person, as that is the form I most often use, and I gained valuable insights into how I can write more good. Sorry for not writing good right now, my brain is very very tired.
I'm writing a first person story that feels very abstract but part of that is because my main character is blind and so I can't use any visual descriptions. She was born blind and has no idea how things "look". Everything is described using the other four senses. The story also starts off more poetic as she fills the reader in on what they've missed and then becomes more grounded as the story catches up to " now".
You have an exert posted anywhere? That sounds really interesting.
@@BonaparteBardithion unfortunately no. I'm just getting started in my writing career and don't have a website or anything like that yet but I hope to one day.
I met a blind person who claimed to know by feel the color red from other colors. I do not know if this was a real true sensory input or a delusion. Just 'food for thought' . If I were reading your book and your character claimed to be able to distinguish colors, I would not put the book down bit I might not believe your character. However, perhaps you should ignore this reply, because saying well what you wish to say is important.
@@eastlynburkholder3559 Actually, I avoided the mention of any colors so far in the book. But I have plans for one part where a side character tells the main character she'd look good in blue but when asked to describe the color the side character struggles to do so.
"Beacon 23" by Hugh Howey is my favorite first person novel right now, it's an "old man alone in a lighthouse" story that flawlessly navigates PTSD, isolation, and forgiveness in a believable manner.
I loved this video! I'm in the middle of redrafting my novel with two first person narrations. This video (and the rest of your writing and worldbuilding videos) have helped to reframe my thinking and inspired my to write a more in-depth, compelling tale.
Tim: and I'll see you in the future, specially all through 2020, let's make it happen.
Me two years later: man, we were so hopeful back then...
When Edward delivers exposition, I call it expatterson.
I think a solid first person story with a soft magic system is Worm. Every single character has a different power, a unique way to use that power, and more importantly, “feels” that power in a personal way. Taylor’s perspective on how it feels to control bugs is so interesting, and it changes throughout the serial. When we see other’s perspective, we see that their powers have so much variety in execution that it all has a very unique feel.
Robin McKinley frequently does a really excellent job of balancing soft magic systems with an intensely psychological focus on only one character (even when she's writing in the third person). There's often a surreal or dreamlike quality to her work, and her characters often have a realistically fragmented sense of what's going on around them, so they are slightly unreliable POV characters. It's quite lovely.
I love your videos on writing. I’m going to give you an advise for film: use a softer light. A softer light will make your videos appear more natural.
“Speaking of Robert Pattinson, our new Batman, let’s get into the primary use of thought bubbles in every Batman comic! Exposition~”
"The sun beat down on us from its perch in the sky. I looked up at that sky: beautiful blue and perfectly cloudless, not even a wisp of mist. My long hair whipped and tangled in the hot wind as I leaned out the window to absorb as much of that sun as possible. It reflected off my pale arms, folded under my chin, with blinding intensity. I breathed in the scent of the dry atmosphere, radio blasting in the background. I smiled to myself as she tried to sing along with one of her favorite songs behind me. It was a bittersweet smile.
My mother was driving me to the airport. I was about to say goodbye to all of this."
?????
1 perspective is so hard, but also good to write. As you write by the perspective of your character, you are forced to really put his shoes. This make a really interesting exercise.
As someone who writes fantasy novels with magical based MCs. You can write magic in first person. Instead of writing the action, you write the feeling of magic, or what it feels like to use magic. You can also add how it is going to be used and you can write in how to person prepares the spell.
I've always been using first person perspective when I first started off writing, but I always feel like I lack something. Something that makes my protagonist feel. . . Not truly alive. Like yes, he is alive, he is talking, breathing and all, but I always feel like my character lacks that one thing that makes him otherwise truly human. I subsequently abandoned such kinds of writing despite people reading my books (my friends) want me to go back to my old roots. Fortunately, this video finally helped me find that problem.
I shall now re-attempt to go back to writing first person, and hope that the results are actually good.
A great video about first person narratives in general, as well as a great video about voice. So much of what I see about voice doesn't give clear examples of what voice actually means, and a lot of people end up struggling with figuring out how to give a character a voice because of that. Giving examples of how it colors the way a character views the world is very helpful, and I'll be sure to direct people here when I see people struggling with that.
I think point number two is especially important in stories where you have multiple first-person narratives - it allows the different narratives to sound like different people. It would have been nice to see some Game of Thrones examples, or something from a similar book.
I think this was a much needed video to give a tip on writing. I noticed a lot of mistakes that i made for first person perspectives and realize what i should have done instead for better reveals and impacts in my story.
Never stop making these man
I'm a writer myself, seeing this video shows the challenge of writing first person, it's another form of genius I think, my writing is all regular story, but maybe one day I will write one now, thank you Tim you're awesome!
I was planning on writing a story in 3rd person, but I think that this video really persuaded me to use 1st person. I was only watching this in the first place because I am trying to watch all of your writing and worldbuilding videos.
JC McCrae/Wildbow's Worm is written almost entirely in first person, but has interlude chapters between major story arcs to provide alternate viewpoints, break the style up, and build the ongoing mystery of the world. It works pretty well.
A way to get around the use of Soft magic, is have aspects in the story that has impeded the character from using said magic for a long time, whether it be plot reasons, or personal reasons. Where the character now has to use said magic again for the story to proceed, but maybe struggles with summoning the power or having to relearn aspects, or even getting an inner view of how it feels for them to finally use said power again.
16:50 this is really interesting. I've been told so many times that changing tenses was bad and confusing, so I ALWAYS went through and "fixed" passages that read similarly to your edit to more resemble the original quote. Now that I see you doing it, I can see that you're very right, and using tenses to describe the order of actions can go a long way to make things read more smoothly.
Hey found you thanks to another RUclipsr, but I just wanted to say that you're a great teacher and have really helped me get better at writing. I've actually learned more from you in one video than a semester at my University which I really find both hilarious and sad
The quality of the videos on this channel is something I aspire too. You must put soooooo much time into these videos.
You can’t “control” what readers infer but, you can give them a canvas to image on.
gone girl has two good first person narrators. i absolutely loved that book
Awesome video and a great start to the new year! Keep up the good work Tim!
Stephanie Meyers need to write more books in the series it was revealed in Breaking Dawn that the Native American Magical Wolves aka Jacob Black's Tribe were not werewolves and not true werewolves in the world and that the true werewolves were in between Europe and Asia that's is room for a lot of new books/stories to introduce werewolves to the vampires(Edward's Race) and the wolves(Jacob's Race) in the world of twilight.
Love your description I was searching for information like this, thanks a lot. Sadly I can’t imagine to write the book I have in mind in German, It is so much better in English almost everything, but my English is simply not good enough. Its amazing how you describe this different aspects
I tend to write more in third person rather than first, and I would love it if you make a video on third person as well, but this was very insightful and interesting! Your videos just keep getting better and better
What about mixing first and third person perspectives throughout the book? An example that immediately comes to mind is how James Patterson does this in his Alex Cross series, where chapters following Detective Cross are presented from his first person perspective while chapters following anyone else are always presented in the third person.
Another reason I love 1st person for early drafts is that it can help establish setting and tone. How often are stories taking place in blank settings with the bare minimum of props because the writer doesn't take the time to figure out how the POV character feels about where they are as much as what they are doing in the scene? Are they in their element, or in an unfamiliar place? Do they feel surrounded by allies or that everyone in the room is against them?
Finally some representation for the chaos walking series! One of, if not the best first person narrative I’ve ever read. ❤️❤️❤️
I'm a big fan of what Havemercy and its sequels did with first person narration - alternate between narrators. So each story offers two very different perspectives. Like the proper but soft intellectual and the edgy ace pilot.
I also liked that there's usually 2 stories running almost parallel, only meeting up at the climax. So you've got four PoVs.
My favorite first person series is the Dressden Files by Jim Butcher. That series is pure gold.
Lines like
"It's not being paranoid to think that a goblin might cut the cables on the elevator if it's true."
Delivered after he narrates why he's taking the stairs and not the elevator and his fear of elevator.
I'm writing a very character driven story, so this is super helpful information. Thanks for making such beneficial and educational videos!
VERY good video. I've struggle bussed every time I've tried to write first person.
One REALLY good first person series that I've read is the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. Far flung future setting, very good stuff. The main character, Darrow's, evolution throughout the first trilogy is very easily tracked through the way each is written. Without spoiling anything, the way Darrow's inner voice sounds makes it very clear that he's a different sort than almost everyone around him in book 1 and against him all throughout. Then in the second part, despite there being several POV characters (who are each distinct enough to tell one from the other if you were to open to any given page), you start out in Darrow's POV again, and you can immediately feel the toll that the 10 years between book 3 and 4 have taken on him. Really really well done. (Also, highly recommend the series; the first one Red Rising is like the Hunger Game of Thrones, with all the rest continuing that sort of tone.
And to go on a tangent - THAT SKYWARD COVER IS SO GOOOOOD! Seriously, the US one isn't near that good...
I also like first person framing devices, not so much narrators, when it comes to comic books. Like Hazel from Saga. She is able to reveal things that set up the story (like the backstory of the war), things that haven't happened yet that heightens tension ("This is the story of how my parents split up"), and her intinate thoughts (the missed connections after the Timesuck).