Writing In The First Person

When I started working on this first novel. (That is going to need a name soon.) I needed to decide whose point of view I would be writing this story from.  

First person means writing from the “I” perspective.  All accounts must come from the main characters point of view. If the main character can not see, smell, taste, hear, or touch it then it can not be written in.

Perhaps this is why so many people are switching back and forth between two main pov’s. There is more to the story besides the experiences of the main character. What happens after he/she leaves the room? What kind of feelings or actions do the other characters have in reaction to the main character? If you don’t change pov or write in third person the reader can only speculate.  

Speculation can be a really good thing to keep the reader motivated to find out what happens next. Not knowing what the antagonist is planning or perhaps not even knowing who the protagonist is, can help create suspense. 

For me, I think the first person narrative will work best with this book. It will allow the reader to create a special level of intimacy with my main character.  Knowing the private thoughts of a character can strengthens the bond in a way that helps the reader feel like they are friends.  

Certainly there are things going on in the story that the main character will not have knowledge of. I can consider writing another pov that will come into play periodically or maybe I can consider writing a novella that can be a parallel experience of one of the other characters. Hmmmm… 

I want my readers to be able to identify with my character, love who she loves and hate who she hates, root for her/him to have the very best, and to win over all adversities.

A lot to think about and I am sure I will be exploring more about what person the narrative is written from and how it might best impact my story.