By Stephanie Austin Edwards
“Good writing is about telling the truth,”
bestselling author Anne Lamott has said.
Though I couldn’t agree with her more, when I reflect on this notion, I
usually end up with a lump in my throat.
Of course, my aim is always to stay within
the zone of truth. However, like all
writers I capture and cull ideas from a variety of sources. Those sources can
be events told to us by others, events we have witnessed, or versions of actual
events we experienced. They can also be
snippets from something we read or saw on TV, in a movie, in a magazine, or
live theater or most importantly, what our creative source is showing us at the
time.
Once captured, we must shape these ideas
into something believable on the page.
If we do so successfully, the story will ring true and could potentially
pass for biography or even memoir. Thus
the choice of first-person makes some people jump to the conclusion that a work
of fiction is a memoir in disguise.
I’ve faced this conundrum time and
again. Only after I switched the voice
from third to first person upon an editor’s recommendation during the process
of drafting my first novel did the characters and the plot come alive. And only then did the immediacy of the
protagonist’s story grab the hearts of my critique group members when I read to
them. Making the switch was no easy
task. My novel, What We Set in Motion,
is 374 pages. Changing from third to first person was an unforgivingly
meticulous process, but I preserved.
Although far more engaged by the
first-person narrative version, members of my critique group began referring to
my protagonist as me. "When you had that argument with your daddy and he
slammed his fist on the table..." They’d say.
I would gently correct the "you"
to the protagonist’s name, Nadine, and proceed to address the questions. As
this same mistake went on and on, I began to think that they didn’t get it, and
I had made a huge mistake.
Ultimately, though, I became aware that in
confusing my protagonist’s actions with my own, my readers were far more
engaged in the story than they’d been before.
That, I discovered, is the beauty of
first-person narrative. Of course there
is always some intersection between author and characters, fact and fiction,
and a good novel always leaves readers wondering where to draw the line--even
with third-person stories. But first
person brings a unique immediacy, grabbing readers’ hearts and imaginations in a
particularly powerful and tangible way.
There are, however, other drawbacks to
choosing first person than mistaking an author for her characters. Readers
might perceive a first-person story as lacking distance or feel that the
worldview it offers is too narrow. They
may find that the point of view of secondary characters doesn’t shine
through. As the author, you may fall
into the trap of using too much inner dialogue.
Here’s how I recommend overcoming the
challenges these issues pose>
Lacking
Distance
Stay away from too much internal dialogue
and move the story forward with scenes showing the desires and emotions of
other characters. In first person, when the narrator/protagonist reveals his or
her emotions through dialogue or narration, a direct connection can be made
with the reader.
Secondary
Characters
In order to have a stimulating story,
interweave subplots of other characters. Balance the narrator's storyline along
with the stories of secondary characters and tie them all up at the end.
Inner
Dialogue
Again, moving the story forward with
scenes and subplots that rise and fall will help the narrator stay out of too
much internal dialogue and narration summary. Write your story in scenes to
ground the reader in the lives of all the characters. This will show the
narrator's reactions rather than telling about it.
Once you’ve honed your craft to overcome
these challenges, you’ll discover that the benefits of writing in first person
are invigorating. Besides the immediacy
it brings to readers, first person allows us to create a greater sense of
intimacy, a stronger connection with the protagonist and most of all,
believability.
And if readers end up wonder where the
line is between fiction and memoir, that’s a sign that you’ve succeeded in telling
your characters’ truths.
________________________________________________________________
Stephanie Austin Edwards
is a writing teacher, novelist and grant consultant. Following a twenty-two-year career in New
York City working on Broadway, in film and on television, she returned to her
roots in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Her debut novel, What We Set In Motion won the Best Submission Award at the Atlanta
Writer’s Club Conference in 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment