Set Call For Mr. Eastwood. Will Mr. Eastwood Please Report To The Set.

[mmerriam]

The Good:
I think I'm starting to get a handle on the problems I've been having. File it under "The more I learn about writing, the more I discover that I know practically nothing about writing." Thanks to everyone who helped me hash out what was wrong. Now comes the hard part: putting all the new stuff I've figured out into practice.

The Bad:
The next reviewer/critter/reader/person waiting for a bus to Poughkeepsie who says: "You should not write in first person because first-person sounds pretentious and off-putting and no editors like first person and it is too hard to write in and besides third-person is industry standard so you need to change this story to third person right now!" is going to get their spleen removed with a dull spork.

I'm just sayin'.

If you've got a legitimate reason why you think I should change from first to third person, then fine, explain it to me and we can talk. But don't send me a review/crit telling me to switch just because. I realize most editors and readers prefer third person, and I'm well aware that third is easier to write in, despite appearances to the contrary. If I chose first-person I have a perfectly good reason.

The Ugly:
I'm really racking up the rejections this month. I'm well into double digits and there's still a whole week left. Urg. This is the danger of having several stories out on submission. Sometimes they all get rejected at once.

There will be more content later today or tomorrow, including my thoughts on the latest Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Writers Network meeting, sleeping in a new bed, and moving.

In Peace
Michael

Comments

[stillnotbored.livejournal.com]

Ah, the dreaded 'first person is bad, bad' crits.

Ignore them. All real readers and editors care about is that the story is good and the pov done well.

Someday, before I die, I'll figure out why people make up rules like this.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Ifthe critter has a legit reason for suggesting the change and they can explain to me why they think third-person would make the piece stronger, than I'm all ears, but I hate these "You should write this way because a book/a blogger/a Big Name Pro said to," critters.

[mylefteye.livejournal.com]

Add to that those folks that say writing in present tense is a baaaad thing. Time for a cliche (but it's a good one):

In writing, there are no rules, only tools.

Tools. Ditch them at your peril.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

God forbid one writes in first-person present tense! I tend to ignore those types of crits, but I've been more irritable than usual lately.

[wistling.livejournal.com]

All the stories I've sold were in first person POV. Editors obviously do buy them.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I've yet to sell a first person person POV story (I've only written six of them in the last 4 years)but I read plenty of them. Done well, it's a joy to read, imo.

[tiny-wings.livejournal.com]

I thought first-person writing was sort of a trend in writing now anyway? I've seen lots of books and short-stories using it... So obviously it does work, both with the readers and the editors.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

First-person is becoming more and more commen in SF&F, though there is still some resistance to it, mostly becasue it is hard to write in and stay consistant. A lot of the "newer" writers in Spec Fic prefer to work in first-person. It's been standard in mainstream lit for sometime. The problem is that it is harder to work in, and beginners try to write first-person because they think it is easier.

[maggiedr.livejournal.com]

Frankly, I never ran into the "First Person" negative attitude until I signed up for OWW. It took me a long time to comprehend that there are issues about using 1st person, but now I understand how much more difficult it really is to write. Still, I was surprised to meet people at Odyssey who would start a crit out by saying, "I was really put off at first because this is first person" or "Normally I don't read anything in first person..."

I'm a lifetime reader, sadly most of it not literature. A lot of mainstream and mystery besides SF/F. But I hadn't connected the dots as far as 1st person being uncommon in SF/F, especially when it is quite common in mystery. My reaction to the above comments was: "What exactly do you people read?"

PoV is one of my biggest struggles with writing. It's the one area where extensive reading has probably clouded it for me. I feel I've come a long way as far as writing 3rd person close PoV, but I've lost (if I had it) the ability to write acceptable 3rd person omniscient. (Which also gets knocked to hell and back.) But rather than knock a PoV choice, it would be nice to get some ideas on how to make it succeed.

I do think that a critiquer means well when confessing a prejudice at the start of a crit. I've done it myself as far as present tense stories go. However, I'm becoming a lot more accustomed to it so it doesn't hit me in the face anymore. But I do tend to be put off by it, which is why I tell the writer that--I'm not saying don't do it, just admitting I don't care for it. A big "however" here: When present tense works in a story, I don't even notice it.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I think that's what has my dander up. If you don't like the fact that I used first person, that's fine, but explain to me why, and why you think my story would be stronger in third. I have rewritten stories from first to third person before after careful consideration, but sometimes, first is the way to go.

[dragonmyst.livejournal.com]

I dunno about you, but IMO sometimes a story /has/ to be told in first person. The Magic Maker for instancce, I tried rewriting it in third and it came out all sucky. Heck the first line had ben a drifting thought for a couple years.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I had that happen a couple of times. Generally my first instinct is the right one, though I do admit I have rewritten a couple of piece from first to third person.

[sksperry.livejournal.com]

I had an agent tell me he loved my book, but would only consider representing it if I rewrote it all in third person, just because. I declined.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I think that's a wise choice.

[wordswoman.livejournal.com]

Heh. Two of my three published stories are told in first person, and the third is in present tense. So obviously I disagree with your critiquers! Sometimes first person simply feels like the right artistic choice for a particular story.

There are countless examples of successful novels told in first person--including "To Kill a Mockingbird," arguably one of the finest American novels of all time. In our own genre, Roger Zelazny's "Chronicles of Amber" series and Laurel Hamilton's "Anita Blake, Vampire Killer" series are in first person, as is much of John Varley's brilliant short fiction and all of Spider Robinson's Callahan's Crosstime Saloon stories.

Stephen King doesn't use it a lot, I notice, but his form of third-person narration is so intimate and gets us so deep into characters' heads/thoughts that it feels like first person anyway.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

It's reassuring to know all these excellent writers who have sold stories written in first person.

[cristalia.livejournal.com]

Bah. That's a workshopism. I've sold stories in second person.

Basically I think what happened is someone told that person to not use first person because they sucked at it, and they interpreted this to mean that nobody should ever use first person because they sucked at it.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I've received several of these crits on OWW lately from people I've never exchanged crits with before. I suspect you may be right about why they are doing this. It may also be that they've read in a book someplace that you should avoid first person and they've taken it as Holy Writ. Their brains would likely explode if faced with second person!

[aliettedb.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you're learning lots of things! Those pesky rejections will soon be a thing of the past :) (seriously, hang in there, and keep those beasties out).

And I will join in the spleen-removing, too. Crits like that just get my hair up.

[aliettedb.livejournal.com]

(and might I point out that out of the 8 stories I sold, 5 were in first-person). Doesn't seem like there's an editorial bias against them :)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

The rejection are getting better and better. I can feel that a pro sale in the near future, if I just keep working and growing.

[navicat.livejournal.com]

You took the story down :(

*cries cuz is a horrible critter and obviously took too long to get to your story*

Rejections can be hard, but I have a LOT of faith in you. They will become acceptances soon, don't you worry. At the moment all I'm getting is silence :(

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

*pets the Naicat*

You're not a horrible critter and frankly, the story had so many flaws it would have been a waste of your time to crit it. I need to work on it more, then I will repost it.

[navicat.livejournal.com]

Well, ok. As long as you repost it!

*watches inbox*