tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post4617120318977364949..comments2023-10-29T16:02:17.355+00:00Comments on Historical Tapestry: Nancy Bilyeau on Why I Love Novels in the First Person (includes giveaway)Marghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13508430635744720721noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-69910816959049781962013-04-02T03:02:37.518+01:002013-04-02T03:02:37.518+01:00Reading in the first-person is always interesting!...Reading in the first-person is always interesting!<br /><br />5678dancer(at)gmail(dot)comJanethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02921304306399720695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-986128653315015222013-03-29T12:57:37.273+00:002013-03-29T12:57:37.273+00:00Love, love, love this post!! ( don't enter me ...Love, love, love this post!! ( don't enter me for giveaway- I'm part of this tour too!) thanks:)Lucy https://www.blogger.com/profile/13600064401395449845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-72694792415217506632013-03-29T02:46:19.668+00:002013-03-29T02:46:19.668+00:00I think in general, I enjoy reading it first perso...I think in general, I enjoy reading it first person more. But to be honest, I'm a little embarrassed to admit, I often don't notice the difference.<br /><br />shoshanahinla@gmail.comShoshanahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15707241263291051104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-29114975874169850842013-03-28T23:30:21.604+00:002013-03-28T23:30:21.604+00:00Thank you for your comments, this has been an exci...Thank you for your comments, this has been an exciting experience to read the different points of view on, well, point of view, and to learn from all of you!Nancy Bilyeauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03081147714919653976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-31594356697215937542013-03-28T21:41:25.720+00:002013-03-28T21:41:25.720+00:00I really don't mind 1st person. However having...I really don't mind 1st person. However having tried my hand at writing over the last couple of years, I've found how limiting that perspective can be in some respects, and am now rethinking and considering trying a different perspective.<br /><br />nfmgirl AT gmail DOT comnfmgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03677291537193518055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-51974915709998843372013-03-28T19:05:58.208+00:002013-03-28T19:05:58.208+00:00I'm currently reading this book and enjoying i...I'm currently reading this book and enjoying it a lot, the style is definitely very engaging. <br />I sure love books in the 1st person, I feel more engaged as if the characters were speaking to me. I'm almost participant then, not just a spectator or viewer.<br />would love to win a copy to offer!<br />thanks for the giveaway<br />Emma<br />ehc16e at yahoo dot comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-85356639014783158552013-03-28T03:05:47.016+00:002013-03-28T03:05:47.016+00:00No need to enter me in the giveaway- I already hav...No need to enter me in the giveaway- I already have a review copy- but I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the guest post! I am in the process of changing my current WIP from third person to first for these same reasons. Now that I've made the switch, I'm just playing around with past and present tense. So far writing in past tense is my preference.Svea Lovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08155352839052427783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-4167698976423110322013-03-28T01:13:38.060+00:002013-03-28T01:13:38.060+00:00I prefer first person to third. I feel like I can ...I prefer first person to third. I feel like I can understand a character more in first; that I can get inside his or her head. Third usually frustrates me because I know "too much." <br /><br />I would love anchancento win this book!<br /><br /> lafra86 at gmail dot comLara Newellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09542875373796816658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-12807832157763290792013-03-28T00:07:29.333+00:002013-03-28T00:07:29.333+00:00I loved this post! I am also a big fan of first pe...I loved this post! I am also a big fan of first person. As a matter of fact, I'm writing my historical novel in first person. <br /><br />I loved The Crown and I'm happy to say that I'm on the tour for The Chalice too. Can't wait to read it!<br /><br />Please don't enter me in the giveaway, as I already have a copy of the book. Thanks!Michelle Stockard Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03572227726980569386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-88320889404197890152013-03-27T23:29:51.732+00:002013-03-27T23:29:51.732+00:00Fabulous guest post, Nancy. I prefer third person...Fabulous guest post, Nancy. I prefer third person myself, mainly because first person is so difficult to get right and I've read too many novels where it just hasn't worked as well as it could have. One of the other reasons I prefer third person narrative is that it can (although not always) give the reader a better sense of what is going on in the world around a group of characters than first person can (I love historical fiction that gives the reader a sense of what is happening in the world as a whole rather than just in the life of a specific character). That said, when first person narration is done well I have no issue with the technique, and some books really do suit that style best -- Rebecca and I, Claudius being excellent examples as you've noted. I will add that I think both The Crown and The Chalice are examples of first person done right, and I don't think either book would have worked as well as they do had you employed third person. Melissa @ Confessions of an Avid Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03320886752332455903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-4686760399673117282013-03-27T23:26:14.077+00:002013-03-27T23:26:14.077+00:00I love a book written in first person because of t...I love a book written in first person because of the access to thoughts otherwise not known. I like being able to get into that character's head! Thanks so much for the giveaway. I really enjoyed The Crown, and I'm looking forward to this one, too! Great interview!<br /><br />Amy<br />tiger_fan_1997 AT yahoo DOT comAmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15258138674667790528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-69166122932599770512013-03-27T22:12:00.281+00:002013-03-27T22:12:00.281+00:00Although first person is constricting, there's...Although first person is constricting, there's one challenge to newer writers that it can overcome: The problem of withholding information. In third person, the temptation exists to skip between omniscience and ignorance, and I've read several MSs in which a narrator suddenly and too obviously starts to play coy, withholding something he/she obviously knows, in order to create suspense. In first person, the usual assumption is that the narrator is reporting after the fact, when much is known that wasn't known as things unfolded. Thus the narrator can, now and then, jump forward and tell us things that were learned later, and if this isn't done too much, then it still feels okay that the norm is to withhold anything not known in plot-time. (Wish I could think of an example, but I can't just now. I suspect there's one in Cutting for Stone.)<br /><br />Another reason newer writers should at least experiment with first person is that too often, they neglect that even a third-person narrator needs some distinct voice and persona. Writing in first person, by accentuating the need for a clear persona, helps develop the ability to control voice.Max Christian Hansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08025503924818988541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-92215637442869276722013-03-27T21:22:16.163+00:002013-03-27T21:22:16.163+00:00I've really gotten into writing first person e...I've really gotten into writing first person ever since I did some YA historicals, where you really have to pull the reader in immediately. Now I seem not to be able to go back to third! Great essay, thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-80640266957920211322013-03-27T20:18:03.297+00:002013-03-27T20:18:03.297+00:00Rebecca is one of my favourites ~ and I love stori...Rebecca is one of my favourites ~ and I love stories told in first person! Lovely interview and I am looking forward to reading The Chalice ~ Thank you for the wonderful giveaway! Cheers ~ ElizabethElizabeth MacGregor-Kirkcaldyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01381114203010791080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-20772023305781418922013-03-27T19:29:25.242+00:002013-03-27T19:29:25.242+00:00I prefer third person. I like diaries or journals ...I prefer third person. I like diaries or journals or letters for first person. The authot is omniscient to me in third person so that way we develop more than one character. Thirtytwo degreeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18168059594029204735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-80826635807342600502013-03-27T19:29:07.802+00:002013-03-27T19:29:07.802+00:00I prefer third person. I like diaries or journals ...I prefer third person. I like diaries or journals or letters for first person. The authot is omniscient to me in third person so that way we develop more than one character. Thirtytwo degreeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18168059594029204735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-46307186960016069232013-03-27T17:22:43.991+00:002013-03-27T17:22:43.991+00:00I love Rebecca! Interestingly, I fell in love with...I love Rebecca! Interestingly, I fell in love with the movie first. As a writer, first person is, for me, the most difficult point of view to pull off, especially in writing historical fiction. You can't use any words that didn't exist during your time period, for one thing. In my work-in-progress about Abelard and Heloise, I'm writing from Heloise's point of view -- that of a highly educated, Latin-speaking, 12th-century woman. It is incredibly constricting and yet when I tried to write in third person, the story just seemed so detached. No tale is quite so intimately told as that told about oneself, in one's own words.Sherry Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14643364381016681128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-24911514971439585442013-03-27T15:40:08.079+00:002013-03-27T15:40:08.079+00:00I enjoy first person narration, too...maybe even p...I enjoy first person narration, too...maybe even prefer it. Thanks for the chance to win. Loved 'The Crown'. nanze55(at)hotmail(dot)comNancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16393994484025283872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-1807362460527775562013-03-27T15:35:54.825+00:002013-03-27T15:35:54.825+00:00I love historical fiction of all sorts, but especi...I love historical fiction of all sorts, but especially love first person narration. I am dying to read Nancy Bilyeau and free copy would be FAB! sggallagher(at)me(dot)comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627769718649120209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-49634213315693969122013-03-27T15:31:19.627+00:002013-03-27T15:31:19.627+00:00First person books provide me with more emotion an...First person books provide me with more emotion and a fascinating since they have a unique perspective. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)comtravelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06191803578622949052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-41842259991735340102013-03-27T15:29:24.435+00:002013-03-27T15:29:24.435+00:00Fascinating interview. Yes, first person novels ar...Fascinating interview. Yes, first person novels are appealing to me. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)competitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05326383614079568432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-47276481231321230342013-03-27T15:28:05.761+00:002013-03-27T15:28:05.761+00:00I really enjoyed this interview. I feel first per...I really enjoyed this interview. I feel first person gives books a sense of reality.Tobiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01804104067288875475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-21628533249460107682013-03-27T15:15:34.701+00:002013-03-27T15:15:34.701+00:00I loved this interview! I personally love first pe...I loved this interview! I personally love first person narratives. For instance, I loved the book I, Iago because while Iago does some horrendous things and is a classsic Shakespearean Gillian, you all most understand why and get him. Thanks for the giveaway!!<br /><br />Amanda<br />Libraryofmyown at gmail dot comAmandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13978371169108528359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-58624951289399838082013-03-27T15:11:47.756+00:002013-03-27T15:11:47.756+00:00I always enjoy first person -- love being inside t...I always enjoy first person -- love being inside the narrator's head. <br />willwriteforpeanuts@yahoo.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944570901299649958.post-10714275105791386412013-03-27T14:45:49.459+00:002013-03-27T14:45:49.459+00:00I agree that first Person can really build tension...I agree that first Person can really build tension. Rebecca was an excellent choice to demonstrate that. Please enter me in the giveaway.<br />Marilyn (ewatvess@yahoo.com)Historical Reminiscing with Marilynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08160083437421085259noreply@blogger.com