Another Point of View…

So, I’m plugging away at my first draft, fighting the ever plaguing voices of self doubt in my head; the voices telling me that ‘this is rubbish’ and ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing? What makes you think you can write a book?’ 

My main debate this week however, has been point of view. Which one do I choose for my novel? Third person or first person? All these questions and I know I’m not the only first time writer to ask them and I won’t the the last. 

At the moment, I am switching between the two. Sometimes I find writing in the third person easier and then I’ll just randomly switch to first person. To begin with, it will feel fresh and immediate but it will occasionally become restrictive. I am trying to work out which one works best for me and do you know what, I’m happy with that.

At first, it gave fodder to the self doubt and allowed it to play but now, I’m trying to relax. I am aware that doing this will give myself extra work in the editing process. It makes my first draft more of a mess than it’s inevitably going to be. That’s the thing about first drafts though – it’s there to make mistakes and to experiment with. 

Today, the draft is in the third person but tomorrow, who knows? 

Which point of view do you prefer? Do you find one easier to write in than the other? 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.