Writing in First Person

[Atzar]

So yeah. I've been searching for awhile for a way to bring some life back into my writing. Not only do I want to make it fun for others to read, but I want to make it fun for me to write. I don't really know if people like reading my writing, but I do know that I don't like writing it - haven't for a long time. I typically have to either write it drunk or guilt myself into doing it - normally because my quest partner has waited an exceedingly long time and I start to feel like a dick.

I tried just writing what comes to me, and that doesn't work - I get a few posts in and dismiss it as half-assed crap. I tried methodically laying down each step of a thread, and that doesn't work - I get a few posts in and dismiss it as tedious crap. I tried writing about something outside my comfort zone, and that doesn't work - I get a few posts in and dismiss it as weird crap.

I've generally decided that my next direction is writing in first person. Now, the snag here is that I don't really know how to adapt that style to writing with others. It'll work fine when I write solos, but it seems like it would be abrupt and disjointed in cooperative threads.

Thus, after three paragraphs of long-winded, gloomy rambling, I'll get to the point: how do I ease the transitions in and out of my posts? I've been told at various points in the past to not worry about that shit and to just have fun, but fuck that. I don't work that way - if I don't feel like I'm writing something of reasonable quality, I won't write it. Any ideas?

[Taskmienster]

I wish I could help, but I can't seem to locate any of my first person writing in threads that were completed or I got a chance to truly interact with other people. Lugh, except for one thread, I wrote exclusively in first person.

One of the best first person writers I've seen on the site was Zephyriah, and I'm looking up his stuff to find something to help you. So far I have a few threads that you can check over and see how he did it ::

Brains Versus Brawn (http://althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=2441)

Stop me. (http://althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=686) :: A battle with him and a couple others.

There are a few more that are incomplete battles or quests that you could check up on, but hope that helps.

[Atzar]

That helped a ton. Thanks.

It didn't look like Zephyriah did anything in particular to mesh his style with the others, but it wasn't nearly as disjointed as I'd expected. I don't think this will end up being as big of an issue as I thought.

[Taskmienster]

It's not terribly difficult, just takes some getting used to. I enjoy writing first person first and foremost because it's much easier to portray persona and setting through the eyes of the character, and I find it much easier to "step into their shoes" so to say. Just make sure that you're careful to not interject too much of your own personality and who you as a person are into how your character acts... unless they're the same. Lol

[Hysteria]

To mostly agree with Task, I find first person helps show the reader the innerworkings of a character much easier than third. It tends to flow out in that direction when you write, rather than actually being that different in the style you present the information. The risk is though that you can ignore the details of whats going on around he/she.

I know when I write in first person I tend to ramble about my characters thoughts, even though technically all I could do it change Talen/he into I/my and it'd be first person.

About those other three posts in your first post, I am not sure this will invigorate you. It sounds like you are being too hard on your writing and that is what is causing you to feel unmotivated. Like when a perfectionist never finishes anything they start because they think it is rubbish, regardless of the actual quality of the work.

[Atzar]

To mostly agree with Task, I find first person helps show the reader the innerworkings of a character much easier than third. It tends to flow out in that direction when you write, rather than actually being that different in the style you present the information. The risk is though that you can ignore the details of whats going on around he/she.

I know when I write in first person I tend to ramble about my characters thoughts, even though technically all I could do it change Talen/he into I/my and it'd be first person.

About those other three posts in your first post, I am not sure this will invigorate you. It sounds like you are being too hard on your writing and that is what is causing you to feel unmotivated. Like when a perfectionist never finishes anything they start because they think it is rubbish, regardless of the actual quality of the work.

You could be right. I know that I'm hard on myself and I definitely care too much about my score.

Still, I don't see that changing - I won't wake up one day and say "Hey, I feel like writing today, and I don't care how shitty it is!" That's just not who I am as a person or a writer. So, I have a few alternatives - stop writing, or try new things in the hope of finding something I'm better at. The former is an awful idea, so I'm opting for the latter with the hope that I catch lightning in a bottle.

[Taskmienster]

If you'd like to practice writing the first person PoV in a quest with someone I'm game. If you don't like it and don't want to finish the thread, by all means, I'd be cool with that so you wouldn't be pressured to finish if you don't like first person. Lol

[Atzar]

I'll take you up on that, I think - we were supposed to do a thread together anyway. Any ideas?

[Taskmienster]

I probably have some thread planned out for most characters on Althanas, but haven't gotten to them or forgot about them. I'm not sure what you'd like to do. Anything your character would like to do is cool with me. Einar is pretty much a blank slate...