The story im working on begins with a very personal tragedy when the person is young. First person fits it very well.
However, after that the person grows up a bit, and it feels to me that 3rd person limited would fit it more. Do you think a POV change wouldn't work.
It seems like it would work in my mind, but im looking for more opinions. I will probably try it out and send someone a copy when its done, if they are willing.
My gut is, if you want to do this, you have to frame the first person. That would be like in a diary or something. You could also do something like the thing where we start out in third person, the guy meets a bunch of people and starts telling them hist story...and the next three chapters are actually him telling the guys his story.
But just an abrupt switch would not work, IMO.
I actully already have it framed as him talking either to a doctor or some kind of recording device.
If you ask one of the modernists (think William Faulkner or Sherwood Anderson), that's a fantastic idea.
I don't think there's a specific right or wrong here. Write it, and if you think it works, keep it. If it doesn't change it. A lot of really great books would never have been written if the authors followed the advice of whomever was making the rules of literature at the time. (Again, think Sherwood Anderson, specifically "Winesburg, Ohio").
I say go for it, keeping in mind that you might have to change it if it sucks.
My main guy, Dustin, is 13 years old or so. He and his father have a rather distant relationship, becuase he suspects that Dustin is illegitimate. So his father spends most of his time off-planet.
The whole point of the opening is that something terrible happened to Dustin, but he was so traumatized by the event that he doesn't remember it, and his mother refuses to tell the truth. So he is trying to recover his memory, by talking to a recording device with AI. So the story beings with him recalling what he rememberes. After a bit of that he would get to where he dosen't remember what happens. This would be where I step out of third person. Some thing happens in the next day or so that triggers his lost memories. He then records his memory of what happens to his recorder.
My first question is, a) did that make any sense and b) would it make sense to switch back to 1st when he is recording?
Another line of speculation regarding the rest of the story...would the recording device open up more of journal entry type thing at the begining of each chapter? Any thoughts on this? I was thinking that as the story progresses his recorder begins to have dialouge with Dustin, by learning through Dustin. Perhaps Dustin nutures this by telling him about minor events in the day, the little things that people do, to try to help him and his recorder understand people?
Thanks for letting me put my thoughts down on paper. (Midnight sessions of Cowboy Bebop can be so inspiring for sci-fi...)
Any input welcomed. Thanks in advance.
And forgive me for any spelling errors i might have made. Its 12:30 in the morning and i really need to sleep now. <grin>
Absolutely no problem. Nobody will find it even slightly jarring.
It's just like having a bit of dialogue.
quote:
Justin pulled over, letting the engine idle as we both looked out over the field. 3PLO"I was right over there when it happened." dialogue in first person He pointed to a patch where the corn was just a little less green...perhaps a bit shorter. 3PLO again
Just throwing that out there for you to think about