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First person fantasy. Can it work?

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Erlking:
My first post woo!

Anyway, I was never into english class and all the writing details and terms so just to make sure Dresden Files is first person right?
I've read lots of fantasy and thats what I enjoy. After seeing the show i picked up the books and its the first books i've read in that view and wondered would fantasy work like that. I mean fantasy like Eddings, Tolkien, Feist type settings because we all know stuff in Dresden Files is real so not fantasy  ;D

So does anyone know that sort of fantasy written in first person and did it read well?
I've been toying with a book idea for a long time but just couldn't get started but that first person really seems 'easy' to me compared to third person.

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: Erlking on May 30, 2007, 07:15:37 PM ---So does anyone know that sort of fantasy written in first person and did it read well?

--- End quote ---

You're making me wince by mentioning drek like Eddings in the same context as Tolkien, you know.

That said, gigantic epic save the world form evil in first person; no. Fantasy world with magic and dragons and so on in first, yes, definitely.  Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos books, starting with Jhereg, which I think is now most readily available in a collection with the next two called The Book of Jhereg, is an excellent example.


--- Quote ---I've been toying with a book idea for a long time but just couldn't get started but that first person really seems 'easy' to me compared to third person.

--- End quote ---

It looks that way until the first time your reader absolutely has to know something your narrator doesn't know, can't know, or would never, never, never stop to explain.

Erlking:

--- Quote from: neurovore on May 30, 2007, 08:51:46 PM ---You're making me wince by mentioning drek like Eddings in the same context as Tolkien, you know.

--- End quote ---

Heh, I didn't mean style or skill, just the medieval type settings. Forgive me!  ;D

Spectacular Sameth:
Dresden Files IS as much Fantasy as everything else like that. The setting has nothing to do with the genre you classify it in. DF is classified as Urban Fantasy because Fantasy breaks down into Urban Fantasy (such as The Dresden Files, Harry Potter, or such other things because they take place in OUR world) and several other different subgenres (and DF might actually fit into a couple of the others...) The term you're looking for is High Fantasy.


Is there a work of High Fantasy that works in the first person?

And my answer to that question is *shrugs.*

meg_evonne:
Absolutely.  I did some research on point of view with a recent class.  First person is supposed to be the easiest and I certainly found it fun once I got used to HAVING to stay in the same room with the main character all the time.  Writing in the other points of view is much more tricky and difficult apparently and I wanted to do something I wouldn't get embarrassed putting out there to be read.

Anyway, I attacked the local library and drug out all of my favorites over the years.  They were all but one in FIRST PERSON,  I was shocked!  I guess we are so keyed into media that jumps all over the place that our minds tend to write that way.  After the third week of class and reading other students comments--"I got lost, did you switch characters?"  That I just stuck to the one point of view and things really smoothed out after that.

It was tricky trying to remember that you can't say what another character is thinking.  Instead you have to SHOW it so readers can see what they were thinking.  A rather fun puzzle and improved the total output of the piece. 

Best wishes!  Visit your own library and take a peek at what POV they were using.

Meg in IA

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