Fanfic Question

[jetpack_monkey]

Do you find first-person present-tense narratives an enjoyable read? Would you read one? I'm writing a fic right now, and it just feels like a first-person present-tense narrative. I've been intrigued by the style since my introduction to the work of Dave Eggers, but if it's not something that people will find readable, then I'd rather not waste a lot of time on writing that way.

Comments

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

For me, it's all about the quality -- and the quality is usually on one end of the spectrum or the other, not in between. It's hard to write it without the aloof, slightly neurotic arrogance that Eggers has.

That said... hell, try it. The worst that happens is that you learn something about your writing; the best, you write a kick-ass fic. =)

[jetpack-monkey.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm aloof and slightly neurotic. The character isn't, though. It's looking like I'm going to have to switch my tense, most likely.

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

Did you try it both ways to see which you preferred?

The hardest part I have with a first-person narrator is when I want to show that the narrator-character is mis-understanding something. People in my stories misunderstand stuff a lot, and it's a lot easier to show in the third person.

[jetpack-monkey.livejournal.com]

I tried the story in third-person past-tense, but the problem with my writing in that style is that it reads like a police procedural. I'm inclined to list off actions as they're taken without hitting any sort of emotion. It's cold and it bores the crap out of me.

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

I have a tendency to do that, too -- I write it that way and then go back and add in the emotion in the rewrite. I find it a lot easier to just write in steps.

[jetpack-monkey.livejournal.com]

True. I think I just need to learn patience. I'm so rarely a writer of second drafts, which is really my folly as an author.

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you kinda have to be willing to write about twenty drafts if you want to do publishable work. For fanfiction, I usually deal with about three or so -- but don't tell anyone. =)

[jetpack-monkey.livejournal.com]

You're secret's safe with me -- no worries.

It's not so much that I think that my first draft is good enough, it's just that so often I'm so mind-numbingly sick of the piece when (and if) I finish it that I never, ever want to look at it again. Chalk it up to low self-esteem or whatever.