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Multiple First Person epic fantasy

JamesTFHS

Scribe
So today in my lit class we were going over a few stories all in first person and i couldn't help but admire its effectiveness and power as well as the writing itself. It made me think of possibly writting my fantasy series in first person however it dawned on me that it would have a minimum of four pov characters in each book, occasionally going up to six maybe eight in later parts and each of them are different and face a variety of struggles. so it made me wonder is it even possible to write an epic fantasy in first person with that many character? would it just get confusing after a few pov changes?

However i do see alot of strength in this way of writing. it can make the story far more focused and allow the writer to really explore the characters personalities and experiances especially in a fantasy world. any advice or thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I know another thread has been started kinda about this but it was more about already published books that use this style. I want some advice on if it is possible and if i should go through with this.

One thing that really appeals to me regarding the first person pov for fantasy is how some fantasies you can feel very disconnected from the world or the character at points and first person could really remove that problem.
 
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The short answer is that it is doable. However, unless you have a lot of practice in it, there can be some significant challenges, especially in keeping the reader off the path of confusion. If you are jumping around constantly, people will start to loose focus and the story can become muddled.

If you can do this, more power to you, some of the best stories I've read are in that 1st person POV with multiple characters, especially when you start liking them as a reader and getting invested in their own personal stories amidst the larger one.

My best advice is to start with a small amount of characters and or read other stories that operate this type of narrative. Then just slowly build up from there.
 

JamesTFHS

Scribe
I know the easiest way to keep the pov's clear would be each chapter having the character name like example Jack: Fire beneath the trees. easy way for people to know who is who. in book one i would only have four in the main book. a fifth for the prologue but he is not in the rest of the story. Later on it will be challenging but i figure i will have characters who are not in certain books or killed off before it gets too complicated.

My biggest fear is falling into an overly passive voice and telling more than showing. i am a good writer(as many people have told me both friends and strangers) but this would be something new for me. but there are so many strong points in pov. character connection, a better sense of who they are, a look inside their mind would allow better world building. however there are challenges regardless of the multi pov.

The funnest part is really developing character voice in each pov. in third person i feel very much that i write the same for each character excluding enternal and external dialogue
 
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Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
I don't want to say don't do it, but there's nothing to stop you from giving it a spin and seeing how it goes.

Personally, I wouldn't use first person POV for anything more than two characters. It can start being confusing and jarring when you shift POVs. Third person can be just as effective as first person in getting inside the character's heads and giving the prose the feel of that character's voice, without the draw backs. There's a reason why it's used so much in multi POV narratives. But these are just my preferences.
 

Trick

Auror
Personally, I wouldn't use first person POV for anything more than two characters.

I have to agree. I'm on a FPPOV WIP right now and have two POV characters. My prologue and my (tentatively named) 'interludes' are 3rd person and the latter are as rare as I can possibly make them. I've been experimenting a lot with FPPOV, multiple and otherwise. I don't think, at my current skill level, that I could accomplish more than two.

If the OP wants to give it a go though, all power to them.
 

JamesTFHS

Scribe
I think first and third person both posess draw backs that is always difficult to overcome. Though i do think that so long as you have strong writing skills and can create imagry that is focused and solid in the readers mind anything can be done.

Now here is another question. For those that say do not do it is it because you wouldn't read a book that used this method? or is it simply advising against it? in many ways i feel that this can eventually happen in fantasy writing any way.
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
Now here is another question. For those that say do not do it is it because you wouldn't read a book that used this method? or is it simply advising against it? in many ways i feel that this can eventually happen in fantasy writing any way.

As long as the book is good I'd read it. As for it eventually happening, I'm pretty sure somebody has probably tried and succeeded in doing this already. I don't stay away from a book just because it's written a certain way. I stay away because the story stinks.

For myself, I just think that going this route doesn't gain an author much, if anything at all. If there's a disconnect between the story and reader, it's not a first person VS third person issue. It's a writing and story telling issue. Disconnects can be present in first person narratives too.

Now, if you really want to try this, then try it. You don't need my or anyone else's permission to do it. Sometimes you don't know if something works for you or not until you start writing. My preferences definitely don't have to be your preferences.

If you write a good story, people will read it.
 

JamesTFHS

Scribe
after spending hours thinking about it i am not sure i could attempt this style with so little experiance with first person. I really think this could be really dynamic way of writing but i do not know if i can do this so soon. i think ill practice and work on it and maybe attempt this with a new series of stories
 
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