Visit your local bookstore and sift through the titles of young adult fiction. It is surprising to see that a huge chunk of the YA market is written in the first person point of view. The first person narration conveys narration with optimum effect. Yet some writers have apprehensions about the first person point of view. Over the years, it has developed a reputation for being limiting. But this does not have to be if proper execution comes into play.

The use of the word “I” is the center of contention, as it makes it impossible to enter other characters’ minds. The reader is confined in the head of the assigned narrator and does not know how other characters interpret events. Other character motivations can only be revealed through action. Their introspection remains a mystery. The so-called experts and critics alike have even weighed in by stating that first-person narration denies us of the possibility of going deeper into other characters. 

Through careful and subtle shifting in the prose, the writer will be able to overcome this limitation. Follow these three steps:

1) A first-person narration often begins with the immediacy of the first person.

2) Once this immediacy is clear, if the writer has the need to enter into another character, he can move to an objective narration to talk about a different character.

3) The writer must be able to sustain the objective narration for it to become a “third person.” 

Consider:

Immediacy: I fear how Grace would react to my proposal. If she says no, how long would I wait? My life is passing, and I might never meet another woman like her. I could see how my relatives would pester me in family gatherings and ask me why up to now, I am still not married. Am I putting unnecessary pressure on myself? Am I forcing the situation?

Objective: Grace emerged from the washroom, took her seat and smiled at me. “Why are you sweating? It’s cold in here. Are you sick?” She leaned forward to touch my forehead. Her thoughtfulness was reassuring. She didn’t care if my parents didn’t approve of her not being a Catholic.

Shifting to the third person: Grace was raised in a non-religious household. She was home-schooled for the duration of her grade school years and was sent to a non-sectarian private school. Her parents taught her to exercise critical thinking, which made her cynical about many things. Yet, of all the men she could have, she chose me. We have been in a steady relationship for three years now, despite my entire family not approving of her for not being Catholic. Yet she is among the kindest person that I have ever met.

The last paragraph illustrates how the writer can enter the mind of Grace and sift through her background. One may say that this is easy, as the narrator is Grace’s boyfriend and has known Grace well enough. In the event that the narrator doesn’t know another character very well, the writer must evaluate if it is necessary for this narrator to get into that character’s head. It is about changing the content, of talking about the other character. Once the writer has achieved his need for a third person narration, he can shift back to the first person.