First Person

[Guest]

how about a 1st person from this POV: i can soo you from the corner of my eye as i lick my fingers and slide them between my lips rubbing my clitoris....................i put out my hand and grab you hard cock. etc etc. any ideas??????

 

[Chicklet]

I think that first person is a very poor writing style...I don't read 1st person and I certainly won't write it. Sorry.

Chicklet

 

[Tatewaki]

I think that first person is a very poor writing style...I don't read 1st person and I certainly won't write it. Sorry.

Chicklet

Say it isn't so, Chicklet!

When it comes to writing Erotica I find I like to use the 1st person POV. It allows for a much greater immediacy than the 3rd. My regular mainstream writing is almost always done in 3rd person POV. Those are my preferences, but I don't feel that one mode is superior to the other, or using it is indicative of a poor style. To me that's like saying a chisel is useless while a hammer is useful. Just like with hand tools, the choice of POV should be made with the job at hand in mind. I use the tool that will better serve my end. Sometimes that is 1st person, sometimes that is 3rd.

I sent an email to a friend of mine a while back explaining some of the strengths and weaknesses of each voice. If I can find it, I'll post it here in this thread.

]Originally posted by Keatster
how about a 1st person from this POV: i can soo you from the corner of my eye as i lick my fingers and slide them between my lips rubbing my clitoris....................i put out my hand and grab you hard cock. etc etc. any ideas??????

What you describe is the 1st person POV. If I take your meaning correctly, you want to see a 1st person story written in a female's voice in the present tense. Is this correct?

I generally work in past tense. It is a literary convention that I see no reason to contravene, though I often break into present tense in selected passages to heighten the sense of actions in motion right at the moment. This, hoever, is a calculated technique and isn't my usual way of doing things.

Do you have a story idea besides the tense/gender/POV thing?

-T

 

[Guest]

The use of "you" is second person. First person would use the "I", that's true, but it's still a narrative of sorts. You would use the terms "he" or "she" instead of "you".

 

[Tatewaki]

The use of "you" is second person. First person would use the "I", that's true, but it's still a narrative of sorts. You would use the terms "he" or "she" instead of "you".

Interesting! I haven't seen 2nd person POV used like this before. Generally it is told from the POV of an omniscient narrator reporting the action, not from a participating individual in the action itself.

I saw the 'you' in the original post, but dismissed it as an error, not as an attempt at the second person POV. That is something I shy away from. I can accept assuming the role of a character while acting out a fantasy; living vicariously through the protagonist is what eascapism literature is all about. I never enjoyed reading second person stories about being acted upon. The voice seems too impersonal for my tastes, and is awkward to read. It also tends to annoy me. By the fifth page of being told what is happening to me, I usually lose interest.

-T

 

[Chicklet]

Blah!

It's just my personal opinion. My boyfriend, on the otherhand, loves first person stories, and second person stories. I just don't like reading them or writing them, but everyone else is welcome to = )

Chicklet

 

[penguindance]

 

[Chicklet]

yes but overall I don't enjoy them, usually. Yours was well done, but it's way too easy to do them badly. But, like mentioned before, a lot of people do like them a lot more than I do. I don't prefer 1st person, but, I also don't prefer balloon sex...and I don't go around condeming people that like either of those = )

Chicklet

 

[Axeltheswede]

First person

I think first person works well for erotica. Seldom does action happen outside the narrator's perception.

Second person reads like using a sledge hammer to swat flies.

Third person works fine. There is that element of detachment, not usually a plus for erotica, inherent in that voice.

I have used all three, but mostly first person. I usually use third person if a story is dialogue driven.

And what in the hell is this balloon sex I keep seeing referenced? There is a thread on the Author's Hangout about balloon sex. I need enlightenment. Hate to think I'm missing something, especially if it's kinky, inexpensive, and easy to learn.

 

[Chicklet]

Re: First person

And what in the hell is this balloon sex I keep seeing referenced? There is a thread on the Author's Hangout about balloon sex. I need enlightenment. Hate to think I'm missing something, especially if it's kinky, inexpensive, and easy to learn.

There's a thread a little ways down by the same person who started the one in the author's hangout. It seems that some people have a fetish about watching women/men/creatures inflating objects and then popping them...not really my thing.

Chicklet

 

[SexyChele]

Tiggs is correct - the use of "you" indicates second person in the instance stated in the opening thread.


Personally, I've discovered my writing has changed. I "cut my teeth" on the Sexual Role Play forum, and used first person exclusively. When I wrote my first stories to Lit, I wrote them in 1st person.

Lately, however, I've found that I have switched over to 3rd person. Somehow, I find it easier than I did a year ago. (tried writing 3rd person a year ago and it felt awkward) Somehow, when I write in 3rd person it seems more......"polished", for lack of a better word.

But I still enjoy reading stories from a 1st person POV.

 

[Chicklet]

First person, Third person, Second person...all the stories seem to do well, it really depends on the quality of the story rather than the POV. I just write what I write best, as I'm sure everyone else does. So, go ahead and write 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, as long as it interests you = p

Chicklet

 

[Guest]

First person, Third person, Second person...all the stories seem to do well, it really depends on the quality of the story rather than the POV. ...

Chicklet

Yes, that's true, up to a point.

The difficulty with first person is avoiding putting in something that the protagonist cannot know (e.g. what someone else is thinking). The disadvantage of first person is that if the reader cannot identify with that character much of the story impact is lost (e.g. I am a 60+yo male and find it impossible to identify with a 20yo female).

This latter is compounded if it is a two person story where the reader is the second party (e.g. I said this to you - you did that to me - etc.) and the reader cannot identify with the necessarily indistinct second person.

The use of the historic present is another, but different problem. It is very difficult to handle the passage of time when using the historic present (e.g. X does this - two hours pass - X does that). The use of flashbacks is even more difficult because they then give a false impression of time passing (e.g X does this and remembers several paragraphs of flashback as Y reacts thus).

For a beginner I would always advise the use of third person. Think of yourself as a fly on the wall, mainly where your protagonist is, but able to be elsewhere if needed. The fly can be telepathic and know any character's thoughts if necessary. I would also advise a beginner to use the past tense, again because it is easier.

Disclaimer - These are only my personal opinion; what works for you, works for you! but I do write for a living.

PS I won't ask what you mean by "do well" ;-)