What are the common mistakes often committed by writers when writing a first person narrative story?
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What are the common mistakes often committed by writers when writing a first person narrative story?
You can always spot someone new to writing or who doesn’t do it professionally because their prose is overly formal and stiff (long sentences, dry language, no abbreviations, etc). Most people don’t realise that even while writing about a professional subject, the prose can be breezy and conversational.
It is very common for the author of a first person narrative to make the mistake of writing a segment in 3rd person omniscient without realizing it. The most difficult thing to do when writing in first person POV is to stay in that POV throughout. Conversations or actions by other characters when the first person is not present to hear or see it for themselves cannot be included. I had to completely rewrite a chapter in one of my first person narratives when my beta reader pointed out I’d written a conversation between a married couple in their bedroom which my character could not have been present to hear.