Do I Look Like a Protagonist? Ways to Describe Your First Person Narrator

By Janice Hardy

Finding ways to describe your first-person point of view narrator isn't easy—and a few things not to do.

First person point of view has its own share of challenges, but one of the trickier ones is describing your narrator. You’re always looking out, never in, and it can be awkward to have your character talk about their own attributes. If done poorly, you wind up with a character who sounds incredible self-absorbed.

Before I suggest things to try, let’s start with some common clichés you don't want to do.

A Simple Trick to a Stronger First-Person Narrative

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Who you’re telling the story to is just as important as where the narrator is. 

I recently answered a question about writing first person, but over the weekend I had a thought that put it in much simpler terms. First person has always had a strange “I’m telling the story, yet I’m living the story, too” vibe that can make it tough to write well. But just like any other point of view, knowing where your narrator is can help you decide how to write it.

The narrative distance scale slides from close to distant, but with first person, it’s a slightly different scale. I like to think of it as the “reflective distance.” Instead of distancing your narrator from your reader, you’re showing the distance from the narrator and the events of the story.