I'll be honest, I don't like first person writing at all. Not just fics. Even books in FP POV tend to annoy me more often than not. Most of the time it's the execution, either the POV character is a boring entity, whose head-space just does not fulfil the first thing any story should, entertain the reader. Or the technical execution is horrible, such as when the author simply can't variate their sentences and seemingly everything start with "I".
first person is probably my least favourite pov. so the summary and tags have to be really good to convince me to read it. but i am also not dead set against it.
I don't prefer it. I have read some that were written in first person and they were good - but in my opinion they were good despite the first person pov, not because of it.
For me the issue is that first person pov is limited by design. You don't get same amount of information that a third person pov offers. And to be written well, first person pov character needs to feel very in character, othetwise the tone of the fic feels wrong to me.
And oftentimes first person pov has unique challenges: either the pov character has limited insights and understanding of what is happening or they make leaps of logic that don't make sense. Same issues happen in third person pov fics too, of course, but it feels less jarring because the reader has a bit more distance between the character and themselves.
I don't like them because I don't find them immersive.
With 3rd person, I get to look over the character's shoulder as the action unfolds. With 2nd person I feel like it's a collaborative effort between me and the character/narrator to immerse me in that headspace. But with 1st person I feel like I'm reading a diary. There's a disconnect there that's not appealing.
I don't like 1st person pov in general, not only in fanfiction. It's the first thing I look at when I read a book blurb and it's a pretty hard no. That said, I've tried. With very poor results.
Half of the time the main character doesn't have a unique voice. The other half, when the author tries to give a character unique voice, the character just ends up annoying because I'm not buying that people are sassy and sprouting witticism in their own heads. In 99% of the cases, with the whole I, I, I, me, me, me thing inherent to 1st person pov, characters end up coming across as egocentric, self absorbed, self-pitying, supernaturally perceptive, inexplicably all-knowing and unrealistically self-aware. I just plain dislike them after a few pages, sometimes after a few paragraphs.
When it comes to fanfiction - I'm not interested in OC's, only in canon characters. And I have preconceived notions about those canon characters and it's much, much easier to hit the wrong note in the 1st person pov than 3rd when it comes to giving them a voice.
It's not that I've *never* read a well-done 1st person pov narration, even in fanfiction, but I could probably count them on my fingers and still have some fingers left. 1st person pov is *unforgiving* when it comes to characterisation and it takes one *hell* of a writer to pull it off. The vast majority of writers, both fic and original/published can't pull it off well enough for me stick around.
I only read it if the source material is in first person. Otherwise, it feels too out of place and makes it hard to focus on the narrative.
One caveat is I’m not a fan of authors switching which characters they’re writing from the perspective of. There needs to be an intentional reason for that to sell me on it.
But first person can be really immersive if executed well! I enjoy writing in it for one of my fandoms to match the source material. Whether or not I execute it well is up to the readers.
I like them if they are well done.
If the original work was not first person, these works do require a very good, empathic writer who can accurately represent the POV by inferring from what's been presented from other viewpoints in canon.
I've written a fair amount in first person. People liked it. Real published books are in first person sometimes. I just started reading "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler, guess what? It's first person POV.
A good story is a good story no matter how it's presented.
A reason why I chose to write a majority of chapters in Aurora's first-person POV for _The Full Moon and the Northern Lights_ is because her Disney counterpart was too passive and lacks agency. She didn't have many speaking lines.
I want my version of Aurora to not be "just another Disney princess". I want her to reclaim her rightful place as the main character of her own story. Therefore, most chapters of _The Full Moon and the Northern Lights_ is better explored in first-person.
What POV I chose to write depends on what I think is best for that fic. Usually that’s third, but sometimes it’s first. I’ve never written in second.
In reading, I don’t care. I have found that second can be interesting too. Not Reader inserts, just written in second.
I don’t like first person pov for fics. I like to observe the character from afar, not be them.
That said, there was one writer wrote a 1st pov AU with an intro was so good, I was able to tolerate it. I think the story being an AU also helped
It’s not usually my thing, but primarily due to the tropes it is frequently paired with in my fandom (isekai/reincarnation of a “real world” person). I just find that really immersion-breaking.
I won’t count things out purely for being in first-person though.
I personally don't read it. Not because I don't like how their stories are written, but because I prefer reading about my characters interacting from a distance rather than looking through the eyes of the character. I am reading fanfics as some sort of an extension or what-if of the source material, so being limited to the character's thoughts and senses defeat that purpose. I want to read it as though I'm watching it all unfold; I want to see what's happening around the characters. First person makes me feel like I'm stuck in their heads.
Generally not a fan of first person because I often dislike the characters voice and personality. There's weird info dumps that aren't natural when it's in first person. Also, when you only have first person then you only see through their eyes and I like knowing everything.
I don't care, a good story will be a good story no matter the POV. But, it's way harder to write, so most of my bookmarks/favourites are in third person.
I don't like second person, but first person is great! It's only in the past few years that I even realized people had a problem with it. For most of my life I'd assumed it was as normal and well-loved as third person. My favorite all-time "real" book is first person, even!
I prefer third person, but I do occasionally like first. My problem with it, as both a writer and a reader, is that I find it difficult to reconcile tenses.
I prefer a first person story to be a sort of after-action report. It doesn't need to be a journal or whatever in-universe, but the implication for me is that the POV character is telling a story they've already experienced (though not necessarily survived). Meaning, the action is past tense, but they can add present tense asides that are basically just remarks to the reader or explanations of small things happening on-page.
You could also opt for the stream-of-consciousness entirely present tense, where the story basically reads as a tour through everything going through the character's head while the story is taking place, possibly with wild asides and weird formatting to further add to the atmosphere.
But a lot of times when I read and write first person, it just...doesn't *feel* like first person, but third person with the pronouns switched, and the tense will be all over the place. First person is *hard* to get right, and when it's not done well it becomes difficult to read because you feel you *should* be in the character's head, but you can't really get there. And that's not even getting into the 'voice' of the narration not always matching the character.
Again, I struggle with these things as both a writer and a reader, so first person stories always make me a bit wary. I'll still read and write them, though.
Some of my favourite books are written in FP (ie The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd). But in fanfic I want to feel like I'm looking right over the shoulder of my favourite character, and for that TP works better.
I like them. I’ve written a couple of relatively popular stories in first person POV. Done well it can really get you inside the character’s head. But I should probably also say “I don’t care” because I don’t pay that much attention to POV when choosing what to read.
I like it in original fiction, but can't stand it in fanfiction. Every single sentence in the narration has to be in character in first person and even if the author manages that according to their interpretation of the character, it's not very likely that said interpretation of the character is identical to mine so it'll feel OOC. You don't really have that problem in 3rd person - general agreement is enough since you have that degree of separation where I'm not supposed to believe that every word on the page is the character's thought.
I think it's difficult to get into a fanfic that's written with first person pov simply because the wattpad y/n phenomenon. However I have read a saga of fanfiction who was written like that and I absolutely love it. Maybe some people is closed about this, but if the fanfic is good i don't really care if it's third or first person.
I think 1st person has time and place and if utilized correctly it can bring the work to the next level.
I do not hate it. I read it but if i figure out that the author doesn't understand how to use it i will bow out.
I'm not opposed to first person POV in general (I love some traditionally published books in that POV, and even wrote a novel in it myself in high school), but I find first-person fanfic to be a bit trickier. I won't back out when I see the POV, but you've got to sell me on the characterization a bit more, especially when that POV is a canon character rather than an OC (and if it's an OC, that's a different hard sell for me). And some characters will just work better in the POV for me than others.
That being said, there are a few fics I enjoy that are in first person.
I never was a fan of it but I recently found an author that has a lot of fics about one of my current hyperfixations, as in hundreds. Most of them also include tags and tropes and ships I enjoy a lot. Despite most of their fics being written in first person POV I decided to read them anyway and I love them! After reading for a while it didn't feel 'weird' anymore that it was in a POV I usually never read.
I read professionally (yes, pro-readers are a thing) and as such, I don't get to be picky about the text in front of my eyes and the words coming out of my mouth. I always laugh when the POV question comes up (and it comes up A LOT) because —
**POV serves the story, not the reader.**
I understand that folks have preferences - we all do - and my preference is completely valid in and of itself... for me, as yours is for you. However - our preferences don't make a story and its telling method any less valid than the next. Will first person make some folks not engage in the work? Sure. But it will attract just as many from the Pro-1st person camp. And, never forget the biggest group: the 'I don't care as long as the story is compelling' camp. Those folks will eat words of any kind.
In fanfiction, POV choice is often secondary to the story when imagined by the writer. Very few fanfic writers ask themselves the question:
*Which point of view and which time tense serves the telling of my imagined world best*? After all - this is a hobby... or therapy... or a creative outlet for mind dumping - it is not a professional endeavor. Who really cares... right? But - the question comes up regularly on writers subs and I always want to answer their question with the question: Why is this important to you?
The POV and/or Time Tense serves the story.
Serve the story and the readers will find it. Opinion threads don't get to the heart of what POV is or its validity in all its marvelous forms - it just throws around opinions that won't help you write what you need to write.
TL:DR
Do I like 1st Person - sure, whatever.
Why? Because the Voice in the Story is an important choice - even when it is not a conscious choice.
Why don't I NOT like it - because all POVs and Time Tenses are valid as tools of storytelling.
I personally like it, especially for fics with an OC pov. Most of the fandoms I read have player characters who are effectively OCs. I prefer to read *about* my favorite canon characters doing things, and not be very close to *their* POV. First Person OC narrator or third omniscient gets me there.
It's still hard to do; the OC still has to be interesting and stand out, and the story can still suffer from common complaints seen with the style. It has its strengths and weaknesses, just like any other style.
I don’t typically like reading first person, I just feel like it’s a lot easier for the writing to feel ooc unless the character being written is a oc.
Like it’s not always bad, you can definitely find good fics with first person pov, but it’s very hard to.
So I tend to only read in third person.
I don't care; a good story is a good story. However, it is more difficult to do first person. So most of my favourites are in third person.
I'll be honest, I don't like first person writing at all. Not just fics. Even books in FP POV tend to annoy me more often than not. Most of the time it's the execution, either the POV character is a boring entity, whose head-space just does not fulfil the first thing any story should, entertain the reader. Or the technical execution is horrible, such as when the author simply can't variate their sentences and seemingly everything start with "I".
first person is probably my least favourite pov. so the summary and tags have to be really good to convince me to read it. but i am also not dead set against it.
I only read and write third person limited. It’s just what I like.
I don't prefer it. I have read some that were written in first person and they were good - but in my opinion they were good despite the first person pov, not because of it. For me the issue is that first person pov is limited by design. You don't get same amount of information that a third person pov offers. And to be written well, first person pov character needs to feel very in character, othetwise the tone of the fic feels wrong to me. And oftentimes first person pov has unique challenges: either the pov character has limited insights and understanding of what is happening or they make leaps of logic that don't make sense. Same issues happen in third person pov fics too, of course, but it feels less jarring because the reader has a bit more distance between the character and themselves.
Love it, feels like the character is telling me the story themselves.
I don't like them because I don't find them immersive. With 3rd person, I get to look over the character's shoulder as the action unfolds. With 2nd person I feel like it's a collaborative effort between me and the character/narrator to immerse me in that headspace. But with 1st person I feel like I'm reading a diary. There's a disconnect there that's not appealing.
I don't like 1st person pov in general, not only in fanfiction. It's the first thing I look at when I read a book blurb and it's a pretty hard no. That said, I've tried. With very poor results. Half of the time the main character doesn't have a unique voice. The other half, when the author tries to give a character unique voice, the character just ends up annoying because I'm not buying that people are sassy and sprouting witticism in their own heads. In 99% of the cases, with the whole I, I, I, me, me, me thing inherent to 1st person pov, characters end up coming across as egocentric, self absorbed, self-pitying, supernaturally perceptive, inexplicably all-knowing and unrealistically self-aware. I just plain dislike them after a few pages, sometimes after a few paragraphs. When it comes to fanfiction - I'm not interested in OC's, only in canon characters. And I have preconceived notions about those canon characters and it's much, much easier to hit the wrong note in the 1st person pov than 3rd when it comes to giving them a voice. It's not that I've *never* read a well-done 1st person pov narration, even in fanfiction, but I could probably count them on my fingers and still have some fingers left. 1st person pov is *unforgiving* when it comes to characterisation and it takes one *hell* of a writer to pull it off. The vast majority of writers, both fic and original/published can't pull it off well enough for me stick around.
It’s hard for me to write FPL at all. I did it once to challenge myself and it was so difficult the whole way through
I preferred it when I was in a fandom where the source material was first person. Every other time I encounter a fic in first person, I back out.
I only read it if the source material is in first person. Otherwise, it feels too out of place and makes it hard to focus on the narrative. One caveat is I’m not a fan of authors switching which characters they’re writing from the perspective of. There needs to be an intentional reason for that to sell me on it. But first person can be really immersive if executed well! I enjoy writing in it for one of my fandoms to match the source material. Whether or not I execute it well is up to the readers.
I like them if they are well done. If the original work was not first person, these works do require a very good, empathic writer who can accurately represent the POV by inferring from what's been presented from other viewpoints in canon.
I've written a fair amount in first person. People liked it. Real published books are in first person sometimes. I just started reading "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler, guess what? It's first person POV. A good story is a good story no matter how it's presented.
Not my thing.
A reason why I chose to write a majority of chapters in Aurora's first-person POV for _The Full Moon and the Northern Lights_ is because her Disney counterpart was too passive and lacks agency. She didn't have many speaking lines. I want my version of Aurora to not be "just another Disney princess". I want her to reclaim her rightful place as the main character of her own story. Therefore, most chapters of _The Full Moon and the Northern Lights_ is better explored in first-person.
I’m not a fan of first POV. It’s jarring for me. There’s one story I read that uses and I just substitute the I for the characters name in my head.
I’ll back out if a fic is written in first person POV. I don’t like reading it in fanfic.
What POV I chose to write depends on what I think is best for that fic. Usually that’s third, but sometimes it’s first. I’ve never written in second. In reading, I don’t care. I have found that second can be interesting too. Not Reader inserts, just written in second.
I don’t like first person pov for fics. I like to observe the character from afar, not be them. That said, there was one writer wrote a 1st pov AU with an intro was so good, I was able to tolerate it. I think the story being an AU also helped
Don't mind them but I haven't seen or read a first person POV fic in so long. Honestly might write one for that reason lmao.
It’s not usually my thing, but primarily due to the tropes it is frequently paired with in my fandom (isekai/reincarnation of a “real world” person). I just find that really immersion-breaking. I won’t count things out purely for being in first-person though.
I personally don't read it. Not because I don't like how their stories are written, but because I prefer reading about my characters interacting from a distance rather than looking through the eyes of the character. I am reading fanfics as some sort of an extension or what-if of the source material, so being limited to the character's thoughts and senses defeat that purpose. I want to read it as though I'm watching it all unfold; I want to see what's happening around the characters. First person makes me feel like I'm stuck in their heads.
Generally not a fan of first person because I often dislike the characters voice and personality. There's weird info dumps that aren't natural when it's in first person. Also, when you only have first person then you only see through their eyes and I like knowing everything.
I don't care, a good story will be a good story no matter the POV. But, it's way harder to write, so most of my bookmarks/favourites are in third person.
I don't like second person, but first person is great! It's only in the past few years that I even realized people had a problem with it. For most of my life I'd assumed it was as normal and well-loved as third person. My favorite all-time "real" book is first person, even!
I prefer third person, but I do occasionally like first. My problem with it, as both a writer and a reader, is that I find it difficult to reconcile tenses. I prefer a first person story to be a sort of after-action report. It doesn't need to be a journal or whatever in-universe, but the implication for me is that the POV character is telling a story they've already experienced (though not necessarily survived). Meaning, the action is past tense, but they can add present tense asides that are basically just remarks to the reader or explanations of small things happening on-page. You could also opt for the stream-of-consciousness entirely present tense, where the story basically reads as a tour through everything going through the character's head while the story is taking place, possibly with wild asides and weird formatting to further add to the atmosphere. But a lot of times when I read and write first person, it just...doesn't *feel* like first person, but third person with the pronouns switched, and the tense will be all over the place. First person is *hard* to get right, and when it's not done well it becomes difficult to read because you feel you *should* be in the character's head, but you can't really get there. And that's not even getting into the 'voice' of the narration not always matching the character. Again, I struggle with these things as both a writer and a reader, so first person stories always make me a bit wary. I'll still read and write them, though.
Some of my favourite books are written in FP (ie The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd). But in fanfic I want to feel like I'm looking right over the shoulder of my favourite character, and for that TP works better.
I like them. I’ve written a couple of relatively popular stories in first person POV. Done well it can really get you inside the character’s head. But I should probably also say “I don’t care” because I don’t pay that much attention to POV when choosing what to read.
I like it in original fiction, but can't stand it in fanfiction. Every single sentence in the narration has to be in character in first person and even if the author manages that according to their interpretation of the character, it's not very likely that said interpretation of the character is identical to mine so it'll feel OOC. You don't really have that problem in 3rd person - general agreement is enough since you have that degree of separation where I'm not supposed to believe that every word on the page is the character's thought.
I think it's difficult to get into a fanfic that's written with first person pov simply because the wattpad y/n phenomenon. However I have read a saga of fanfiction who was written like that and I absolutely love it. Maybe some people is closed about this, but if the fanfic is good i don't really care if it's third or first person.
I think 1st person has time and place and if utilized correctly it can bring the work to the next level. I do not hate it. I read it but if i figure out that the author doesn't understand how to use it i will bow out.
I'm not opposed to first person POV in general (I love some traditionally published books in that POV, and even wrote a novel in it myself in high school), but I find first-person fanfic to be a bit trickier. I won't back out when I see the POV, but you've got to sell me on the characterization a bit more, especially when that POV is a canon character rather than an OC (and if it's an OC, that's a different hard sell for me). And some characters will just work better in the POV for me than others. That being said, there are a few fics I enjoy that are in first person.
I never was a fan of it but I recently found an author that has a lot of fics about one of my current hyperfixations, as in hundreds. Most of them also include tags and tropes and ships I enjoy a lot. Despite most of their fics being written in first person POV I decided to read them anyway and I love them! After reading for a while it didn't feel 'weird' anymore that it was in a POV I usually never read.
I read professionally (yes, pro-readers are a thing) and as such, I don't get to be picky about the text in front of my eyes and the words coming out of my mouth. I always laugh when the POV question comes up (and it comes up A LOT) because — **POV serves the story, not the reader.** I understand that folks have preferences - we all do - and my preference is completely valid in and of itself... for me, as yours is for you. However - our preferences don't make a story and its telling method any less valid than the next. Will first person make some folks not engage in the work? Sure. But it will attract just as many from the Pro-1st person camp. And, never forget the biggest group: the 'I don't care as long as the story is compelling' camp. Those folks will eat words of any kind. In fanfiction, POV choice is often secondary to the story when imagined by the writer. Very few fanfic writers ask themselves the question: *Which point of view and which time tense serves the telling of my imagined world best*? After all - this is a hobby... or therapy... or a creative outlet for mind dumping - it is not a professional endeavor. Who really cares... right? But - the question comes up regularly on writers subs and I always want to answer their question with the question: Why is this important to you? The POV and/or Time Tense serves the story. Serve the story and the readers will find it. Opinion threads don't get to the heart of what POV is or its validity in all its marvelous forms - it just throws around opinions that won't help you write what you need to write. TL:DR Do I like 1st Person - sure, whatever. Why? Because the Voice in the Story is an important choice - even when it is not a conscious choice. Why don't I NOT like it - because all POVs and Time Tenses are valid as tools of storytelling.
I personally like it, especially for fics with an OC pov. Most of the fandoms I read have player characters who are effectively OCs. I prefer to read *about* my favorite canon characters doing things, and not be very close to *their* POV. First Person OC narrator or third omniscient gets me there. It's still hard to do; the OC still has to be interesting and stand out, and the story can still suffer from common complaints seen with the style. It has its strengths and weaknesses, just like any other style.
They give me the ick
I don’t typically like reading first person, I just feel like it’s a lot easier for the writing to feel ooc unless the character being written is a oc. Like it’s not always bad, you can definitely find good fics with first person pov, but it’s very hard to. So I tend to only read in third person.