Different narratives and POV's

[Fati]

Hey guys, I need you insight.

Recently a story appeared in my head and as I began to write it I noticed that it started in first person present tense, but as the story went on it needed to go back to third person past tense (for background) and once those two story lines meet it would need to be third person present tense... As I write it is not confusing, the voices are very clear.

first person, present tense : is the girl talking to herself (she is in isolation)

Third person, past tense: is her story before she went crazy

Third person, present tense: when she begins to interact with others.

I've been hearing a lot of trash of people who read novels in different narratives, so now I'm a little scared to carry on...

Any thoughts?

[Lea-Ellen]

Fati wrote: "Hey guys, I need you insight..."

I would seriously not advise you to mix points-of-view in the same book. Try to write it in either 1st person present tense OR 3rd person past tense (NOT 3rd person present tense). The easiest thing to do is to use 3rd person past tense which allows for personal inner thoughts of characters make in the 1st person POV. (Those inner thoughts are either put in italics or in bold.)

[K.P.]

Don't change it. I've read some books where the tenses change. Make sure you seperate them into their own chapters if you want surrealsim. Otherwise, put the various tenses in different but similar fonts. The chick is nuts, right? Bang the reader over the head and throw them in head first into insanity!

and let me know when you finish that book! I want to be the first to beta that sucker! ^_^

[Fati]

K.P. wrote: "Don't change it. I've read some books where the tenses change. Make sure you seperate them into their own chapters if you want surrealsim. Otherwise, put the various tenses in different but similar..."

HA! Yeah :) Everything is separate and so far I've had no confusion. I'm so happy you told me to leave it like that, it's just one of those cases where the characters voice is so stubborn and has to be written the way they tell it.

And as for the bang, the story starts with her running the prologue to her own fictional memoirs in her head... so, yeah.

Thanks!

[K.P.]

Sweet! I can't wait to read it when you're done with the final draft! hit me up any time :D I'm a sucker for unreliable narrators or if the MC is psychotic in some way.

[Barbara]

The way you say it, it doesn't sound confusing. I'd give it a try - besides, you've already found a beta for this! ;)
Follow your guts is always the best advice...

[J.A.]

Don't switch...I love and write in first person....but when I need back story I don't switch.

I create a flashback scene in 1st person that gives that experience...

Get into that moment, do it as a dream, a memory, a flashback in the traumatic sense....but don't go to 3rd.

Not because it cannot be done but because 1st person readers want that direct connection.

And they are the ones who will like your book!