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How to avoid overuse of "I" sentences in first-person narration?
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WJ
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Jun 01, 2022 08:51AM

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Ex. I love to visit the fairs and festivals that run all through the warm season.
Instead: So many fairs and festivals fill each weekend of the warm season.

But seriously, over-use of pronouns can be avoided by cutting to the core of the sentence instead of narrating. Example:- 'I saw unusual footprints in the mud' can be narrated as 'There were unusual footprints in the mud'. Even interior actions can be treated this way, to remove the repetition of 'I' as well as providing a more dynamic narrative:- 'I was shocked to see what happened next.' could simply be omitted and 'what happened next' described as it was observed, as a third-person event.


"I ate dinner, watched TV and I was still waiting before I gave up..." >> "Dinner, check. TV, check. 1 bottle of wine *hic* How much longer? Time for bed."
Describe what you experience, encounter and witness rather than yourself.
"I went for my evening walk, there were trees, my neighbour...." can turn into "Today's evening walk was to Market Name. The trees did whatever they did and Jane, in flat number next door...."