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Monday, April 11, 2016

I is for The Story of I

I very nearly almost did ice cream after all. It's Monday, and I'm tired. "Could I get away with sleeping under my desk" tired.

So what the heck do I mean by "The Story of I"? I'm not going to spend the whole post just talking about me, am I? Worry not, dear readers. You'll not be bored to tears by vanity. Nah, this is to talk about an idea.

First person POV: "I went to the store."
Third person POV: "John went to the store."

But what if. What if your main character is named I? Look at that first sentence again. Knowing that the narrator is named I, can you tell what POV the sentence is?

It's a challenge I've wanted to do for the longest time: write a short story (because I can't fathom trying an extended piece) that, at the end, leaves the reader uncertain whether the POV is first or third. It'll take a lot of work. I can't use "my", "his", present tense, or various other common phrases that might give the perspective away. But I want to do it. Honestly, the hardest part of the challenge right now is coming up with a story for it!

If this idea tickles your fancy, I invite you to try it, and please, when you're done, share it or a link in the comments. I'd love to see what other people can do with this while I try to figure out what I'm going to do with it.

1 comment:

  1. Heh. Heheheheh. SOOOOOOOON. I was going to tell you to write about this idea for I except you already did!

    I IS CONTEMPLATING DOING THIS.
    *WRITES "I," DELETES IT, GETS DISTRACTED BY INTERNET*
    I R SUCH WRITER

    ZEE brain it is broken
    I can has done nao

    :-P

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