Should we use the first person? We know that it can be unreliable and that the character has often already had the growth so that the reader cannot enjoy growth with the character.
However, it often works well in YA when a particular type of first person narrative is used. It seems like a best mate telling you what has just happened but when s/he has not yet worked out all of the implications. Shall we call this the immediate first person?
Third person close often works well for many forms of fiction. We have the closeness yet we can watch the growth.
Then there is the question of whether we should use past or present tense. Present tense can create some immediacy but can also come across as if the narrator is walking around with a note-book in their hands.
Take a passage you have already written and try it out with different narrative styles:
· close third person present tense
· close third person past tense
· first person present tense
· first person past tense
· distant third person present tense
· distant third person past tense
· special first person present tense
· special first person past tense
Which works the best? Do you have the courage to change the whole of your text if this suggests you should?
