First-Person Viewpoint: Pro or Con?

I've spent the last couple of days tweaking the prologue to the new story, and yesterday afternoon, I got an epiphany. The villain's point of view, from which the prologue is written, seemed a little flat. And suddenly it hit me: it should be written in first person.

So I reworked it, and now it sings. The energy level has gone through the roof. I find it amazing the way a simple act like turning "he" into "I" can totally change the feel of a piece of fiction. And in the case of my villain, getting inside his skin instead of viewing him from a distance makes him seem even more evil. That's what I was hoping for.

Believe it or not, there are a number of readers out there who refuse to read first-person stories. I honestly don't get it. What's the big deal? It's a longstanding tradition in the mystery field. Yet many readers of romance vehemently oppose first-person viewpoint. My last book, Die Before I Wake, was written in first person. It was one of the easiest books I've written, and in my opinion, one of the best. So I was surprised by the feedback from people who didn't like it because I'd strayed from my usual third-person perspective. One reader went so far as to give me a one-star review at a major online bookseller's site, admitting that she hadn't even read the book. She apparently felt betrayed, not only by me, but by the publisher and the bookseller, because nobody had warned her that the book was written in first person.

Wow.

I'm not intending to point any fingers at anyone here; this particular reader was just the most vocal of several who made themselves heard. I find it fascinating that readers attach such strong emotions to not just the story I've written, but to how that story was written. This leads directly to an even bigger issue about reader expectations and just how far a writer should go to meet them. Yes, I'm writing for an audience, and I want that audience to be pleased with my work. If not, I won't have an audience for long. So I always listen to reader feedback and weigh its value to my writing.

On the other hand, I'm also writing to please myself. I strive to continually improve with each book I write. I don't always make the mark, but I always try. And part of that growth as a writer is making sure that all the elements of a story work the way they should. This requires me to be open-minded and willing to try new things. And if a first-person viewpoint seems the most appropriate for my story, that's what I'm going to use.

I'd love to hear opinions on this, from readers and from other writers. How do you feel about first-person versus third-person stories? Do you have any pet peeves, anything that would make you turn away from a book without finishing it? Do you feel an author is obligated to write to reader expectations, or does writing to please her/himself create better books?

Starting Over

Time for a fresh start. A new beginning.

There have been several times in my fifty-four years on this planet when I hit a low and had to pull myself by the bootstraps out of the muck and into a better place. After being ditched by my publisher, followed by a lengthy dry spell of no writing and the subsequent implosion of my long-time critique group, I realized that I had reached one of those bootstrap moments. The time had arrived to revamp and jump-start my writing life.

With that in mind, I've taken a few steps. First, I'm in the process of totally redoing my website, which for the past year had been nonexistent (my domain URL was pointing to my MySpace page). Second, I've decided to clean out the Blogger dust bunnies, give this page a new look, and start blogging again as a way of keeping in touch with readers until (I'm determined it will be until, not if) I get something new published and on the bookstore shelves. Third, after eighteen months of not writing, I've finally started a new book. And, as incentive to get that book finished and keep the forward momentum going, I bought myself a new toy...er, writing tool : A Dell Inspiron Mini netbook computer that's small enough to tuck into my purse and carry with me everywhere. It has a cherry red cover, a 160-gig hard drive, a keyboard that's big enough to be workable, and it weighs less than three pounds. I'm waiting for the external CD drive that I ordered from Amazon so I can install my MS Word program on it (it came with MS Works). Then I can use it to write from anywhere. Nirvana in a tiny package! Now, it's time to apply the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair, and keep moving forward on the new book. Wish me luck! Although I suspect it's true that, as my Tupperware distributor used to tell us (yes, I was once a Tupperware lady), luck is really spelled W-O-R-K.

I currently have two books available: Die Before I Wake and Black Widow. Most of my older books can be found secondhand at Amazon, eBay, and other online venues.