Laura van den Berg Quotes

I'm very comfortable writing in the first person; it dives into the character in a way that's difficult if you're writing in the third person.

I have an affinity for writing in the first person. I love the intimacy of being dropped inside the character.

I always start a book thinking that it can be something other than first-person present, and I always come back to first-person present. It's just the easiest way.

Using a first-person narrator is simply a matter of hearing the voice inside yourself.

I can't remove the autobiographical slant from the things I write. You always bring yourself into what you're writing.

Writing in the first person, you immediately open yourself up to the idea that there's a connection between you and the narrator.

I find it hard to write in the first person.

I've always written in first person. It gives the readers more insight.

I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.

My preferred style is to write in first person, so I always have to play around with possible narrator voices until I find something that works.

The first person is a tradition I relate to and that I use; historically, it's been the voice I work in. But the hair on the back of my neck stands up when I'm referred to as a 'confessional' writer.

In 'Out of the Dark,' I'm talking about my own life. I'm not talking as a character or speaking as a character. I was not as free as when I write fiction.

First person allows deeper insight into the protagonist's character. It allows the reader to identify more fully with the protagonist and to share her world quite intimately. So it suits a story focused on one character's personal journey. However, first person shuts out insights into other characters.

I can only write about personal stuff, about my point of view.

I write about what happens to me. It's all there. I couldn't do it any other way.

Disgust at having to talk about oneself is what distinguishes novelistic talent from lyric talent.

Nonfiction is more personal for me. It's more personal in that it's more direct, and actually it's always been more direct, even when I first started doing pieces.

Everything I've written is personal - it's the only way I know how to write.

I have more freedom when I write fiction, but my memoirs have had a much stronger impact on my readers. Somehow the 'message,' even if I am not even aware that there is one, is conveyed better in this form.

I'm always telling my students, don't - don't worry so much third person, first person. It doesn't make that much difference.

However, please allow me to say that the fundamental style of my writing has been to start from my personal matters and then to link it up with society, the state and the world.

Everyone eventually winds up writing about themselves - the problem is finding the best way to go about it. To write about oneself literally, in the first person, presumes a more interesting personal life and philosophy than most rock lyricists possess. John Lennon was good for one great album based on musical direct address, 'Plastic Ono Band.'

One of the most challenging aspects of writing a memoir is finding your own voice, and you should be very careful about being influenced by someone else's voice.

I think it's nearly impossible to write something fictional without having it be about yourself in some way or another.

Every writer, to some extent, writes about himself.