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Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop's avatar

Excellent question. When I get the right viewpoint for my fiction or for memoir, it's like finding one's seat on a horse. It feels as if you and the horse are moving as one. I've found the same goes for writing, not just riding:) For example, in my historical novel, Counting on Grace, I tried everything else first and finally landed on first person, present tense because I'd forced myself to write a diary for my main character. That brought her close to me and in the end, to the reader.

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Amran Gowani's avatar

I don't make the choice consciously, I just start writing. In my post today I went with second person present. It felt natural because it was like I was telling myself a story I wouldn't otherwise be able to believe. It's fun: https://open.substack.com/pub/agowani/p/how-to-survive-the-us-healthcare

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