Choosing the narrator for a first-person story like 'Downriver' is a crucial decision because the voice has to be one the reader wants to listen to, and the voice has to be a match for the emotion you want the story to carry.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
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.
I almost always use first person voice in my novels. It has its limitations, but it gives a sense of immediacy that's hard to create with an anonymous, all-seeing narrator.
First-person narrators is the way I know how to write a book with the greatest power and chance of artistic success.
Character and story are suggested by the voice in the words themselves.
The voice is always the starting place for me with a character.
A good voice isn't so important. It's more important to sound really unique.
Voices have always been my way into a character. I usually approach the voice first.
To me the voice has always been the way to start any character. Once I find that, I'm good to go.
When it comes to the form the narrative will take, whether first person, third person, or Aunt Grace's cat, I usually find that the story tells me which voice it prefers, and that often changes as I go along. And in the end it really doesn't matter as long as the author can rig those voices all in harness to pull the same load.
Using a first-person narrator is simply a matter of hearing the voice inside yourself.