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Reader's Forum » Talking about Books » Point of View
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January 9, 2026 at 08:46 pm Reply
Korman JunkieHow do you decide whether a book will be first or third person? I notice that nowadays your books are mostly 1st person and cycle through narrators, but books as recently as 2018 are third person.
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January 10, 2026 at 02:55 am Reply
object(stdClass)#575 (23) { ["ID"]=> string(5) "31350" ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2026-01-10 02:55:35" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2026-01-10 02:55:35" ["post_content"]=> string(302) "Hi, KJ,
Good question. I just choose which way I think the story will be told best. First person muti-narrators is a pet method of mine. I feel it tells a better-rounded story when different people opine on the same topic. --GK--
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Good question. I just choose which way I think the story will be told best. First person muti-narrators is a pet method of mine. I feel it tells a better-rounded story when different people opine on the same topic. --GK--
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January 10, 2026 at 09:49 am Reply
Darrenobject(stdClass)#550 (23) { ["ID"]=> string(5) "31352" ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2026-01-10 09:49:42" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2026-01-10 09:49:42" ["post_content"]=> string(279) "Gord,
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I had meant to ask you before if the multiple 1st person narration viewpoint was something you came up with or was it inspired by something you saw?
I haven't read a ton of various authors but I can't recall seeing anyone other than you use that technique.Gord,
I had meant to ask you before if the multiple 1st person narration viewpoint was something you came up with or was it inspired by something you saw?
I haven't read a ton of various authors but I can't recall seeing anyone other than you use that technique. -
January 11, 2026 at 12:23 am Reply
Korman Junkieobject(stdClass)#546 (23) { ["ID"]=> string(5) "31354" ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2026-01-11 00:23:31" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2026-01-11 00:23:31" ["post_content"]=> string(47) "Dan Gutman did in The Homework Machine
" ["post_title"]=> string(5) "reply" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(6) "closed" ["ping_status"]=> string(6) "closed" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(11) "reply-11343" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2026-01-11 00:23:31" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2026-01-11 00:23:31" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> string(5) "31344" ["guid"]=> string(42) "https://gordonkorman.com/reply/reply-11343" ["menu_order"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_type"]=> string(5) "reply" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" }Dan Gutman did in The Homework Machine
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January 13, 2026 at 04:08 am Reply
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Sorry to keep you waiting. I've been busy packing younger son off to Italy for a college semester.
Re: multiple first-person narratives. This is what I remember of the history of it. My first foray into it was in 1996 with THE CHICKEN DOESN'T SKATE. Then I didn't use it again until SCHOOLED in 2007. Just about the same time, I read a book by Tama Janowitz in which she used the technique very effectively. And I decided it rounded out my story exactly the way I like it rounded out, and I've been using it, although not exclusively, ever since.
OK? I really don't know who else uses it. It does restrict the writing too, you know. But I really enjoy the effect.
Regards, -Gord
" ["post_title"]=> string(5) "reply" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(6) "closed" ["ping_status"]=> string(6) "closed" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(11) "reply-11360" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2026-01-13 04:08:50" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2026-01-13 04:08:50" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> string(5) "31344" ["guid"]=> string(42) "https://gordonkorman.com/reply/reply-11360" ["menu_order"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_type"]=> string(5) "reply" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" }Hi, Darren,
Sorry to keep you waiting. I've been busy packing younger son off to Italy for a college semester.
Re: multiple first-person narratives. This is what I remember of the history of it. My first foray into it was in 1996 with THE CHICKEN DOESN'T SKATE. Then I didn't use it again until SCHOOLED in 2007. Just about the same time, I read a book by Tama Janowitz in which she used the technique very effectively. And I decided it rounded out my story exactly the way I like it rounded out, and I've been using it, although not exclusively, ever since.
OK? I really don't know who else uses it. It does restrict the writing too, you know. But I really enjoy the effect.
Regards, -Gord
