In nonfiction, a first-person voice can also lend credibility to the writing: “I know this to be true, because I actually saw or did these things.” Readers get to relive the experience through a primary source, safe in the knowledge that this person knows what they’re talking about. There’s often a sense of honesty and trust that first person narration can communicate, pulling the reader into the story by evoking empathy. That’s not to say that second person POV or third person POV can’t create intimacy, but first person tends to be the most intimate, as you’re getting direct access to the character’s internal thoughts and feelings. With first person, the writer or reader becomes the character as they get deeper into the story, and that's the kind of immersive experience that makes me love a book. Writing first person makes it easier to get deep inside a character's thoughts and feelings. Tracy Gold, Reedsy editor and Adjunct Professor of Composition at the University of Baltimore, corroborates this: That is, many authors and readers prefer first-person-POV writing because it creates intimacy. One of the main benefits of first person POV is what is sometimes referred to as the ‘close psychic distance’ between the reader and the character.
![first person narrator definition first person narrator definition](https://image1.slideserve.com/1861397/1-st-person-point-of-view-l.jpg)
Here’s a little more on why first person is worth learning to write well.
![first person narrator definition first person narrator definition](https://www.thebalancecareers.com/thmb/pTJUp02ZI_ghpJQ9Rwdu99Oum9I=/1500x1000/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/third-person-point-of-view-1277092-v2-5b4e4b52c9e77c003ecc23e8.png)
While it may not perfectly suit every story - hence why we also have second person and third person alternative - it’s definitely a popular POV, and one that’s important for authors to master. It can lend authority and credibility to a tale, and has plenty of other useful storytelling functions.
![first person narrator definition first person narrator definition](https://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard-srcsets/kristy-littlehale/point-of-view-definition.png)
First person narration brings readers directly into the story, experiencing its events as the POV character.