“How do I stop using the word “I” when writing in first person?” 😫 #askabbie

[hoaxgirlie]

As a third-person writer, i can confirm that my manuscript are either "he, he, he, he, he" or "she, she, she, she, she" Its not a first-person problem😌

[Dragonmoon]

"I" assume a good fix for the is to just drop the I.

For example, " I entered into the kitchen. I smelled warm bread cooking. I noticed my wife at the sink cleaning the mixing bowl. I made my way over.

To,

The aroma of baking bread filling the air drew my attention first. Followed immediately by my wifes mutterings as she applied elbow grease to the mixing bowl in the sink. The soap suds taking over a good portion of both the mixing bowl and her as it cascaded over the sinks edge, hardly offering Dillia the ideal bubble bath. Her colorful language made it clear she was in a fouler mood, only worsening by the minute. Her desire to make homemade banana bread for Charlies' return from college for the summer, was an ambitious goal on her part. Coughing loudly to announce my return, I gripped the mop in my hand tightly and approached the irreproachable, a prayer running through my mind, "God, it's me Daniel . . ."

[kiwij]

'Only write what you personally want to write' - best advice you've given Abbie! Thanks!

[cachos-story-lab]

A couple of alternatives worth considering

Using "the"

"The sweet fragance permeated the room, it was so soothing yet there was a acridness almost hidden within it... Something was wrong"

Using "me":

"All around me... These dark flowers seemed to slowly bend in my direction, like a sunflower..."

Using "my":

"Was this just my imagination? Or... Did the scent grow stronger and flowers nearer?"

Of course if its clear enough you may get away with just not saying anything at all:

"The walls seemed to spin, as the room grew darker and colder an intoxicating fragance and burning of the skin, which slowly faded as sleep overtook the pain. Never again to wake.
Snapping, scoffing, there was a brief burst of activity but soon movement stopped and there was silence. Once again the room was back to normal, ready to extend for its next visitor."

Not saying these paragraphs are good or anything, just something off the cuff to make a point - hopefully they'll spark some new ideas.

[latofatifa]

instead of writing i smell . just write the smell of ...or i see something.. write the things comes to the view or appearing ...i feel the pain of .. the pain in'my heart the pain in my leg in my stomach.. i feel happy ~~happyness fell my heart or whatever ... i write in arabic language and i hate to use verbs to much in my writing as much as i hate reading it .. the noun is always stronger unless it's an action scene or love scene .. something that you want you readers to see or imagine happening ..❤❤❤

[vanguardraidcommand]

Best advice ever. Write what YOU want to tell. Not what others may prefer. It was the most important thing I learned for myself. I wrote my book in the way I wanted to tell it. Is it perfect? No. It has some flaws here and there. Most books and stories do. But it's MY story, and I told it MY way. Never forget that part.

Once you have a huge following (fingers crossed, we all get that one day), THEN you may want to start writing it in a way that those fans are catered to a bit. But you still want to write for YOU.

[fantastic_fiona]

You have NO IDEA how much I struggle with this! Thanks for being super helpful as always Abbie!! 😘

[johannaadriennsiko]

Thanks for the advice! I have this problem as well. This helped out a lot. Especially the "Only write what you personally want to write." part. I had some second thoughts about my writing in first person thinking readers won't enjoy it.
Thank you.

[beckleavesley]

I switched my novel from first to third and I totally agree, just do whatever clicks for your story. Some stories just feel like they belong in a certain context!

[peanut]

Awesome advice! Also it could be a matter of passive/active(?) voice: what is the subject, or what is the thing that’s doing stuff? “I heard the cat meow / I heard a meow” vs “the cat meowed” vs “a meow came from my desk” (tbh all these options are equally good. It really depends what you want the focus to be on and what info you want to keep/share)

bonus: “my desk meowed” lol

On second thought, I’m not actually sure if any of these are active?? Passive/active voice is tricky

[SAMMYTASTISCH]

Its only a matter of "describe, don't explain", again. The solution for most writing problems 😁♥️

[jaquelinegarcia]

Thank u Abbie. I've been kicking myself in the back cuz Ik the things I want to write would be enjoyed by people who love to read in 3rd person and hate 1st person. I really love to write in first person and that's what I want to do but I've been contemplating it sm bc ppl really seem to hate first person with a passion, so I've been overthinking this for quite some time. But ik I need to write what I love because that's the kind of stuff I want to see, and that I should write for me not anyone else thank u Abbie 🫶

[ArttseLlac]

Thank you so much for this tip! I'm a preteen writer starting to write my debut novel, which is in first person. As someone who struggles with excessive "I" s in my writing, this was so helpful Abbie! ❤

[AncientWolfsbane]

I’ve been struggling with this in my book with describing scenes and stuff, so imma try this

[lovelynorah]

This is something i struggled with a couple years ago, and yes, i definitely agree with this! Something i would remember is that when you show what is happening, you dont need to put "i see" at the beginning, because it is from the persons perspective already. If youre describing it, the reader already knows they see it.

Example:
I saw Brandon walk up to jenny. I noticed that he was acting overly nice. I could smell his cologne from across the room
⬇️
Brandon walked up to Jenny. He seemee to be acting overly nice. His cologne was noticable from across the hallway.

[Mademoiselle_de_la_vie]

Abbie, I just want to thank for all your content. Watching all your videos have helped greatly into becoming a better writer. I was so impressed while reading my OWN work. Really have to thank you for the journey so far. Wishing you more audience as a writer and YouTuber ❤️❤️❤️

[DivestedConfessions]

You are great I listen to you and I immediately go make corrections. Sometimes I listen to your longer videos while I’m editing and make the corrections as you speak.

[jennymacaluso]

I'm going to start following you again I fell off the wagon but I really want to work hard at my writing.

I have the time
and I'm in a good
headspace
to do so, now. ❤

[Zenaku]

Actually use this technique it's really cool. Annoyed me when I was reading my own stuff

[KitoIllustrates]

As a good rule of thumb, I've challenged myself to always change the first letter of a paragraph. If the first one started with I, the next one has to start with a different letter (could be the start of an adjective, object, whatever you want- just not starting with I). I usually try to not repeat letters for at least five paragraphs, but that can vary a ton depending on what I'm writing.

In the end, it ends up looking a lot more consistent and almost diverse. Some people might not notice, but I do. Plus it's good practice since it makes you get creative with how you word things.