Writing in First Person Personal, The POV Jefferson Used To Write The Preamble

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

First Person Plural POV is one of four subcategories under the category of First Person POV.

While the pronouns I, me, my, and mine are found in First Person Epistolary, Flashback, and Cinematic, as the name implies First Person Plural shares events from a group of people. First Person Plural uses We and Us, Our and Ourselves.

The Day The World Came To Town

Author Jim Defede wrote a delightful example in his book, The Day The World Came To Town: 9/11 in Gander Newfoundland. The author captured the best of the human spirit displayed when some 7000 people dropped in unannounced—literally—on the island town of Gander. Nearly doubling the population in just hours, the residents responded with hospitality, hope, and friendship. 

The book description reads: "When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill.

As the passengers stepped from the airplanes, exhausted, hungry and distraught after being held on board for nearly 24 hours while security checked all of the baggage, they were greeted with a feast prepared by the townspeople. Local bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to transport the passengers to the various shelters set up in local schools and churches. Linens and toiletries were bought and donated. A middle school provided showers, as well as access to computers, email, and televisions, allowing the passengers to stay in touch with family and follow the news.

Over the course of those four days, many of the passengers developed friendships with Gander residents that they expect to last a lifetime. As a show of thanks, scholarship funds for the children of Gander have been formed and donations have been made to provide new computers for the schools. This book recounts the inspiring story of the residents of Gander, Canada, whose acts of kindness have touched the lives of thousands of people and been an example of humanity and goodwill."

For this example, the author brilliantly shows how the residents pulled together as a common identity, while dipping into the emotions and reactions of the thousands who were suddenly completely out of control of their lives and at the mercy of strangers. 

The Preamble

Julie Otsuka's title, Buddha in the Attic is written in First Person Plural. 

"Some of us on the boat were from Kyoto and were delicate and fair, and had lived our entire lives in darkened rooms at the back of the house. Some of us were from Nara, and prayed to our ancestors three times a day, and swore we could still hear the temple bells ringing. Some of us were farmers' daughters from Yamaguchi with thick wrists and broad shoulders who had never gone to bed after nine."

Instead of one person plural as in the case of multi-personality disorder, or same person plural which would indicate cloning, First Person Plural POV is a group of people engaged together in an activity or task. 

While the individuals are not all the same, the group of people act as one as the citizens of Gander chose to respond with grace and kindness to the many anxious and confused travelers who had no where else to go. 

First Person Plural POV describes unity, but not necessarily uniformity. The pronoun We in this viewpoint can share an identity or choose to share an identity. 

Bridging together as We, First Person Plural POV can describe a group who share an experience. 

The Preamble of the Constitution of the United States is penned in First Person Plural POV. 

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 

First Person Plural POV works well for telling stories from the point of view of a group larger than the typical hero or heroine.

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Writing in First Person Personal, The POV Jefferson Used To Write The Preamble from @PeggySueWells on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

PeggySue Wells is the bestselling author of 40 books and collaborator of many more. Action and adventure, romantic suspense, military romance, and cozy mystery are the page-turning novels by P.S. Wells, including Homeless for the Holidays, Chasing Sunrise, The Patent, and Unnatural Cause. How to live better, easier, and simpler is the focus of her nonfiction including The Ten Best Decisions A Single Mom Can Make. Founder of SingleMomCircle.com, PeggySue coaches writing and speaks at events and conferences. When not writing, she parasails, skydives, snorkels, scuba dives, rides horses, and has taken (but not passed) pilot training. Connect with her at www.PeggySueWells.com, on Facebook at PeggySue Wells, and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/peggysuewells