--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is hard to create a first-person…" description: "\"It is hard to create a first-person narrator that can be a child and yet is able to take in enough information for the narrative to be legible to the r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/akhil-sharma-14942_able_it-is-hard-to-create-a-first-person-narr_1089320.png" --- # It is hard to create a first-person narrator that can be a… ![“It is hard to create a first-person narrator that can be a child and yet is able to take in enough information for the narrative to be legible to the reader.” quote by Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/akhil-sharma-14942_able_it-is-hard-to-create-a-first-person-narr_1089320.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/akhil-sharma-14942_able_it-is-hard-to-create-a-first-person-narr_1089320.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/akhil-sharma-14942_able_it-is-hard-to-create-a-first-person-narr_1089320.png) > “It is hard to create a first-person narrator that can be a child and yet is able to take in enough information for the narrative to be legible to the reader.” [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Crafting a child narrator who can understand enough to keep the story clear is challenging. **In simple terms:** Child narrator must be clear and believable. Key Takeaway Balance innocence with sufficient insight. Themes writing narrative perspective clarity character storytelling Mood thoughtful analytical Type instructional reflective When to use this quote - children's literature - creative writing workshops - editing drafts - author interviews Key Concepts voice development legibility information processing Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey adult concepts through a child's eyes? - What techniques keep the narrative legible? A Different Perspective A child may lack the knowledge needed for complex plots. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Narrators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrators/) ## Related quotes > [Any story has a beginning, middle, and end, of course, but the question is, where do you start it exactly? It's about a guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/any-story-has-a-beginning-middle-and-end-of-course-but-the-question/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [Using a first-person narrator is simply a matter of hearing the voice inside yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/using-a-first-person-narrator-is-simply-a-matter-of-hearing-the-voice/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [Early on, I settled on the first-person strategy as a way to deal with exposition and world-description issues. As long as the book is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/early-on-i-settled-on-the-first-person-strategy-as-a-way-to-deal-with/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [I think first-person narrators should be complex, because otherwise the first-person is too shallow and predictable. I like a first-person narrator who can't totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-think-first-person-narrators-should-be-complex-because-otherwise/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I think every first-person narrator in a novel should be compromised. I prefer that word to 'unreliable.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-palliser/i-think-every-first-person-narrator-in-a-novel-should-be-compromised/) [Charles Palliser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-palliser/) > [Everyone is interesting except the narrator in a first-person story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/everyone-is-interesting-except-the-narrator-in-a-first-person-story/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [ Lauren Kirshner creates a first-person narrator you never stop rooting for. . . . \[Where We Have to Go\] highlights Kirshner as a new… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-whittall/lauren-kirshner-creates-a-first-person-narrator-you-never-stop/) [Zoe Whittall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-whittall/) > [One of the strategies for doing first-person is to make the narrator very knowing, so that the reader is with somebody who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/one-of-the-strategies-for-doing-first-person-is-to-make-the-narrator/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [When you pick up a book, everyone knows it's imaginary. You don't have to pretend it's not a book. We don't have to pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/when-you-pick-up-a-book-everyone-knows-it-s-imaginary-you-don-t-have/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The third person narrator, instead of being omniscient, is like a constantly running surveillance tape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-vachss/the-third-person-narrator-instead-of-being-omniscient-is-like-a/) [Andrew Vachss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-vachss/) > [Before I think we was emcees, we was more or less narrators too. Because if you look at the early '80s hip hop, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raekwon/before-i-think-we-was-emcees-we-was-more-or-less-narrators-too/) [Raekwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raekwon/) > [The unreliable narrator is an odd concept. The way I see it, we're all unreliable narrators of our lives who usually have absolute trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/the-unreliable-narrator-is-an-odd-concept-the-way-i-see-it-we-re-all/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [If you have a single narrator, a person like an "I" - "'I' did this" and "'I' did that" - it automatically solves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/if-you-have-a-single-narrator-a-person-like-an-i-i-did-this-and-i-did/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [A narrator should not supply interpretations of his work; otherwise he would have not written a novel, which is a machine for generating interpretations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/a-narrator-should-not-supply-interpretations-of-his-work-otherwise-he/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I very much like the idea of the unreliable narrator. Shaping my fictions as monologues - by introducing the "I" - allows me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-very-much-like-the-idea-of-the-unreliable-narrator-shaping-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) ## More by Akhil Sharma > [The little babies are missing their families from their past lives. The babies have old souls and the old souls have to shrink to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/the-little-babies-are-missing-their-families-from-their-past-lives/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [Seven years into writing a novel, I started to lose my mind. My thirty-seventh birthday had just come and gone, the end of 2008…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/seven-years-into-writing-a-novel-i-started-to-lose-my-mind-my-thirty/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [It's easy when you grow up in fear to act out of fear. I don't want to embrace that fear; I prefer to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-s-easy-when-you-grow-up-in-fear-to-act-out-of-fear-i-don-t-want-to/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [I think that books are fundamentally educational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/i-think-that-books-are-fundamentally-educational/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [As a teacher, I can help my students see what is working and not working. I can show them certain solutions. 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The fact that something is true in the real world should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/novels-should-be-judged-rigorously-either-a-book-works-or-it-doesn-t/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [“We have to keep trusting God. We can’t just trust God when he’s doing what we want. We have to trust him even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/we-have-to-keep-trusting-god-we-can-t-just-trust-god-when-he-s-doing/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [It is hard to write about physically difficult things without causing the reader to disengage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-is-hard-to-write-about-physically-difficult-things-without-causing/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [During my breakdown, many things, tiny things I had not even registered before, had begun to torment me with guilt. I used to steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/during-my-breakdown-many-things-tiny-things-i-had-not-even-registered/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [“History repeats itself and mine is full of failures, so I am not surprised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/history-repeats-itself-and-mine-is-full-of-failures-so-i-am-not/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [I need to tell the things that are important but which don't make sense in terms of the narrative, things that would destroy symmetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/i-need-to-tell-the-things-that-are-important-but-which-don-t-make/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [As a human being living one's life, one is more open to relief when there is rain or the expectation of rain. That readiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/as-a-human-being-living-one-s-life-one-is-more-open-to-relief-when/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [Money is part of how we move through the world, what stores and restaurants we go into, whether we take a train to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/money-is-part-of-how-we-move-through-the-world-what-stores-and/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) [Explore all 44 Akhil Sharma quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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