--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My preferred style is to write in first…" description: "\"My preferred style is to write in first person, so I always have to play around with possible narrator voices until I find something that works.\" — Lau..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/laurie-graham-12935_always_my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first_1845760.jpg" --- # My preferred style is to write in first person, so I… ![“My preferred style is to write in first person, so I always have to play around with possible narrator voices until I find something that works.” quote by Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/laurie-graham-12935_always_my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first_1845760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/laurie-graham-12935_always_my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first_1845760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/laurie-graham-12935_always_my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first_1845760.jpg) > “My preferred style is to write in first person, so I always have to play around with possible narrator voices until I find something that works.” [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author experiments with narrative perspectives to discover a voice that feels authentic and effective. **In simple terms:** Finding the right narrator voice takes trial and error. Key Takeaway Test different narrators to match your story. Themes creativity writing process narrative voice Mood reflective inquisitive Type creative instructional When to use this quote - novel drafting - short story workshops - blog posts - screenwriting - personal essays Key Concepts persona exploration voice authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What narrator voice best serves your story? - How do you know when a voice works? A Different Perspective Finding a voice may delay progress if over‑analyzed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [My general working style is to write everything first with pencil and paper, sitting beside a big wastebasket. Then I use Emacs to enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-knuth/my-general-working-style-is-to-write-everything-first-with-pencil-and/) [Donald Knuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-knuth/) > [STYLE IS NOT HOW YOU WRITE IT IS HOW YOUDO NOT WRITE LIKE ANYONE ELSE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ghigna/style-is-not-how-you-write-it-is-how-youdo-not-write-like-anyone-else/) [Charles Ghigna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ghigna/) > [“To write a genuine familiar or truly English style, is to write as any one would speak in common conversation who had a thorough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/to-write-a-genuine-familiar-or-truly-english-style-is-to-write-as-any/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I almost always use first person voice in my novels. It has its limitations, but it gives a sense of immediacy that's hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/i-almost-always-use-first-person-voice-in-my-novels-it-has-its/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [I think that what I do, in terms of how I craft my words rhetorically, is fairly simple stuff. I don't mean that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-scalzi/i-think-that-what-i-do-in-terms-of-how-i-craft-my-words-rhetorically/) [John Scalzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-scalzi/) > [I try to write in the first person - the first person not of a journalist but of a carnivore, an eater, a gardener,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/i-try-to-write-in-the-first-person-the-first-person-not-of-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [I write in the first person because I have always wanted to make my life more interesting than it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/i-write-in-the-first-person-because-i-have-always-wanted-to-make-my/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [I want to write so well that a person is 30 or 40 pages in a book of mine ... before she realizes she's reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-want-to-write-so-well-that-a-person-is-30-or-40-pages-in-a-book-of/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I find it hard to write in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michiko-kakutani/i-find-it-hard-to-write-in-the-first-person/) [Michiko Kakutani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michiko-kakutani/) > [I almost always urge people to write in the first person. ... Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/i-almost-always-urge-people-to-write-in-the-first-person-writing-is/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [A lot of the time when I write about the person that I love, I feel like I'm writing about New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/a-lot-of-the-time-when-i-write-about-the-person-that-i-love-i-feel/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [Write to one person, not a million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fairfax-m-cone/write-to-one-person-not-a-million/) [Fairfax M. Cone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fairfax-m-cone/) > [I always find something in common with my protagonist, particularly when I write in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-always-find-something-in-common-with-my-protagonist-particularly/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [Perhaps I write for no one. Perhaps for the same person children are writing for when they scrawl their names in the snow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/perhaps-i-write-for-no-one-perhaps-for-the-same-person-children-are/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-like-to-write-first-person-because-i-like-to-become-the-character-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## More by Laurie Graham > [It was the Victorians who covered the piano legs and drew a heavy curtain over what a lady got up to in her boudoir.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/it-was-the-victorians-who-covered-the-piano-legs-and-drew-a-heavy/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [In grief, after even the happiest of relationships, we go over things again and again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/in-grief-after-even-the-happiest-of-relationships-we-go-over-things/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [Childhood doesn't have to be perfect, and children don't have to be beautiful. From a bit of grit may grow a pearl, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/childhood-doesn-t-have-to-be-perfect-and-children-don-t-have-to-be/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [Characters develop as the book progresses, but any that start to bore me end up in the wastepaper basket. In real life, we may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/characters-develop-as-the-book-progresses-but-any-that-start-to-bore/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [The wheels of publishing never slow down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/the-wheels-of-publishing-never-slow-down/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [As well as writing novels and doing short-order journalism, I am also the full-time carer of my husband, who has Alzheimer's. Each day feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/as-well-as-writing-novels-and-doing-short-order-journalism-i-am-also/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [The thing about praising beauty is that good looks are an unforgiving task- master, a Forth Bridge of a maintenance job. The passing years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/the-thing-about-praising-beauty-is-that-good-looks-are-an-unforgiving/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [I'm married to an American, so I guess that has changed my perspective on the subjects I can write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/i-m-married-to-an-american-so-i-guess-that-has-changed-my-perspective/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [Personally, my interest in social history ends around 1959, by which time I was an adolescent. I've always attributed this to my particular sensibilities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/personally-my-interest-in-social-history-ends-around-1959-by-which/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [My go-to author for knowing it all is Evelyn Waugh. 'A Handful of Dust' is as perfect as a book can get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/my-go-to-author-for-knowing-it-all-is-evelyn-waugh-a-handful-of-dust/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [I'd like to see my grandchildren climb trees, not stand under them. I'd like to see them learn to make bread and brown it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/i-d-like-to-see-my-grandchildren-climb-trees-not-stand-under-them-i-d/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [My parents never told me I was beautiful, and for one very good reason. I wasn't. When your child is a tubby, bespectacled little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/my-parents-never-told-me-i-was-beautiful-and-for-one-very-good-reason/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [None of us wants to be reminded that dementia is random, relentless, and frighteningly common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/none-of-us-wants-to-be-reminded-that-dementia-is-random-relentless/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [Even professional, paid carers aren't always models of saintly behaviour - and they know they can knock off at the end of their shift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/even-professional-paid-carers-aren-t-always-models-of-saintly/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [Not so very long ago, certainly well into the Thirties, a lady companion was a normal feature of life for widows or lone spinsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/not-so-very-long-ago-certainly-well-into-the-thirties-a-lady/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) [Explore all 52 Laurie Graham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My preferred style is to write in first person, so I always have to play around with possible narrator voices until I find something that works.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laurie Graham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first-person-so-i-always-have-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first-person-so-i-always-have-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/laurie-graham-12935_always_my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first_1845760.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/laurie-graham-12935_always_my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first_1845760.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07b/laurie-graham-12935_always_my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first_1845760.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My preferred style is to write in first person, so I always have to play around with possible narrator…” — Laurie Graham", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Laurie Graham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My preferred style is to write...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first-person-so-i-always-have-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/my-preferred-style-is-to-write-in-first-person-so-i-always-have-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```