--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love writing in first person more than…" description: "\"I love writing in first person more than third. I have to basically suspend my own world. I don't exist. I'm just a conduit. So I can be eight years ol..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/terry-mcmillan-7261_certain_i-love-writing-in-first-person-more-than_2777729.jpg" --- # I love writing in first person more than third. I have to… ![“I love writing in first person more than third. I have to basically suspend my own world. I don't exist. I'm just a conduit. So I can be eight years old. I can be the mother of a kid that you find out certain things I'm not going to say.” quote by Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/terry-mcmillan-7261_certain_i-love-writing-in-first-person-more-than_2777729.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/terry-mcmillan-7261_certain_i-love-writing-in-first-person-more-than_2777729.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/terry-mcmillan-7261_certain_i-love-writing-in-first-person-more-than_2777729.jpg) > “I love writing in first person more than third. I have to basically suspend my own world. I don't exist. I'm just a conduit. So I can be eight years old. I can be the mother of a kid that you find out certain things I'm not going to say.” [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. First‑person narrative lets writers dissolve personal boundaries, becoming vessels for varied experiences. **In simple terms:** Write through characters to explore beyond self. Key Takeaway Embrace narrative immersion. Themes writing identity empathy Mood creative introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - fiction workshops - creative therapy - storytelling - teaching Key Concepts narrative voice psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does stepping into a character change you? - What risks accompany deep immersion? A Different Perspective Loss of self can cause disorientation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Eight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eight/) [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Love Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-writing/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [My own world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own-world/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Suspend World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspend-world-3287739/) [Thirds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-person-324719/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“I have seldom met an individual of literary tastes or propensities in whom the writing of love was not directly attributable to the love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/i-have-seldom-met-an-individual-of-literary-tastes-or-propensities-in/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [When you're writing first person, all I can see and tell as the author is what that main character can see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-cleage/when-you-re-writing-first-person-all-i-can-see-and-tell-as-the-author/) [Pearl Cleage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-cleage/) > [When you're writing in first person you have to be honest about how people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-o-porter/when-you-re-writing-in-first-person-you-have-to-be-honest-about-how/) [Dawn O'Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-o-porter/) > [Writing in the first person automatically gives you a point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/writing-in-the-first-person-automatically-gives-you-a-point-of-view/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [I've written short stories in first person, but you have so much more control writing in third person. Third person, you know what everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/i-ve-written-short-stories-in-first-person-but-you-have-so-much-more/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [I try to have something in common with my protagonists, especially when I'm writing in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-have-something-in-common-with-my-protagonists-especially/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [Writing for the stage is different from writing for a book. You want to write in a way that an actor has material to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/writing-for-the-stage-is-different-from-writing-for-a-book-you-want/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [I think I'm funnier in my writing than in person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-scovell/i-think-i-m-funnier-in-my-writing-than-in-person/) [Nell Scovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-scovell/) > [When you're a songwriter and you click with someone, you tend to want to keep writing with that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-sherwood/when-you-re-a-songwriter-and-you-click-with-someone-you-tend-to-want/) [Billy Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-sherwood/) > [Whenever an encounter between a writer of good will and a regular person of good will happens to touch on the subject of writing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/whenever-an-encounter-between-a-writer-of-good-will-and-a-regular/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Writing in another person's voice is a skill you have to develop when you're working on someone else's show. But if you can maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nahnatchka-khan/writing-in-another-person-s-voice-is-a-skill-you-have-to-develop-when/) [Nahnatchka Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nahnatchka-khan/) > [“They were as real as Sara, and it was careless of them not to come out of the story shadowland and say, “Here I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/they-were-as-real-as-sara-and-it-was-careless-of-them-not-to-come-out/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [I'm happy to be a writer - of prose, poetry, every kind of writing. Every person in the world who isn't a recluse, hermit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-happy-to-be-a-writer-of-prose-poetry-every-kind-of-writing-every/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [That's been my routine for years and years... Up early before everybody else, before I get connected, before I get bugged, before I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/that-s-been-my-routine-for-years-and-years-up-early-before-everybody/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [There came this point where I sat down with all my notebooks and I had to start to write, when I thought: this whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/there-came-this-point-where-i-sat-down-with-all-my-notebooks-and-i/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) ## More by Terry McMillan > [It should be obvious that I wasn't no honor roll student in high school. My favorite class was boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-should-be-obvious-that-i-wasn-t-no-honor-roll-student-in-high/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [The best rush in the world is getting something at 80 percent off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/the-best-rush-in-the-world-is-getting-something-at-80-percent-off/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I'm a fast writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-m-a-fast-writer/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [It's not that marriage itself is bad; it's the people we marry who give it a bad name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-s-not-that-marriage-itself-is-bad-it-s-the-people-we-marry-who/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [If you jump to conclusions, you make terrible landings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/if-you-jump-to-conclusions-you-make-terrible-landings/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I'm not an angry woman. 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That's about the most you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/as-far-as-young-kids-go-my-primary-interest-is-to-get-parents-to-read/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I would be content being a housewife if I could find the kind of man who wouldn't treat me like one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-would-be-content-being-a-housewife-if-i-could-find-the-kind-of-man/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I've got tons of irreplaceable information inside the soul of this computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-ve-got-tons-of-irreplaceable-information-inside-the-soul-of-this/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [It's sad to think that we've gotten to this, that we actually have to think about how to go about finding a man. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-s-sad-to-think-that-we-ve-gotten-to-this-that-we-actually-have-to/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [Cruising the Internet doesn't count as writing. Neither does answering e-mail. Before you check Twitter & FB and do other similar tasks that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/cruising-the-internet-doesn-t-count-as-writing-neither-does-answering/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [“I had been on a whole lot of folks' prayer lists and God had known for years my address was still 111 Unlucky-in-LOve-Avenue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-had-been-on-a-whole-lot-of-folks-prayer-lists-and-god-had-known-for/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [“Yeah, well all I can say is that a half truth is a still a while lie, ain't it...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/yeah-well-all-i-can-say-is-that-a-half-truth-is-a-still-a-while-lie/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [We get divorce, we get conned, someone we love dies, or we can't find anybody to love us or somebody breaks our heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/we-get-divorce-we-get-conned-someone-we-love-dies-or-we-can-t-find/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) [Explore all 93 Terry McMillan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) ## More Certain 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/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. 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I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. 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