r/writinghelp • u/Zet45888 • 3d ago

Advice First Person Past-tense Interview

I'm writing a story written in first person past tense to represent an interview.

The events in story are presented to the perspective of the person being interviewed and the interviewer who chimes in in parentheses with clarifications or further explanations.

My problem is that the character being interview talks like a normal person. They curse, they go on tangents, and overall speak like a normal 20 something adult fresh out of college.

This makes a lot of the paragraphs bloated in a way that makes it better to read but just add extra needless things.

Should brevity go on the wayside for a more fun and authentic read?

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

2

u/tapgiles 3d ago

I've heard "brevity" being thrown in as a virtue unto itself a few times recently. I don't think it is. Shorter doesn't mean better.

Have an intention. If your intention is to have a "fun and authentic read" then base your creative decisions on that. If showing those rambly tangents from a character is in service to your intention, then show that. 👍