The storyteller controls access to information

1 · Learn

A first-person narrator uses I and gives a perspective from within the story. A third-person narrator uses names or pronouns such as she or he and may reveal one character's thoughts or several. The narrator is not automatically the author.

Read: 'I said I was calm, but I could not stop checking the lock.' The narrator's claim conflicts with the reported action. Readers can notice that tension without assuming every first-person narrator is dishonest.

2 · Worked example

I explain that the repeated checking may suggest anxiety despite the claim of calm. I distinguish the narrator's self-description from the evidence of behaviour.

3 · Your turn

Does first-person narration guarantee that the account knows what every other character thinks?

4 · Apply your learning

Rewrite a short incident in first and third person, then explain what information each version makes available.