The Bestiary Tag

Doing my first tag! This one is from http://storitorigrace.blogspot.com/ Check out her blog if you haven't already.

I will also be cross posting this on my tumblr, https://creatureofgraphite.tumblr.com/

The Rules:

• Include Victoria's graphic somewhere in the post and/or link back to her, pretty please. This is the link to her blog/the original tag: http://storitorigrace.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-bestiary-tag.html
• Answer the questions on your blog! 
• Tag three or more fantasy fans!

The Questions:

1.) What is your favorite mythical creature?

2.) When was the first time you heard of this beast?

3.) What is your favorite portrayal of this creature in media?

4.) If you could shapeshift into a mythical beast what would you pick?

5.) What mythical beast would you love to have as a pet?

6.) What is your favorite mythological story surrounding a fantastical beast like in Greek Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, etc.?

7.) What mythical creature would terrify you the most if you encountered it in person?

8.) What is the most unusual mythical creature you've ever heard of?

9.) What uncommon mythical beast do you wish you saw more of in books and movies?

10.) If you could create a mythical creature what would it be?


My Answers:


1.) What is your favorite mythical creature? Out of all the preestablished ones? Probably gryphons. They seem very cool, agile, versatile, and reasonably powerful.

2.) When was the first time you heard of this beast? When I was a kid, I watched Quest For Camelot by Warner Brothers. The gryphon in that show was the coolest thing ever.

3.) What is your favorite portrayal of this creature in media? Quest For Camelot's version is pretty cool. Narnia's wasn't half bad. There's also a book series called The Summer King Chronicles by Jess E Owen. I haven't read much of it yet, but it's about gryphons and contains a lot of elements I like so far. I'm also working on writing a comic about gryphons and dragons, so I'm having fun with designing the lifestyle of the gryphons in that story.

4.) If you could shapeshift into a mythical beast what would you pick? Man, I dunno. Depends on a lot. Would the shapeshifting be permanent, or could I turn back and forth at will? And what kind of story world would I be in? In some story worlds, it would be more advantageous to turn into something small that way I could hide and sneak around. But, in other instances, it'd be nice to be able to turn into something big, like a gryphon or dragon, that way I could have more fighting power. Whatever creature I pick...hopefully it would be cool, and something that wouldn't get me killed in whatever world I lived in this scenario.

5.) What mythical beast would you love to have as a pet? Well, a gryphon would be cool, but hopefully I could live in a fantasy world with wide hunting grounds that could sustain such a large predator. Either that, or have an omnivorous gryphon, that way it could eat plants too. That said...I dunno. Dogs and cats are obligate carnivores and it's actually not that hard to keep them. Maybe if we had pet gryphons in the modern world someone would make kibble based food for them.

6.) What is your favorite mythological story surrounding a fantastical beast like in Greek Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, etc.? I like a lot of Japanese ones. I can't really single one legend out as my favorite, though.

7.) What mythical creature would terrify you the most if you encountered it in person? Malevolent spiritual entities have always creeped me out. Along with pretty much anything that could move through the dark and seems almost impossible to see, much less fight. I can't pick only one of those things. Thankfully thinking about that stuff doesn't terrify me as much as it used to.

8.) What is the most unusual mythical creature you've ever heard of? Some yokai are very strange. Like, I dunno, wasn't there one about a floating head attached to a wheel that had fire on it? I've seen something like that in anime now and then, at any rate.

9.) What uncommon mythical beast do you wish you saw more of in books and movies? Does a unicorn or pegasus with a dark/serious take on them count? Cutesy versions of these animals appear a lot in memes and accessories and such, but there aren't a lot of modern stories where they're taken seriously. That's probably why they're seen as prissy and girly. Nothing wrong with the sparkly take on those creatures, it'd just be nice to have more dark and serious ones as well. I plan on writing stories like that eventually, but that probably won't be for a while.

10.) If you could create a mythical creature what would it be? Creature design is one of my favorite things, so most of my story worlds have at least a few made up animals in them. Something I've been doing with one of my more recent story worlds is to take some beasts common to that world and form legends around them. So, those mythical creatures end up with a similar vibe to yokai and fairies, but with an entirely different mythology and culture surrounding them.

I tag:

Jessi L Roberts (If she wants) from https://jessilroberts.wordpress.com/

And everyone else who reads this post and is interested in the tag :P

Writing And Being -- What I Learned From Rushing Into A Story Contest:

In Fall of 2018, I decided to participate in Tapas’ annual writing contest.  The story I submitted is called Ascending Spires, and although I liked the idea of it, it probably won't get finished until I have more inspiration for it.  Meeting the contest deadline was a little stressful, but there were a lot of good things about participating that are worth reflecting on.

Participating opened me up to some opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.  Tapas offered everyone participating in the contest a chance to join the Tipping Program, even if they wouldn’t normally qualify based on the amount of subscribers they have.  If Tipping is activated on a Tapas author’s profile, it means that readers can tip them with Tapas Ink, which the author can then exchange for real money.

This was pretty awesome for someone like me that is just starting out and would like to begin implementing ways to make money off my work.  Furthermore, Inksgiving was going on during this time, which meant that I had a series that I could design an ad for and submit to the list of Inksgiving episodes asking for Tips.  Although I didn’t get many tips off of this, at the very least Tipping is now implemented on my profile and available for when I start posting comics more regularly.

This event also encouraged me to post more work online.  Sometimes it's hard to cross that line and put a story out there for the world to see.  I've already posted fanfictions on other sites, but outside of roleplaying, I haven't posted many of my original stories.  Entering the contest got me started with that.

The contest provided a way to test Tapas' author user interface and get an idea of potential click through rates.  Participating in the contest kind of brought home the fact that, for novels at least, a lot of people might bookmark a series that sounds interesting, and then completely forget about it until a much later date.  This really seemed to be the case when looking through the series' analytics day to day. Often, people would only read a chapter or two at most before moving on or bookmarking the series and forgetting about it.  

Of course it isn't impossible to make people read more consistently, but those posting on Tapas need to be aware that even when someone bookmarks a series, it can easily get lost in a sea of other free stories.  It takes time and planning to facilitate reader engagement, and participating in the contest helped me get a better idea of how that might work on this platform.

Also, I gained further proof that forcing myself to work on something I’m not truly inspired for under a short deadline is bad for me.   I already know I have a hard time forcing myself to write things I'm not inspired for.  Learning to write decently under pressure is an important trait to develop, but this contest served as an example of why those circumstances are not usually conducive to forming my best work.

Overall, this experience was both exciting and stressful.  But I did learn from it and so far don't regret it. Do you have any art/writing related experiences that were both stressful and educational?  Do you have any input as far as facilitating reader engagement or churning out better work even under pressure? Let me know in the comments!

Writing And Being -- Why We Should Think About Characters and Their Authors Separately:

Reading is a wonderful medium that invites people to think, discover, and challenge.   Since readers are invited to contemplate a book's meaning and draw conclusions about the story and its characters, there is always the risk of misinterpretation, especially since many of the best authors won't bluntly state the point of every tale.

I know there's been times when I've disliked statements I've read in stories, and from some comments I've noticed online, most people have had the same experience.  

That's perfectly alright.  We are only human, it’s important to oppose bad things, and some authors do have beliefs that deserve to be challenged.  But, there are times when an author's intent is completely misunderstood .

Writers will often design their stories based on their beliefs and what lessons they want to convey, so to that extent, a story can and often does reflect its author, but not in the way we think.  Someone can write bloody horror without being a serial killer. People can write a racist villain without actually being racists themselves. A person of one belief system can write about characters of a different belief system.

This is often necessary, especially when tales have a large cast, go through a plot line that puts characters through heartache, and reflects an expansive world with complex cultures and history.

Furthermore, when writing from a certain character's point of view, we see what that character thinks and feels.  We get to learn each character's journey, see how and why they got there, and perhaps even feel angry or disappointed at their chosen path.  But that is vital for understanding how people operate. Knowing how people behave can make it easier to solve problems or even keep ourselves from becoming destructive.

People have to be careful when writing about things they haven't experienced, and writing about groups they are not a part of can be particularly challenging.  But, pretty much every story requires authors to step outside their own experiences in some way or another.

This is important on a personal level, because it makes authors empathize with others and invites their readers to do the same.  It is also important for at least some authors to show the world as it is.

Bad people exist, and villains reflect that.  If villains aren't bad people and don't do bad things, there's usually not a good reason for the heroes to fight them.

Furthermore, heroes are people, just like us.  Everyone has flaws. Sometimes those flaws are major and not socially acceptable by our modern standards.  Sometimes authors want to express that reality in a story, or even take those characters on an adventure that forces them to face their flaws and change their perspective.

Keeping that in mind increases our chances of interpreting a story accurately and getting something wonderful out of it, instead of getting angry and assuming the worst about an author.  This also helps us in writing our own tales. Why not study other people closely and learn how to write them accurately and fairly, even if they have a completely different belief system?  Why not illustrate the fact that bad things exist and have consequences?

The hows and whys of that are important, and would constitute entire videos of their own, but, hopefully this was food for thought. So, what do you think? Have you been angry at something an author wrote, only to learn that they meant something entirely different? What's your opinion on the relationship between what an author writes and how an author actually thinks? Let me know in the comments below!

Writing Tips -- 2019 New Years Resolutions For Writers

Here’s a list of New Year’s resolutions (or just writing goals/challenges if you’re like me and don’t exactly make official resolutions). There are a wide variety of them that will be useful to people at varying experience levels, so just pick the ones that appeal or apply to you.

Write 100 words a day, at least.  Preferably on every current WIP.  This one’s great for busy people that have a hard time getting themselves to make progress on their stories.  A hundred words isn’t much at all, so it’s a good way to chip away at projects bit by bit, and as the months go by, there will eventually be a decent amount of writing accomplished.

Write in a different POV style.  This can be in terms of writing a POV you aren’t used to (perhaps you normally write in third person, and want to write in omniscient POV for this challenge.)  Or, this could be in terms of challenging yourself to write in a POV you dislike(maybe you like writing in third person but normally hate writing in first person.  Writing a few short projects in first person could help you learn to write first person in a way that you like or help you figure out exactly why you dislike this POV).

Thoroughly research a different physical condition and write about it.  Again, do your research and write about it in a way that doesn’t disrespect people in real life.  But, let’s say you’ve never written a blind character before. This would be an opportunity to come up with one and explore what it’s like to be in that char’s shoes.  In this case, it would be good to figure out exactly what caused their blindness to make the research more precise.

Take at least one or two of your most prominent characters and give them a Myers-Briggs personality test.  Then, incorporate your findings in the character somehow.  This can be useful because it will force you to consider the character’s habits and thoughts more.  Also, once one understands a character’s personality type, it can be fun to research and incorporate quirks that that personality type is known for.

Research an obscure philosophy and consider adding it to your character’s story world.  Maybe not the entire philosophy, and perhaps in your story world the philosophy would go by a different name, but philosophies have a huge impact on how societies form and how people behave and thus can give worldbuilding a nice kickstart.

Find a culture, philosophy, mindset, species, etc. you’ve invented for your story world that is represented by multiple individuals, then make sure those individuals actually act like individuals.  Even when two people grow up in the same culture and have lots of similarities, they will always have differences that will eventually make a huge difference in their lives.  Extroversion is usually valued to some extent in the United States, for instance, so I’ve learned to get out there and talk to people when need be, but I’m still highly introverted and often avoid unnecessary conversations.  But practically no one will handle social contact in the same way. Different people have different levels of talkativeness, and they also have different types of social situations they will embrace or avoid.

Writing Tips -- Why To Avoid The Word 'The'

How many titles have you seen that start with ‘The’?  (The Grand Escape, The Greatest Showman, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Girl Who Owned A City, etc.)  How often and how easy is it to start our descriptive sentences with The?

Obviously, there are plenty of things that don’t start off with The, and it's fine to use The now and then. But growing up it sometimes felt like this word was everywhere, beginning so many titles and, as I began to notice, starting a lot of my written sentences.  

After a while, the overabundance of The started to get grating, primarily since it made many of my sentences sound repetitive.  So, here came the self imposed challenge: Use The when need be, but otherwise, try to avoid using it to start sentences and titles.  

Simply reducing the use of that one word had some interesting results.  My titles became more interesting and creative, my prose less repetitive, and ideas expressed in my stories started coming through more vividly.  Being unable to use The very often made it necessary to learn and adapt, or even completely rethink scene descriptions and sentence structures.

So, for those looking to improve their writing, avoiding The as often as possible may be a useful exercise.  Or, for those already using The only on rare occasions, they can consider finding one or two other words that are repeated a lot in their writing and try to avoid using them.  Ultimately, exercises like these encourage authors to dig deeper and find titles/prose that are more unique and meaningful to the story.

So yeah, just a little something that’s helped me.  

Have you tried something like this at some point?  What words do you repeat the most? Are there any writing quirks, mistakes, or too often used words that have become a pet peeve of yours?

Feel free to comment, or subscribe to this blog for more posts. Thank you for reading :)

Writing Tips -- Why Is Romance Important?

Romance kind of gets a bad wrap for being silly and frivolous when included in a story.  In some cases, this is for good reason. Mainstream media often depicts romance in a stereotypical manner, or in a way that’s so cheesy most can’t help but scoff at it.  As a result, some might see it as an annoying interruption, a deviation that has nothing to do with the main plot. Furthermore, some people have little to no personal interest in romance, and thus have no desire to include such things in their story.

Some stories are indeed better when devoid of romance, but there are many cases where a tale may actually benefit from the inclusion of romantic elements.  For the sake of this post, ‘romantic elements’ will encompass the normal connotations of falling in love, but also other issues that surround it, such as lust and marital conflict.

First and foremost, romance benefits stories by reflecting reality.  Romance impacts everyone, even those that abstain from relationships.  When people’s parents don’t get along, that shapes their childhood. Furthermore, practically no one would be born without romance and lust.  In general, even societies that lack romance and handle reproduction through more scientific means were probably affected by romance in some way.  In all likelihood, something in their history made them see romance as a hindrance to progress and thus caused them to focus on other means of sustaining their population.  Thus, even then, some sort of romantic element might merit discussion to explain the origins of that society.

There are ways to avoid a story being impacted by romance, but they often require writing about beings vastly different than us.  Having all the chars be immortal is one method. Another is to write about a completely asexual species that has always been like that and has no contact with creatures that reproduce other ways.

Romance can provide sequel material.  If the main character’s story arc is over, either because they died or they are done adventuring forever, sequels are going to have to focus on other characters.  Although it may be possible to use previous side chars or new chars as the sequels’ protagonist, focusing on the next generation instead may have more impact. This gives authors a chance to build off the previous arcs of well loved chars and show how they impacted others.  A character’s behavior is often going to impact their family greatly, after all. Even further, the character’s children can provide a fresh perspective on previous events and people.

Using next gen characters is also usually easier than starting completely from scratch, since next generation stories ground readers in pre-established situations instead of having to take time for exposition to introduce new ones.

But next generation characters are harder to introduce without some degree of romance(unless the stork dropped them on the parent’s doorstep one day).  If someone has a biological kid, the question of who that kid’s other parent is will likely come up at some point. Maybe the question would realistically occur in the story, or it will simply be something readers want to know.  But having a kid is a process, an entire segment of the character’s backstory, and thus would impact the character almost regardless of the circumstances around their child’s birth. If, for instance, a man has a child because he got married and his wife died in childbirth, that should have some bearing on his characterization.  In turn, this will have a bearing on their child’s characterization.

Writing romance well can be very vital in cases like that.  Main characters have the spotlight on them. If everything else about them is well written, yet their romance arc is flat, stereotypical, and/or barely discussed, it might weaken the story’s quality.  Or, even worse, it can cause people to misread the character. If a character is supposed to be kind hearted and empathetic, yet his spouse dying in childbirth has no impact on his behavior going forward...he may come across as callous, or at least inconsistent.  It would also be strange if that romance arc didn’t impact the character’s child in some way. The child might not be sad, due to not knowing the mother, but such things would impact how the child grows up and sees the world. This can fuel a sequel by giving the next generation character challenges to work through.

Romance is an excellent way to explore human psychology.  Many normal relationship dynamics, such as friendship, conflict, etc. are present within romantic relationships, but the two characters are more deeply intertwined.  Because of the impact they have on each other, their relationship dynamics are magnified. If two regular friends don’t get along, it’s usually a lot easier for them to go their separate ways, so we may not see what would happen if their conflict worsens due to close proximity.  

In a romantic relationship, however, breaking ties can be harder.  The two chars are more likely to be emotionally bound, or they built a life together that will fall apart if they stop interacting.  Factors like that may force them to stay together and in conflict far longer than people who are just friends. This is the perfect opportunity to show how a detailed, somewhat inescapable conflict looks like over the long haul.

But conflict isn’t the only psychological aspect that can be explored through romance.  There’s also long term friendship and camaraderie. Normal friends have a higher chance of moving away and growing apart, but a romantic partner may very well stay there a lifetime, if all goes well.  This can be used to explore how such close friendship impacts someone’s life. When people always have someone they can count on, that greatly affects their behavior. People might be a little more daring or effective if they know someone’s always got their back, for instance.

Romance doesn’t have to be cheesy or stereotypical.  Not only can it can be an intricate study of human nature, but it can be used as a well thought out plot device.  The way people treat their significant others, for instance, says a lot about them and helps with characterization.  A romantic partner can be a help or a hindrance, depending on the story. When characters responds to each instance of that, they show who they are and move the story along.  At that point, the romance doesn’t have to be sappy and cheesy, but an interesting set of behaviors instead.

If authors want to write stories and characters that feel real, they often need to address romantic elements at some point or another.  Simply because of that, learning to write romantic elements adds another tool in the author’s arsenal. One way to start learning is by finding shows/comics/etc. with well written romantic elements and various types of relationship dynamics.  When people find romantic elements in a story they enjoy, it becomes far easier to internalize how to add those elements in their own tales. Additionally, pay attention to romantic elements that occur in real life and compare them to romance stories that seem poorly written.  Based on what is seen in real life, what did those romance stories do wrong and right?

So, just my two cents worth on the subject. What are the best and worst examples of romance writing you've seen? What are your habits/opinion when it comes to romance in stories?

Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave a comment, or follow the blog if you want to read more.

Writing Tips -- Good Cooks In Stories

Recently I've been watching Kakuriyo -- Bed And Breakfast For Spirits, and it's an enjoyable break from all the serious stuff I normally watch.  As the story progresses, however, it's obvious that (so far) it's fallen into a trope common in stories involving a skilled cook: characters tend to automatically like whatever food is made by the skilled cook, regardless of individual preferences.

Here are a few brief responses and proposed solutions to this trope:

Let some taste testers dislike the food.  Everyone has different tastes.  Some things are so gross to me that I can't imagine them tasting good to anyone, like this really bitter tea I had once.  But then someone else near me tried it and liked it.  This can be a challenge when writing good cooks because it is necessary to show how skilled they are.  And the easiest way to do that is to show everyone loving their food.

It's not necessarily 'bad' to depict characters that are so skilled their food is always perfect for whoever eats it.  But to make the story more realistic and deep, the author can also show what happens when someone doesn't like what the skilled cook prepares.  Such a thing could be an opportunity to explore and address ways of politely telling someone 'I don't really like this'.  Or maybe to show how the cook handles criticism and learns from it.

The taste testers don't have to dislike the food very often, but it would be realistic for that to happen once or twice.  For a real life comparison...when people go to a fancy restaurant, all the food is made by competent chefs, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'd enjoy every single thing on the menu.

Allow skilled cooks to mess up now and then.  Of course this shouldn't happen very often.  These cooks have to appear competent after all.  But allowing them to mess up now and then can provide good character building moments.  Are they distracted by worries or excitement?  If so, they may accidentally burn a batch of whatever they're making.  

Are they learning to make something completely new and out of their realm of expertise?  Show that they are skilled enough to make good guesses when it comes to cooking this new thing(which could be an entirely different genre/culture of food) But also show them making a mistake that causes the dish to be lower quality than their food normally does.

Have them receive input from another skilled chef.  This can be someone on the same level as them, or someone more advanced.  Even if the skilled cook's food is normally good, that doesn't mean they do everything completely right and could still benefit from another's chef's tips and tricks.  

To address the taste and personal preference aspect of this...  If a professional chef dislikes a certain type of food, they might still be able to tell if it is well cooked or well prepared.  This might not always be the case, but in some instances at least, the professional will understand the 'standard' for common dishes and judge the dish based on that criteria, rather than their own taste buds.

So, yeah, just my two cents and observations on the matter.  

Have you noticed this trope yourself?  What are your thoughts on it?  Are there any other cooking story tropes that come to mind?

Writing Tips -- Pros And Cons Of First Person Narrative:

This is a partial reboot of an old post from my tumblr, creatureofgraphite.tumblr.com.  I decided to delve a little deeper into the topic of first person than that initial post did because I've found that first person is one of my least favorite point of view styles.  Although there are several first person stories that I do like, it's still the POV I tend to avoid.  

This made me wonder what it takes to make make a good first person story.  Unpacking what I like and dislike about first person POV sounded like a good writing exercise as well, so here we are.

So...some cons of first person:

First person is, to an extent, less common, and thus a little jarring at times.  While this tends to vary a bit based on the genre, as well as time of publication being discussed (the popularity of different POV styles probably ebbs and flows) other points of view seem to be a more favored now days.  This is especially true when we add visual media to the mix.  Most movies aren't in first person at all.  If first person is included, it is usually only at certain parts of the film, rather than all the way through.  So first person is more likely to feel a bit jarring, except for the readers that habitually seek out first person stories.  Interestingly enough, first person is usually the POV type I see people actively saying they dislike or try to avoid.

Prose sometimes suffers, and we are less likely to feel like we're inside the character's head.  These are in the same section because they stem from a similar issue:  With first person, it is easy for authors to fall into the trap of using 'I' sentences too much.  Instead of simply reporting visuals or running through thought processes, there may be too many sentences that say 'I saw that' or 'I thought that'.  It is very much like sitting down and having Grandpa tell a story.  While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it means a lot of detail is omitted and we are not given much detail on character thoughts. Now days, many readers want to feel immersed in the story, which tends to mean being in the character's head.

'I' sentences are fine when used sparingly, but only when necessary.  'I saw a mouse sniffing at the open packet of food.  I hated mice.  They were always chewing holes in things so they could steal food and make messes for me to clean up.  I grabbed a jar and stalked over to the table.'  isn't as vivid as something like 'The rustling on the table was a mouse, sniffing at the open food packet.  Nasty.  Those stupid little rodents were always chewing holes in things so they could steal our food and leave their poop around.  Where was that useless cat?  Shaking my head, I snatched a jar from the counter and crept to the table.'

The second option sounds slightly better from a prose standpoint, and gives us a better window into the character's thoughts.  Why?  The first example has the narrator simply reporting actions and a few blunt thoughts.  It also included a few unnecessary 'I' statements that could have been removed in favor of more description.  The second example, however, is almost like the narrator is a better storyteller, able to communicate their thoughts more vividly to the reader.

First person narration presents a more obvious bias.  Bias is an important aspect of writing, but is often more blatant in first person.  This isn't an immediate problem, but it can annoy some readers that prefer to form their own conclusions instead of having a narrator telling them what to think.  This annoyance often multiplies when the reader disagrees with the narrator.  Character bias is extremely realistic in a first person narrative, but it is important to ensure that the story is well suited to first person.

Obviously, the audience is going to form some of their own conclusions regardless.  In the Emperor's New Groove, for instance, the viewers probably view Cuzco as selfish and bratty no matter how many times he describes himself as a nice guy.  But this is fine because a story like The Emperor's New Groove works wonderfully in first person.  

Yet, in other cases, stories are more fun when the reader/viewer can simply watch events unfold without feeling like a character is directly speaking to them and demanding they interpret things a certain way.  This is a factor that should be considered when deciding on POV type, since it will affect the mood and audience perception of the story.  Narrator bias is good, but shouldn't be used in a grating way.

Narrator bias and personality quirks should be present, but often aren't.  Imagine a dog chasing a cat around the neighborhood.  That story would sound different based on who's perspective the story is told from.  How would the dog report the scene?  How would a cat narrate it?  What about the thoughts from the human watching the chase?  

A cat, for instance, might try to gain sympathy by talking about how upsetting it was to be chased by the big, mean dog, but intentionally leave out the fact that the dog only gave chase after being insulted and scratched on the nose.  But the audience might assume the insult happened, depending on how the cat tells the story.  The way characters tell their stories based off their personality and audience is a fascinating dynamic.  The issue is that many first person stories don't do this nearly as much as they should.  In fact, now and then, a first person story might be so lacking in these dynamics that some may wonder why the story wasn't simply written in third person or omniscient instead.  If the story doesn't lend itself well to bias, that might be a sign that first person isn't a good POV for it.

Now for some pros:

Done right, first person can inject just as much, if not more, personality than third person.  This is someone telling us their blunt thoughts, or at least the ones they are willing to share.  And done right, these speech patterns can tell us a lot about the narrating character.  This often means the author needs to have a vague idea of where and why the narrator is telling the story, along with the narrator's intended audience.  Is the narrator a grandparent looking back over their life with regret, perhaps telling their story as a cautionary tale?  Or is the narrator a sneaky criminal trying to paint himself in a better light?  This can even be a fun way to enhance the story's lore.  Is the story in first person because it's written in a journal?  The fact that the journal exists in the first place can be an important plot point.  What inspired the narrator to journal the story down at all?  

It's easier to portray a first person narrator as more biased/unreliable.  This branches off the previous point, but the unreliable narrator thing deserves a paragraph of its own.  If someone wants to do an unreliable POV story, first person is often a great way to go, especially if the author wants to make it obvious, fun and quirky.  The Emperor's New Groove is a great example.  The audience knows that the narrator is unreliable because his words don't match up with the story's circumstances, and when narrators don't notice such discrepancies they've probably deluded themselves.  While a similar effect can be accomplished with third person, first person unreliability is a bit different.  At the very least, it makes the unreliability more obvious, and the audience is more likely to know that the discrepancies are a deliberate part of the narrator's character.

It gives the story a different feel.  Depending on how the first person aspect is used, it may make the story feel like an old classic like Where the Red Fern Grows.  Or, the story may need to be in first person to accentuate the fact that the tale is the character's diary or collection of letters.

Overall, first person isn't a bad POV to use, but it should probably be chosen only if it fits the story and the narrative is developed in an entertaining way.

So, yeah, just my two cents on the subject.  I'll probably go through and make a similar post for each of the main POV styles.  What do you think of first person POV?  Do you have anything to add to the pros and cons list, or any tips for those writing first person?

Thanks for reading! :)