When to Use First Person in Writing

Question:

       Your books are amazing. But you don’t need me to tell you that. I have learned so much from your books, they have inspired me to write. I love to write. The problem is i get bored of writing in the same perspective so i was considering 3rd perspective. But I feel like I am losing the story. I tried it and I kind of like it. However, it doesn’t feel right. So my question is when you started writing did you know right away what perspective to use? Also, do you write everyday?  

Phyllis replied:

Yes, I write every day unless there’s something more urgent I just must do.  But I make time most days.  Sometimes writers have to try writing a page in first person, then third person, to see what suits.  Some stories–the Alice books, for example–seem to work best told in the first person, with Alice doing the talking.  Other books follow the same character on every page–everything is seen through his eyes–but the narrator is telling the story, not the character.  And some books follow all the characters, telling what is happening to one of them on one page, then switching to another place or time and showing what is happening to another set of characters.  Sometimes it takes a lot of experience to figure out just what is best for the type of story you want to tell.