Novel Narrating
When writing your story, how do you narrate it? Do you write
in the third person, talking like a voice-over pushing the tale forward? Or do
you write in the first person, as one of your characters?
I have spoken to many people on the subject and although it
all boils down to preference, it also depends on how the story is being told. I
find authors rarely stick to one type of narrative, and they tend to experiment
with one way or another. Even in a certain series of books. For example, Agatha
Christie changed her narrative all the time. Her series of Poirot novels rarely
had the same style of narration let alone the same narrator and the language reflected
that. It never became stale or repetitive.
When writing in the third person, one’s own voice is usually
used so to not distract the reader from the story, but the first person’s voice
must be carefully considered, as must their background. The language used by
someone from Wales, for example, would be very different than from Scotland.
Very different phrases are used, different points of reference that accumulate
from experiences from different regions. And then you go into the history of
the character.
If writing in the first person, many things if not all
things must be considered about the narrator’s own persona. Their own little
back story must be worked out so that when the audience reads the voice of the
individual, it is believable. Not only that, but when trying to type in the
accent, do you actually try and reference the accent with the dialogue, or do
you simply mention that there is an accent there? Maybe you use a mixture of
both? Either way I would love to know what your thoughts are on the subject.
Read, follow, comment and enjoy. M x
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