Introduction
For week two of this 26-week series, we will start with a three-part look through the camera lens you use to tell your story.
Yes, I know we’re talking about writing a novel, not making a film.
Before you sit down to write the first word of a story, you have a decision to make. It’s actually a series of interrelated decisions that create the narrative voice, point-of-view (POV), and perspective for your story.
These first decisions create the camera lens for how you will tell the story and set the stage for how the story unfolds—how the story is presented to readers.
The key points in this decision we’ll cover in the next three weeks are:
Narrative voice
Point-of-view
Perspective
Taken together, these elements determine the camera lens through which your readers experience your story.
For some writers and some stories, much of this decision will be automatic. This first decision may be largely determined by how the story initially reveals itself to you.
In other cases, you may have an idea for a story or a plot and need to consciously make all these decisions.
Even if the story naturally comes to you in a certain way, it’s still worthwhile to review these elements to see if there’s a better choice.
Today, we’ll discuss narrative voice:
Choosing the right narrator
First-person voice
Third-person voice
Mixed voices
Advantages and disadvantages of each
Choosing a narrator
Choosing your narrator—who will tell your story—is the critical decision. Is the main character telling the story, or is someone else telling the story about the main character?
Deciding who will tell the story helps determine the narrative voice.
Narrative voice: How is the story being told?
Narrative voice is related to, but not exactly the same thing as the choice of narrator. Your choice of narrator may determine the voice, or there may be more than one option available.
The word ‘voice’ can be used to denote different aspects in writing. Voice can be the author’s writing style. It can also be the character’s voice—how the character talks and sounds.
But in context of the camera lens, we’re talking about the narrative voice. There are four options—and probably only two that you will consider.
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