Narrative Voice
What is narrative voice?
Narrative voice is another name for the persona telling the story. Someone needs to let the reader know that John tripped over his cat as he darted out the door, that the dark clouds were roiling like eddies in the sky, that Sarah’s heart pounded in her chest when her handsome neighbor smiled at her, or that the policeman drew his gun.
It isn’t so much what is said…as how. This sets the tone. The two spoken words, ‘Come here,’ could depict completely different meanings depending on who speaks them and how. A stern father commanding his miscreant son to step forward has a completely different tone than a young man asking his sweetheart to ‘Come here,’ so he can show her an engagement ring and ask her to marry him.
Point of View goes hand-in-glove with narrative voice. If you’ve listened to different people recite the Pledge of Allegience, you’ll hear the same words, but each speaker has a unique style and tempo. As a writer, you’re trying to achieve your own unique style with what and how you write. You’re looking for your own unique narrative voice for your story, but first you must choose which POV (point of view) to use.
First-person POV
The most common first-person POV is when the protagonist (main character) is the narrator. Everything that takes place in a story must in some way be known by, or directly affect the actions and reactions of the protagonist. This includes thoughts and feelings.
Objective first-person POV narrators don’t delve into thoughts or feelings, but only tell what was said or done without further comment.
Multiple narrators are sometimes found when more than one first-person account is rendered.
Another type of first person narrator is that of the observer. This persona isn’t part of the main story, but is the storyteller.
Autobiographies are sometimes written about people who lived long ago. Since the author wasn’t actually there, he writes in first-person detached autobiography.
When someone remembers and tells the story as a memory, it’s first-person interior monologue.
Second-person POV
This is a rarely used POV. Very few writers know how to use it, and new writers should avoid it. Examples are: You were rushed to the hospital. You were operated on immediately.
Check out the Writer's Resource DIrectory at www.carolkluz.homestead.com/index1
Narrative voice is another name for the persona telling the story. Someone needs to let the reader know that John tripped over his cat as he darted out the door, that the dark clouds were roiling like eddies in the sky, that Sarah’s heart pounded in her chest when her handsome neighbor smiled at her, or that the policeman drew his gun.
It isn’t so much what is said…as how. This sets the tone. The two spoken words, ‘Come here,’ could depict completely different meanings depending on who speaks them and how. A stern father commanding his miscreant son to step forward has a completely different tone than a young man asking his sweetheart to ‘Come here,’ so he can show her an engagement ring and ask her to marry him.
Point of View goes hand-in-glove with narrative voice. If you’ve listened to different people recite the Pledge of Allegience, you’ll hear the same words, but each speaker has a unique style and tempo. As a writer, you’re trying to achieve your own unique style with what and how you write. You’re looking for your own unique narrative voice for your story, but first you must choose which POV (point of view) to use.
First-person POV
The most common first-person POV is when the protagonist (main character) is the narrator. Everything that takes place in a story must in some way be known by, or directly affect the actions and reactions of the protagonist. This includes thoughts and feelings.
Objective first-person POV narrators don’t delve into thoughts or feelings, but only tell what was said or done without further comment.
Multiple narrators are sometimes found when more than one first-person account is rendered.
Another type of first person narrator is that of the observer. This persona isn’t part of the main story, but is the storyteller.
Autobiographies are sometimes written about people who lived long ago. Since the author wasn’t actually there, he writes in first-person detached autobiography.
When someone remembers and tells the story as a memory, it’s first-person interior monologue.
Second-person POV
This is a rarely used POV. Very few writers know how to use it, and new writers should avoid it. Examples are: You were rushed to the hospital. You were operated on immediately.
Check out the Writer's Resource DIrectory at www.carolkluz.homestead.com/index1
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