1. Narrative Voice & STyle
Class notes

2. Point of view Voice of the narrator
Vantage point from which the story is told
Determines whether the Narrator is a character within the story or an outside observer
Determines The tone of a story and the readers’ Connection

3. First Person Point of View
Narrator is a character within the story
Refers to him or herself as “I” and “me”
Presents his or her own thoughts and feelings but does not know the thoughts and feelings of other characters
Creates a subjective tone

4. First Person Pros
Reader feels more connected to the character that is narrating
Reader may feel as though he or she is in the story (following the thoughts of one character)

5. First Person Cons
Reader does not know what anyone else in the story is actually thinking
Narrator may be unreliable

6. Third person limited Point of View
Narrator is not a character within the story
Focuses on the thoughts and feelings of one character – usually the protagonist
Creates an objective tone

7. Third person limited Pros
Reader feels connected to the one character whose thoughts are given
Reader can be somewhat assured that the narrator is reliable

8. Third person limited cons
Reader may not feel as connected because the narrator is outside the story
Reader may not see the “big picture” or what the rest of the characters are thinking and doing

9. Third person omniscient Point of View
Narrator is not a character within the story
Narrator knows all – what every character is thinking and feeling
OMNISCIENT COMES FROM TWO ROOTS: OMNI (MEANING all) AND SCIENT (MEANING KNOWLEDGE)
The root Scient is also seen in the word Science, which is simply a search for knowledge
Can create a detached tone

10. Third person omniscient Pros
Reader knows everything, just as the narrator does
Reader gets a great sense of the “big picture” and can make informed decisions about characters

11. Third person omniscient cons
CaN BE A BIT CONFUSING FOR THE READER
READER CAN HAVE TROUBLE GETTING ATTACHED TO A PARTICULAR CHARACTER

12. Take away There are pros and cons to each style of narration
Every writer must decide what works best for his or her story
Consider what you want your audience to know, how attached you want them to feel, and whether you want their focus to be on a single character or on all of the characters

13. Narrative Style Refers to how a story is told
Determines what information a reader is given when
Can be used to create suspense, confusion, sympathy, surprise, etc…

14. Narrative Style Types Linear Narrative nonLinear Narrative
Events of the story are told in the order that they occurred
nonLinear Narrative
Also called Disjointed or disrupted narrative
Events of the story are told in an order other than the way that they occurred

15. Narrative Style Techniques
Parallel Plotlines
Follows two or more storylines at the same time
Flashbacks
A scene set at an earlier time than the part of the story that comes before it
In Medias Res
Latin for “into the middle of things”
Places the reader in the middle of the action and then explains the plot through flashbacks

16. Narrative Style Techniques
Foreshadowing
Giving clues about events that will occur later
Suspense
Excitement or tension felt by the reader as they wait to find out what happens
Created through foreshadowing and flashbacks

17. Narrative Style Techniques
Irony
Contrast between appearance and reality
Usually when reality is opposite of what it seems or is expected to be
Situational Irony – contrast between what the reader or character expects and what actually happens
Dramatic Irony – occurs when the reader or audience knows something the characters do not know
Verbal Irony – occurs when someone knowingly exaggerates or says one thing but means another