Writing Focus: Narrative Style

All stories have a distinct narrative style. Often, this is chosen by the author and their personal writing preferences, but sometimes a story is written in a certain narrative to allow readers more insight into feeling, or to give an air of mystery to the whole thing. Sometimes it is even used to pull the reader right into the action of the story!

What is Narrative Style?

Narrative style refers to the point-of-view in which you choose to write in. In writing, there are three main styles to remember when writing.

First Person Narrative is commonly used to give the readers a large insight into the thoughts and feelings of one character. It is typically characterised by the use of pronouns such as I and we and is used often in romantic novels to allow the reader a full sense of what is happening in the character’s head. This is advantageous if you’re writing a story that focuses heavily on character development, or is more about the characters than a solid, driven plot.

Second Person Narrative is incredibly rare, due to how difficult it can be to write well. This style is used most commonly to pull the reader in by using you to set the reader as the main character. This works particularly well in suspense or horror films, as well as being a prevalent way of writing Choose Your Own Adventure books.

Third Person Narrative is probably the most common of the three viewpoints. By using pronouns such as she or using the character’s name as a substitute for I, you can fully explore the surroundings and this style can give you more flexibility as the story is not told by a certain character.

As well as these, there are other options for narrative style that are not as commonly used. Omniscient or alternating narrative does exactly as it says – alternates, either between narrative styles (often first and third) or characters. It can be difficult to pull off, but rewarding if done right! The opposite of this is what we tend to use most within writing: limited narrative. This simply means that the narration is told through the sense of one character, as opposed to using several characters’ emotions to tell the story.

Tips

It is always a good idea to approach your writing with a specific narrative stance in mind. Omniscient narrative can work, but for most stories, sticking to one specific narrative style is preferred. It keeps everything tidy and if you know what narrative stance you are taking, writing that elusive first chapter can become so much easier!

Another thing to consider is what type of story you are writing and how the narrative stance will lend itself to the subject matter. Crime novels may benefit from being in first-person, as this allows the reader to find things out as the character does and in doing so will allow the reader to draw conclusions and compare them to the conclusions of the main character as they happen. Novels with multiple important characters may benefit from being written in third-person, as this allows more freedom within the story to explore what each character is doing without having to alert the reader to a sudden change in character narration.

Prompts

Looking to step out of your comfort zone and try another narrative stance? Check out these prompts for inspiration!

1. Write a story about the search for a missing item or person through first-person narrative. Include thoughts and feelings of the character as you unfold the plot.
2. Using second-person narrative, write a short thriller or suspense story that unfolds in a busy fairground.
3. Take several different characters from your own novels and write an accompaniment piece in third-person narrative that exposes their first meeting.

Stories

As always, Mibba has a high standard when it comes to writing and the use of different narrative stances is something that we seem to have down to a fine art! Check out these stories that excellently exhibit the use of different narrative stances.

Taking the rather difficult task of writing in second-person narrative isn’t something that many are up to, but Mist has grasped that challenge by the horns. This original drabble pulls the reader right into the beautifully described setting and asks the reader important questions that will no doubt resonate for days after reading.

Strut has an incredibly interesting way of taking what you feel should be technically correct and turning it upside down. Using a mix of all tenses, this story is not only wonderfully written, but keeps you constantly on your toes when it comes to reading!

Narrative style is something that we all have a specific preference on. Some prefer to write in third, some prefer first and some alternate between the styles. Why not take a gamble and write in a style that you’ve never tried before? In doing so, you’ll broaden your horizons and perhaps appeal to a different audience of readers!

Special thanks to Goddess_Of_Mischief and the 1975 for editing!