October 13, 2015. Welcome to the 13th day of my October Blog Challenge on preparing to write your novel. Those who are just arriving, check out the earlier posts on this challenge, as the exercises/ reflections build on each other. To find out what this challenge is about, read my original post HERE.
Your protagonist, or main character, is the person who is most hurt/affected/changed by the events of the story. But that isn't necessarily the best person to narrate your story. A hero recounting his own exploits may come across as vain or biased; he/she may not be in possession of all the information you want your readers to have as the story progresses; and he/she may not be the best person to describe how the events of the story are changing him or causing him to grow as a character. If you are writing historical fiction and the main character was a real person, you may not feel comfortable putting ideas into that person's head. And finally, you may deliberately want to keep your reader separated from your main character's thoughts to maintain a mystery or suspense or to withhold a secret.
1. Should your protagonist narrate this story? Why or why not?
2. If not, who is the best person to narrate this story? (Keep in mind that it should be a character who is in a position to observe personally all the events of the story that you want to reveal to the reader, when you want them revealed.)
Another option is to have more than one narrator. The advantage to this is that no one character needs to be in every scene, and the reader can be apprised of information different characters have, which other characters may not be aware of. Another advantage is that both the theme and the plot become deeper, richer and more complex when viewed from more than one point of view.
3. Will you have more than one narrator? If yes, which characters will narrate the story (one at a time) and why? Which characters will not narrate their take on events, and why not?
I will talk more about this tomorrow when I discuss voice and point of view.
See you tomorrow!
Your protagonist, or main character, is the person who is most hurt/affected/changed by the events of the story. But that isn't necessarily the best person to narrate your story. A hero recounting his own exploits may come across as vain or biased; he/she may not be in possession of all the information you want your readers to have as the story progresses; and he/she may not be the best person to describe how the events of the story are changing him or causing him to grow as a character. If you are writing historical fiction and the main character was a real person, you may not feel comfortable putting ideas into that person's head. And finally, you may deliberately want to keep your reader separated from your main character's thoughts to maintain a mystery or suspense or to withhold a secret.
1. Should your protagonist narrate this story? Why or why not?
2. If not, who is the best person to narrate this story? (Keep in mind that it should be a character who is in a position to observe personally all the events of the story that you want to reveal to the reader, when you want them revealed.)
Another option is to have more than one narrator. The advantage to this is that no one character needs to be in every scene, and the reader can be apprised of information different characters have, which other characters may not be aware of. Another advantage is that both the theme and the plot become deeper, richer and more complex when viewed from more than one point of view.
3. Will you have more than one narrator? If yes, which characters will narrate the story (one at a time) and why? Which characters will not narrate their take on events, and why not?
I will talk more about this tomorrow when I discuss voice and point of view.
See you tomorrow!
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