Hiya,
I'm not using my narrator to her full advantage. At the moment she knows to do the following things:
1. Put in dialog tags appropriately and modify into actions as needed.
2. Describe setting (physical and other) (actions and reactions)
3. Reveal POV characters' internal thoughts.
4. I have recently asked my narrator to try throwing in her own commentary ... to see if that works and adds anything useful.
So, that is a starter list of the four different types of things that I think can be part of narration. But when I read a successful author that I like, they seem to put in much more, and I can't put my finger on what exactly they are doing. Memories? Contextual people? It's this weird experience of seeing them narrate efficiently and not being able to put a name on what it is they are doing.
I like lists and compartmentalization. That's why I started a list. What would you add to the list above, of elements/items that can be part of narration? Maybe that's all there is, but I bet there is more. Google wasn't much help.
I'm not using my narrator to her full advantage. At the moment she knows to do the following things:
1. Put in dialog tags appropriately and modify into actions as needed.
2. Describe setting (physical and other) (actions and reactions)
3. Reveal POV characters' internal thoughts.
4. I have recently asked my narrator to try throwing in her own commentary ... to see if that works and adds anything useful.
So, that is a starter list of the four different types of things that I think can be part of narration. But when I read a successful author that I like, they seem to put in much more, and I can't put my finger on what exactly they are doing. Memories? Contextual people? It's this weird experience of seeing them narrate efficiently and not being able to put a name on what it is they are doing.
I like lists and compartmentalization. That's why I started a list. What would you add to the list above, of elements/items that can be part of narration? Maybe that's all there is, but I bet there is more. Google wasn't much help.
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