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I’m still working on how to explain narrative situation, a crucial element in storytelling that shapes how the story is presented to readers.
Purpose: The narrative situation is a story writers tell themselves (and sometimes the reader) about the existence of the story. We choose the narrative situation to best showcase the story’s essence and deliver its primary message.
Simple or Complicated: In some stories, the narrative situation is simple and straightforward. For example Treasure Island is written as if Jim Hawkins is recording the events of his encounter with pirates. A narrative situation can also be complicated and multilayered. For example, Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, is written as if it is a found and translated manuscript.
Perspective: The narrative situation determines the point of view. This is a matter of perspective, which includes time and place but also attitude toward the events. The narrator could be a character within the story, someone on the periphery of the story, or someone outside the story. No matter who or what narrates the story, there should be a reason why. This should be discernible from the text of the story even if the writer never tells us explicitly.
Framing: The narrative situation informs the information presented about the characters, the the world, and the events. More importantly, the narrative situation influences how all these details are presented including the order in which things are presented and the words used to describe them. We can convey the same set of events from different perspectives and create vastly different stories. The narrative situation allows us to frame the specific story we want to tell and provides a filter for all the relevant details.
Relevance: Details are relevant if they tend to make a fact or consequence more or less likely. If we as writers assign the narrator a specific purpose (beyond our goal of writing a story readers love), we can consider if the events presented in a certain way tend to support the narrator’s success.
This post is part of a 75-day writing challenge and experiment. From September 9 through November 22, I'll be posting daily thoughts on writing, storytelling, and creativity based on recent readings or reflections. While my intention was to keep them very short—250 to 400 words—I've found that this range doesn't give me enough space to cover these topics adequately. I aim to keep them brief enough to be read quickly, but they will often be longer than 400 words.
At the end of the challenge, I will organize and revise the material with intention. For now, the object is to explore and share.