Choosing a Narrative Voice

How to Choose the Right Communicative Style

May 14, 2009 Stephanie Williams

For a writer there is nothing more important than ensuring that their work is as engaging and provocative as it possibly can be.

One of the vital tools for reaching this ultimate goal is choosing the correct narrative voice for the piece of work.

Sometimes a writer will need to experiment with both first and third person narrative before settling on the ideal one of the piece of work in question but for other writers one style will be the most natural for them.

Third Person Narrative

This is probably the most popular voice for a writer to use. It gives them the role of an omnipotent narrator and allows them access to the minds and activities of all characters at all time. It is an unrestrictive choice which possibly explains its popularity.

The third person narrative also allows the writer a more descriptive style of writing. They can go straight into a physical description of their protagonist with wild abandon and they can allow themselves large paragraphs telling the reader what they see around them without having to worry about any limitations.

The downside is that the writer has to work harder to establish a connection with the characters. The reader is aware that they are an outside and therefore must be properly engaged which is more difficult using this method of writing.

There is also the possibility of a writer disclosing too much information too quickly. In first person narrative the reader makes discoveries as the same time as the character, they are not allowed to hop from one character to the next. In third person there is a risk of giving too much away and losing out on tension but obviously this depends on the experience and talent of the writer.

First Person Narrative

This is an open and friendly style of writing which immediately engages the reader with the main character. The character’s voice is strong and direct so the reader is quickly able to decide whether they can relate to it or not.

The style limits the ability for description but lends itself to allowing a reader more scope for imagination. For example, unless the protagonist is stood in front of a mirror then they would not realistically describe their own appearance. The reader is allowed the luxury of deciding a lot of the character’s physical traits.

Another limitation is in the exploration of other characters. These are held at more of a distance from the reader because they are only privy to the information that the main character is privy to. For example, if character b is suffering from a headache we will only know this by observing them through the eyes of character a. In third person the writer could just openly state that character b was suffering from a headache.

Finding a Voice

As aforementioned there is one style which will become the signature style for each writer. Many writers tend not to stray too far from their preferred method and some take years to become brave enough to experiment but when they do they find that they have found something they are even more comfortable with.

The copyright of the article Choosing a Narrative Voice in Writing Fiction is owned by Stephanie Williams. Permission to republish Choosing a Narrative Voice in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Choosing a Voice