Narrators Voice? - Writers Forum

dhyre · 11-19-2007, 01:56 PM

Hello Again!

I am having an issue keeping up the narrators voice. Does anyone have any tips. One I have received thus far is to read the narrators piece without the dialog and personal views, so basically read only the narration out loud and maintain consistency.

HELP!

dhyre

JohnN · 11-20-2007, 03:38 AM

Thats a good way of going through to make sure you maintain the voice. Make sure you have a basic outline of the story just from the narrators voice.

Talia_Brie · 11-20-2007, 07:49 AM

Your narrator is a character, just like every other character in the story. You need to know who they are, and how they speak. That's it really. Think of the narrator as a character, and 'hear' what they are saying.

When I started reading HP Lovecraft I had some real problems staying in touch with the story. The narrative is so dense. So I start imagining I was listening to the story being told, I actually heard the words in my head.

You should think about your narrator that way.

Another way is to just make the narrator you, and then they speak with your voice. That would work to, assuming that is, that you know how you speak.

Azram · 11-20-2007, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talia_Brie

Your narrator is a character, just like every other character in the story.

This is the best advice you can get. It actually works that way, you should really imagine the storyteller.
Make sure you know how your narrator wants to tell the tale.
Because, after all, the narrator defines from which POV the story is told, and with which connotation. That's if you wanna get deep into the issue.

But, basicaly just make sure you don't jump from one way of narrating to another. If your narrator is brief and minimalistic, don't give him a huge describing fit.

PS. There is one little trick you could use. Give him an accent.

Ilasir Maroa · 11-20-2007, 09:36 PM

Never ever give your narrator an accent. You'll be saving so many lives...

Mr Sci Fi · 11-20-2007, 11:48 PM

Mark Twain used this technique a lot in his writing, referring to himself as a character. Huck Finn even starts off with something along the lines of, "You might remember me from that story by Mr. Mark Twain."

dhyre · 11-22-2007, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Sci Fi

Mark Twain used this technique a lot in his writing, referring to himself as a character.

I know when I used to write some ... alternative stories, I would often model the protagonist after myself, how I was feeling at that time, who I wanted to be and how I wanted to act. It comes in handy, so I can see why he has done it.

Now that I am older, I have been wanting to get away from that technique because I found that I get drawn into the world of the story and it would have effects on the life I am actually living compared to the life I wanted to be living.

If it works, I agree it totally is an awesome technique. Thanks for that.