Now NovelNarration means sharing written (or spoken) events in order. It conveys a story to your audience.
Find every article on narration in Now Novel’s archives here. Read about types of narration and narrators, points of view, using show don’t tell in your narrative writing, and more.
Learn about the parts of narration we often find in books (such as prologues and epilogues). You’ll learn how to narrate your story in a compelling, convincing way.
‘Show, don’t tell’ is something every aspiring author has heard or read at some point. It’s true that telling the reader about your characters’ acts and emotions or your settings is often weaker than showing them. Read examples from books that put ‘show, don’t tell’ in context and reveal how to blend showing and telling effectively:
Telling character backstory is sometimes necessary to show why your character has a specific motivation or mindset. Yet it’s important to learn how to write backstory that will not bog your novel down in constant harking back to prior events that occurred before the present time of your narrative. Read 5 tips for using backstory better:
Writing flashbacks is an important skill to master if your novel cuts across time periods or strongly features characters’ memories. Here are 7 key steps for how to write a flashback scene:
There is no basic formula for how to start a novel in third person. Yet working with third person POV presents specific choices, challenges and advantages. Here are 7 tips for beginning a book in third person:
Telling a story using mainly first person narrative has both pros and cons. Here are 7 steps to creating a great ‘I’ narrator, but first:
The unreliable narrator is a useful fiction device for creating surprise in your story and avoiding predictability. Here are some ways that unreliable narrators can be used to shape a novel’s form or to surprise and build tension in the reader:
“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most common pieces of advice given about writing, but should you follow this advice? In fact, sometimes you should tell (and not show). Here are some of the reasons why:
Types of narration and POV play a crucial role in your story’s overall dramatic effect.
An unreliable narrator is one of the most powerful tools available to a writer. His unreliability might be obvious to the reader throughout, it might be revealed gradually, or it might come as a revelation that provides a major plot twist.
