6 Types of Narration - Infographic

Very interesting and useful article :) just a thought, didn't Charlotte Bronte write Jane Eyre?

Pety Golja - Over 9 years ago

Thank you, Pety. You're right, must have been a slip due to Austen and Bronte's protagonist having the same first name. It's been corrected, thanks for spotting that :)

Bridget At Now Novel - Over 9 years ago

How can you be a proper omniscient narrator and not be mistaken for a limited third person narrator?

Sisa - Over 8 years ago

Hi Sisa! While the third person limited only gives the reader access to the thoughts of whichever character is currently the focal/viewpoint character in a given passage, omniscient means that the reader knows every character's subjective feelings and experiences in a scene (it's not limited to one person). One way to make sure that your narration is truly omniscient is to describe multiple characters' opinions in a single scene, in such a way that it's not just one private inner world being shown.

Bridget At Now Novel - Over 8 years ago

I'm trying to write my novella in the first person past tense… But although it's getting harder to keep from revealling things the character knows because of his timeline, and the reader finding out too much of the story to make it uninteresting. May go to seperate styles in each chapter instead… too much to think about, too many styles to try.

Homework Solver - About 8 years ago

Because a novella's quite short it might be best not to jump around and use too many different POVs, but I'm sure you'll find a solution that works. Make a backup of your story and experiment with changing the POV until you find the one that feels best.

Bridget At Now Novel - About 8 years ago

so im writing a novel....my first but, i cant figure out which narration to go off of....book revolves around 1 characters story...but i want to be able to express other characters feelings the same as the main characters feelings... basically i want to describe all the characters feelings......sorry if i dont make any sense im a total wreck at describing this

Dakota Bailey - About 7 years ago

It would probably be best to go for a third person omniscient narrator-- they'd be able to "see" the thoughts of all the characters as well as describe the events around them. It's okay if the story revolves mainly around one person. Even when the focus shifts to other characters, the narrator would still be able to "see" inside of their heads. And even though they're omniscient, they can still leave out some details to keep the suspense going. Most importantly, don't worry about drawing the line between different types of narration! Use whichever qualities work best for you. As long as it's consistent, you're alright.

Blue Glass Hero - Over 6 years ago

Great Thanks!

Layne - Almost 7 years ago

this was very helpful!!

Bryson Benton - Over 6 years ago

This was very helpful for my school test.

Tyler Hassell - About 6 years ago

yoo tyler

Damilola Okuwobi - About 6 years ago

hi

Queen Stephanee - About 5 years ago

Hi QueenStephanee, how can I help?

Jordan At Now Novel - About 5 years ago

it was

Santos Johnson - About 6 years ago

i´m writing a book that is on three sisters and i want to alternate between the three sisters but is also going to be told by a narrator. which point of view should i do?

Madison - Almost 6 years ago

Hi Madison, thanks for your question :) It sounds as though you'd like to have multiple points of view, so you could do this by having each chapter told from a different character's viewpoint (one of the sisters), with the name of the sister currently telling the story as the chapter title (or a subtitle). This would make it clear to the reader who's currently telling the story. I'm not sure you'd need another narrator - how would they relate to the story? Are they a secondary character? I hope that helps. Good luck!

Jordan At Now Novel - Almost 6 years ago

thanks! helped a lot!

Madison - Over 5 years ago

I'm glad to hear that, Madison! Keep writing :)

Jordan At Now Novel - Over 5 years ago

Glad to hear that! :)

Jordan At Now Novel - Over 5 years ago

HELPED SO MUCH THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Martin Tejeda - About 5 years ago

hi i'm writing a book but i am having trouble its a horror story i just wanted to ask for tips or thing i should do

Lestat Gonzalez - About 5 years ago

Hi Lestat, thanks for asking. We have an article here on horror that has tips: https://www.nownovel.com/blog/how-to-write-horror-story-tips/

Jordan At Now Novel - About 5 years ago

thank you Jordan

Lestat Gonzalez - About 5 years ago

My pleasure!

Jordan At Now Novel - About 5 years ago

halp

Wolfi Chu - About 5 years ago

Hi WolfiChu, what would you like help with?

Jordan At Now Novel - About 5 years ago

Hello https://media3.giphy.com/media/YrZECW1GgBkqat6F0B/giphy.gif

Wolfi Chu - About 5 years ago

hello peeps

Keegan Mouton - About 5 years ago

how are you bryson?

Keegan Mouton - About 5 years ago

Im making a story with more than one narrator, and im worried the readers might get confused. How should i make it clear whos narrating?

F Na F Maniac - About 4 years ago

Hi there, Thank you for asking. One way to ensure clarity would be to have a new chapter or scene break each time the narrator switches and put their name as a heading. This way it is immediately clear to the reader who is telling the story. Faulkner does this in As I Lay Dying which has 15 narrators in total.

Jordan - About 4 years ago

Thank you! This was very helpful!

Lindsay - About 4 years ago

It's a pleasure, Lindsay. I'm glad to hear that! Thank you for reading our articles.

Jordan - About 4 years ago

This was very helpful, coupling this information with this short video I've linked below really helped me with analysing "Neon Genesis Evangelion", Thanks!

Samuel Davis Hater99 - Almost 4 years ago

Hi I am trying to learn about narrating and I cant pass the test do you know anything helpful I can use

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii - Almost 4 years ago

Hi there, what aspect of narrating is/was your test on? It's quite a broad subject!

Jordan - Almost 4 years ago

I mean Point of veiw

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii - Almost 4 years ago

hey, some of these things ive never heard of before, and i wanted to know, which is the BEST idea for these things to i don't know- make a story interesting?

Follow Me On Twitch.Tv/Coolturtle28 - Almost 4 years ago

Hi there, thank you for your question. Do you mean which POV is the best to use? One isn't necessarily better than another, it depends on the context and the effect you're trying to achieve. For example, first person is useful for creating a sense of close intimacy with the narrator and is part of why it's typical for memoir/autobiography (though Roland Barthes wrote an autobiography in third person - there are no fixed rules other than the basic rules of grammar and such).

Jordan - Almost 4 years ago

Great job

Kayla - Over 3 years ago

There are only four of the six which are, first-person, second-person, third-person, and omniscient. that is correct.

Jasmine - Over 3 years ago

Hi Jasmine, thank you for your feedback. There are in fact additional types of narrator, what you're referring to specifically is points of view with regard to person (Ursula K Le Guin differentiates between 'involved omniscient' narration, where the narrator knows what characters are thinking, and fly-on-the-wall which does not have access to any character's thought process but can only describe what a camera or fly-on-the-wall could see, hence the name). Thank you for reading our blog!

Jordan - Over 3 years ago

Hi, could you share where Ursula K Le Guin shared her ideas on narrators? Much appreciated!

Nika - Over 3 years ago

Hi Nika, with pleasure. It's a slim but excellent writing manual called Steering the Craft, which you can find on Goodreads here.

Jordan - Over 3 years ago

hi I think your article was really true and I think the first person is very correct I mean I have seen many articles but this one is my favorite.

Nathan - About 3 years ago

Hi Nathan, thank you for reading our blog and sharing your thoughts!

Jordan - About 3 years ago

hi, your story was very interesting but there was one thing I didn't really get. The picture that showed the 6 types of narrator has something called a " Fly-on-wall"? And then it defines the word, but it didn't really define it that well. Can you explain it further?

Emily - Almost 3 years ago

Hi Emily, thank you for sharing that and asking. A 'fly-on-the-wall' narrator you can think of as a security camera - it can only show what's happening, passively observing (but not pass judgment or evaluate, it has no persona/viewpoint/interpretation). So for example, a limited third person narrator might say: 'She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, dreading the interview'. A fly-on-the-wall narrator could only say 'She shifted in her seat' for the same sentence, not telling us any emotion directly that a character is feeling, as this narrative viewpoint cannot access what characters are feeling and thinking, only report the signs of these things (so this viewpoint relies heavily on inference and suggestion - on implying, for example, emotion through actions and movements and gestures). It is often referred to as an 'objective' viewpoint in contrast to 'subjective' (which, like first-person, is coloured by what the narrator thinks, feels, wants, likes, dislikes, etc.) I hope this helps!

Jordan - Almost 3 years ago

Is that all the types of narration I am struggling with point of view.

Matthew - Almost 3 years ago

Hi Matthew, perhaps not all, but I'm sure we can help. What aspect of POV are you struggling with? If you want feedback on narration or other aspects of your WIP, please do feel free to share it in our crit community on Now Novel that you have access to with a basic/free account. You'll find it a constructive group of writers of all ages and genre interests. Thanks for reading our blog.

Jordan - Almost 3 years ago

this was really helpful

Ian - Almost 3 years ago

Harry had taken up his place at St Paul School where he and his scar were famous but now the school year was over and he was back to the dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog who had rolled in something smelly. The dursleys hadn't even remember that today happened to be Harry's 12 birthday. Of course, his Hopes hadn't been high they had never given him a real present, let alone a cake .... Please which type of narrators is this. I'm so confused

Emmanuel - Over 2 years ago

Hi Emmanuel, this is third person limited. This means that characters are referred to in third person ('Harry had taken up his place') rather than first or second, and the limited means that the story and narration is filtered through Harry's own perspective - the reader can only know what Harry knows. 'Back to being treated like a dog who had rolled in something smelly' creates a sense of Harry's own thoughts about the way he's being treated by his aunt and uncle. In limited POV narration, the narration tends to be coloured by the viewpoint narrator's thoughts and feelings. I hope this helps!

Jordan - Over 2 years ago

Hello! I'm writing a short story, and according to my friends who are reviewing it for me, I'm accidentally flip-flopping between narrative types (3 person limited and omniscient), and I'm not sure how to pick one and stick to it. Would you say it's accurate to describe Omniscient as 3rd person for all characters? Wouldn't omniscient be a form of 3rd person? The piece is historical fiction, and follows several lead historically accurate characters as well as cities and political events, many of which I want to be able to "explain" to my readers to really make them understand the demographic (which I think has to be the omniscient narrator), but I also want the narrator to be able to make biased comments... Like "he was called the 'the great' but he was the greatest fool' " or " I guess that's why they call it a circus". What feedback can you offer please?

Sarah - Over 2 years ago

Hi Sarah, thank you for your great question. Omniscient does allow all characters' subjective experience, though you could technically have a first person narrator, like a God who knows everything, knows what every character is thinking/feeling. However it is much more common to have omniscient in third-person where a non-involved narrator (a narrator not involved in the story) tells the story moving freely between different characters' thoughts, feelings and experiences. The key difference between omniscient and limited is that in limited third-person, only what the viewpoint narrator knows, assumes, feels, understands may be shared, because it's as though the reader is seeing things through their eyes. Unless they're a mind reader, they can't know exactly what another character is thinking/feeling unless that person tells/shows them in some way. You could write this story as a multi-narrator story in third person, where each character's narration is in limited third person and any commentary is given by a character with a point of view (for example, if one narrator is a non-supporter of the character called 'the great', you might give them the line 'he was called 'the great' but he was the greatest fool'). Then if the leader has his own narrative point of view, he might just prattle on about how great he is. Omniscient would mean that either your narrator is involved in the story and knows everything, or is not involved in the story (like a fly on the wall) but knows everything. It is harder to do, though is a common viewpoint in older historical novels (e.g. Tolstoy). It is hard to pull off though. I'd strongly recommend Ursula K. Le Guin's writing manual, Steering the Craft as it has an excellent section on points of view. I hope this helps!

Jordan - Over 2 years ago

Hi i was wondering if you could tell me if you can post more point of view things?

Kenzie - About 2 years ago

Hi Kenzie, with pleasure. We have a complete guide to POV here, which I'm not sure whether you've seen? Thanks for reading our blog.

Jordan - About 2 years ago

Good info

Saadullah - About 2 years ago

slay

U - Almost 2 years ago

All day :)

Jordan - Almost 2 years ago

Slay what you want to slay let the slay slout

Diego - Over 1 year ago

Yass, Diego.

Jordan - Over 1 year ago

slay

Sperry - Over 1 year ago

Hi Jordan can you help in portraying novel characters based on reality ..

Asia Iman - Over 1 year ago

Hi Asia, I can do my best to, absolutely. What sort of help do you need with this? Off the top of my head, I'd say to change names and other pertinent details if they are living people whom you are basing characters on, so as to avoid any kind of issue with defamation etc. if any party dislikes how they're represented for any reason.

Jordan - Over 1 year ago

I need to know about 3rd person limited and 3rd person omniscent

J Dawg#1 - Over 1 year ago

Hi J Dawg, thank you for your question. What do you want to know about these POVs? Here's something I wrote on points of view, I hope it helps.

Jordan - Over 1 year ago

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I totoally don't know what I'm Doing! BUT THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stephanie - Over 1 year ago

Glad this is useful, Stephanie!

Arja Salafranca - Over 1 year ago

I need help with points of view, please Jordan!

Wolfgirl - About 1 year ago

Hello Wolfgirl, Thanks for writing in. What specifically do you need help with?

Arja Salafranca - About 1 year ago

Hello Casey, how can I help? What specifically do you need help with?

Arja Salafranca - About 1 year ago

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Types of narration infographic - 6 narrative POVs

What is a narrator?

Read more on the different kinds of narration:

Types of narration infographic - 6 narrative POVs

What is a narrator?

Read more on the different kinds of narration:

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