Last week I went over creating distinct character voices for your story, and now we will look at narrator voice. This one is not often addressed since it can be a combination of character voice and writer voice, but there are many facets to it that I think deserve attention.
What Is Narrator Voice?
The narrator voice is the text’s tone and personality outside of dialogue. Some narration is like sitting around a campfire and hearing a story, but others seek to be an invisible voice that lets the reader peer through a window and see the story take place. Each style is formed based on which type of point of view (POV) narration you use for the story.
First Person POV
First person point of view is when you narrate using the pronoun “I” and its variations. This signifies that the narrator is a character in the story. The good news is that, if you have your character voice already honed, you will have no problem with the narrator voice. The narration should be similar to the character’s dialogue. If the character is sarcastic and dark, so is the narrator. The things mentioned in the story should be things the character would notice too. For example, if she’s an art major in college, she’ll use art metaphors.
It’s important to note that you shouldn’t pick an annoying or overly loud personality for the character if she is narrating the story. The reader has to spend hundreds of pages in this person’s head and doesn’t want to spend that time with someone abrasive. On the flip side, you can do an unreliable narrator since the reader will only see things from the narrator’s perspective. It could make for some good plot twists in the end.
Third Person Limited POV
Third person limited is when you use the pronouns “he” and “she” and their variations for the narration, but you see things only from one perspective at a time. The narrator exists outside the story but is also a character in the story. It’s similar to first person, except slightly more removed.
For that reason, your narrator voice will be a muted version of whatever character’s POV you are narrating through. Since it isn’t as immediate as first person POV, you don’t have to go overboard with personality in your narration. The third person narration is intended to be more invisible so that the readers see the story for themselves instead of having commentary with it. The focus will still be on the things your POV character would notice and think, but it will be subtle.
Third Person Omniscient POV
Third person omniscient is when you use the pronouns “he” and “she” and their variations for the narration, but your narrator exists outside the story. She is a commentator on events that do not affect her, and often she can tell you about everyone in the room instead of just one person.
There are two ways to do an omniscient narrator voice. One is to make the narrator completely invisible so that the reader doesn’t even notice her. Some call this making the narrator the writer’s voice. It’s whatever comes naturally to you but is intended to not draw attention away from the story. The second way to do an omniscient narrator is to make her an outside character. Give her a personality and let her comment on the story like an overseer. This is done in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak where Death is the narrator of the story. If that’s the case, then your narrator voice should follow whatever character voice you give her.
Final Thoughts
These are the three most common narrator voices for stories. Narrator voice is like character voice in that you keep it one way for the story, but you can create something new for the next book (unless it is part of a series). One narrator voice isn’t better than another. It’s all about what works best for you. Experiment with the different options and see which you enjoy using the most. I prefer third person limited, but that doesn’t mean I don’t play around with the others sometimes. We have the freedom to change things up so don’t waste the opportunity to challenge yourself.
Thanks for reading!
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