Alida and Kathryn dig into narrative storytellers on this week’s Story Works Round Table. Have you ever written a story with a storyteller as narrator? That’s a narrator that is not invisible, like the typical authorial narrator, and is not a character, like a first person narrator. But this narrator is full of personality and can be as opinionated as you like. Key to a narrative storyteller is voice. Developing a storyteller’s voice that evokes a sense of being present, of hearing the story is essential to creating a storyteller experience for the reader.

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SHOW NOTES

What we talked about:

What is a narrative storyteller? (0:23)

How is Kathryn using this narrator and why? (1:05)

What about being in your characters head? (2:37)

What is appealing about a storyteller narrator? (5:00)

Adding a layer, and a voice! (6:10)

How is the narrative landing on the reader’s ear? (8:53)

The importance of the voice. (9:58)

The narrator looping in the reader. (13:15)

Would you describe your narrator to your reader? (15:05)

What about revealing who the narrator is? (18:30)

Helping to keep the story short. (21:25)

Does this lend to more narrative exposition? (22:15)

Let me tell you a story! (25:25)

LINKS

Get Alida’s Writing Tips here.

Things we mentioned:

The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales 

Have thoughts, questions, other examples? Join the conversation at the Story Works Writers Facebook group.