A narrator in novels

by Louis Nthenda
25th January 2014

Are there do's and don'ts for a narrator? What is it a narattor says that the characters can't? I am asking because my first draft of a novel has a lot of dialogue but I don't want it to be regarded as a play.

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Very helpful. Thanks.

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Louis
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Louis Nthenda
28/01/2014

I use an omniscient narrator in my novel. The omniscient narrator has a full knowledge of the story's events and of the motives and unspoken thoughts of the various characters. He or she will also be capable of describing events happening simultaneously in different places—a capacity not normally available to the limited point of view of first‐person narratives.

The first‐person narrative, is a mode of storytelling in which the narrator appears as the ‘I’ recollecting his or her own part in the events related, either as a witness of the action or as an important participant in it. The term does not mean that the narrator speaks only in the first person. In discussions with other characters the third person will be used.

Some novels may switch from one narrator to another, allowing the reader to experience the thoughts and feelings of more than one character.

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Adrian Sroka
26/01/2014

Well the problem is that, if you are the narrator you can "do" everything! But if you are one of the characters you kind of stick with that only character (I know that that's the point :p). Hope I made my point! :p

Good luck with your work!

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25/01/2014