Narration is a problem for me. According to wikianswers.com, narration is an account of connected events, a story.
Sounds simple enough. I write fiction, short stories and novels = stories. I’ve read enough books about the craft of fiction to mire my stories in theories for eternity. So I know what a story is — through line, arc, 3 acts, want/obstacle/action/resolution, climax, plot points, inciting incident, reversals, building suspense by withholding information … you get the point.
I definitely know about showing and not telling. Another definition for narration is telling. And I can’t figure out how to narrate well without deteriorating into telling. I can manage dialog, have had good feedback on my ability to show a scene, describe action and create internal monologue.
Narration is hard. All the literary fiction I read has magnificent narration, a flow from dialog and scene into narrative that’s like Cabernet pouring into a glass. I read a bit about good narration being a kind of show/tell hybrid. The concept seems simple, but I haven’t figured out how to implement it well.
Tell me, how do you practice the craft of narration?
Oh la la, what a question. It has been posed to me before, so I have had the chance to answer it, but this is not an easy one! I think part of the key, is that if your reader is experiencing the narration, then all is well. Do not tell them they are having a glass of Cabernet, let them taste it themselves. Of course, one has to practice practice practice. and then edit edit edit. One of the books that I have referred countless times for this very issue is Stein on Writing. Would have taken me years to get to the same point without it.
I have Stein on Writing … it sounds like this calls for some re-reading!
what works for one does necessarily for the other…