Writing Guide; Narrative Voice. · 3:17pm Jul 5th, 2013

Let's be honest people; when we first started writing, most, if not all of us, committed the 'textbook crime'. I'm of course referring to bland, over-detailed narration that loosely translates to 'blah-blah-blah-had a tough life-blah-blah-blah-knew her since preschool-blah-blah-yap-yap-drivel-drivel-drivel.' Some still do that. Allow me to share with you all... the fruits of knowledge. Gifts I've received through my own writing experience and lessons learned in recent months.

'Show vs. Tell'. By now, we've ALL heard of it. And, thankfully, most of us use it. However, while we are told to 'show' rather than 'tell', many of us get hung up on the former, abandoning the latter altogether. This is a terrible, terrible pitfall many of us never see coming until it's too late. Yes, it's a mark of talent to vividly paint pictures with your words. But then you must ask yourself... 'Why?' Why is this happening? Why is this important?

It all comes down to 'too much of a good thing,' really. Too much 'showing' becomes blended and hard to read. The greatest culprits are 'action scenes' and 'sex scenes'. Now level that raised eyebrow; we're allguilty of skimming over three paragraphs of 'action' passages. I'll be the first to say THAT SUCKS! Especially if the story your reading is engaging with a decent plot. How does this happen you ask?

Simple.

Not enough 'telling'

Sure, we have our scene vividly playing in our head. We need it on paper. People need to see our vision down to the last detail. Our creativity must be recognized! But it's toneless. We just wrote a slew of detailed action with no explanation. And THAT, my friends, is where 'Narrative Voice' saves the day.

In a sense, this gives your readers a chance to catch up, to let everything sink in. Even better, it explains the 'why' and 'how'. But wait. Something has gone horrible wrong. *Gasp* Oh no! IT'S BORING! That's always been the problem! Telling is hardly emphasized when it should be! Instead of telling the reader why something's happening with brief, relatable metaphors, we bore them with two paragraphs of walking! Dammit! I'm sure a character has to get from point A to point B by WALKING!!!! There's no need to explicitly say so unless it's important to your plot!

*Huff*

*Puff*

Anyway... I'm sure you're wondering how to fix this. Well, this is my solution; experiences may vary.

Talk. To. Your. Readers. Sounds strange? Not at all. Narration, for all intents and purposes, must directly engage your readers. It's only fair after littering their mind with unspeakable gore and such. Don't explain 'what' is happening when you can 'show' it. Explain why, or, if you must have suspense, explain how.

~Sometimes, Twilight reasoned, it was always a matter of willpower. But most times, the urge to burn houses down could only be snuffed with a bitten cheek and prodded temples. Sometimes, Twilight reasoned, telling her friends off seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. She was justified, of course. She had to be.

Twilight Sparkle was not acting different. Twilight Sparkle was not pushing loved ones away. And Twilight Sparkle was not crazy. Perhaps Twilight could stop her own hoof--gripping a lit match to the Ponyville Schoolhouse--if she truly believed any of that...

Or maybe not...~

Narration is an art. It can be gentle and tame, alluring readers to our characters. Or it can be powerful and dominant, thrusting readers into problems they didn't even know they had. We must practice this everyday. Create an issue. Explain it with brevity. Show your readers the merits of said issue.

Ehhhh... I'm not a very good guide, I know. But I've learned too much not to share. Write on, my friends. Write on.

Craine...

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