Narration * Recounting of events; real or imagined

* General Classification * Objective narration – narration of fact * Events control the narrative composition * Subjective narration – purely imaginative narration (fiction) * The writer controls the narration of event

* Three Elements of Narration * Setting * A narrative must happen somewhere * “background” must be plainly indicated * Either by incidental references here and there * Or by formal description * Characters * There must be actors * Must have definite personalities * Can be described formally when they appear * Or described themselves by their words and actions to the reader * Plot * Series of related events * (Imaginative) the writer invent the plot * (Fact) the writer finds it in a sense ready in hand

* Motion and Time in Narration * Motion * Narration give us a moving picture * Its emphasis is not on the thing in motion but on the nature of motion itself * Narration does not tell about a story, It tells the story * Time * The movement of series of incidents follows the order of time * Chronological order of arrangement * The series of events must have significant relation with one another

* Point of View * A person who bears some relation to the action * Either as observer or participant, and whose intelligence serves as the index of the action for the reader

* Three points of view * Main Character * Personal experiences * Principal actor or main participant * Spectacular occurrences or ghost stories are great examples * Minor Character or Observer * Minor part * Realistic * Person telling the story is an eye-witness or participant * The character(participant) is placed at a disadvantage of moving and shifting with the characters and with the action * Omniscience * What the characters think and feel * Point of view of most historical writing and most novels * The writer assumes he knows what is going on in the minds of all his characters and what is happening to them at all times * Possibilities : * Carry several threads of action * Report all happenings as if he had been present

* Dialogue * Makes the action more vivid * Makes the characters more lifelike * Must be carefully planned and organized to develop a point or issue * Must give an impression of naturalness, of the pauses and wavering of conversations * Must give the impression of speech of the particular individual
Suggestions:
* Must avoid unnecessary repetition of the speaker’s name or unnecessary description of the way he speaks
Example:
“I see you in the corner,” whispered Baker softly.
“How did you find me?” inquired Charles curiously.
“I smelled the pip you’ve been smoking,” purred Baker evilly.
“Oh!” exclaimed Charles alarmedly. * Present dialogue simply
Example:
I’ll not forget my first – and last – meeting with that old Texan. He came striding down the line I had just surveyed on his property, pulling up my line stakes and tossing them over his shoulder as he came. When he got up to my surveying truck, he wasn’t even out of breath:
“Get off my land.”
“OK, I will- in just a minute. If you’ll just-“
“Get off now.”
“Yes, sir, right now, just like you say.”
And I did leave, as fast as possible