Choosing a narrative voice is a very important part of any story, and should be a choice you consciously make—not just a choice that happens by mistake.
Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be a difficult choice! Here’s a quick look at which narrative voice you should choose based on your goals for your writing.
First-Person Narrative Voice
A first-person narrative is one where you relay events from your own point of view through the use of “I.” This makes you a character in the story. For example, “I walk up the stairs.”
This type of narrative voice is good for relaying personal stories, and for making the reader feel closer to you and more involved in the story. It also allows you to directly share you own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
This doesn’t mean you have to share everything you’re thinking or feeling, but it allows you to represent and relate at least one facet of your personality alongside the story.
Note: You can also use the first-person narrative voice in the plural, by using “we” instead of “I.” Be careful with this, though, as it means you are limited to generalizations. This can be difficult when the members of “we” don’t completely agree with each other!
When Should you Use the First-Person Narrative Voice?
Use the first-person when you want the reader to see your point of view, or when your personality is necessary to the story. This will create a sense of closeness. (Also, you may also find yourself using this narrative voice when you have been hired to write the personal stories of others for their own businesses or marketing!)
Second-Person Narrative Voice
This narrative voice is a rare choice in stories, as it is a little more complicated to use and sounds unusual. An example would be, “You walk up the stairs.”
However, this narrative voice is frequently used for instructions, technical writing, advertising, speeches, and other forms of writing that are not usually as story-oriented.
When Should you Use the Second-Person Narrative Voice?
Use this narrative voice when you are writing instructional or motivational-related content, or when you want to break the mold and try something experimental!
Third-Person Narrative Voice
The third-person narrative voice means that you are not an active participant in your own story, but instead you tell it as you have seen it. For example, “He walks up the stairs.”
This is perhaps the most commonly used narrative voice, as it doesn’t limit you to a specific point of view. Instead, you can allow yourself to use multiple points of view and get as close or stay as far away from others’ thoughts as you wish.
When Should you Use the Third-Person Narrative Voice?
Choosing to use the third-person is often the most flexible choice, so you should use this when you want to be able to hop around between view points or when your personal actions and personal story are not as important. This also allows you to keep a medium distance away from the story, or even a long distance if you want the reader to feel less connected.
There is quite a lot of flexibility when choosing your narrative voice, so it’s important to ask yourself what you want to accomplish with your story or article.
Is it important that your reader feel close to the story? Are your actions or emotions essential to the story? Or would it be better with some distance? Do you want your story to sound traditional, or do you want to experiment and surprise the reader by using the second-person?
If you can answer these questions, you have all the information you need to choose a narrative voice!
Leave a Reply