Introducing Narrator and Establishing Context

INTRODUCING A NARRATOR& ESTABLISHING CONTEXT

English IHall Dale High School

Narration Unit

Wednesday, January 5, 14

WHAT IS A NARRATOR?

The person telling the story (not the same as the author - they wrote the story)

Types of Narrator:First Person (“I” form, usually a character) Second Person (speaks in “you” form, rare) Third Person (is an “observer” to the story)

http://academic.reed.edu/english/courses/analyzinglit/narrator.html




WHAT IS A NARRATOR... ETC.

Third Person sub-forms: Omniscient: able to tell what all the characters are thinking

Focalized: through a particular character - the narrator tells us how that character sees the world





WHAT IS CONTEXT?

Context: makes understanding possible in a story - you are writing for an audience and they need to understand what’s going on

Writing is not speech transferred to page, it is more complex and needs more detail for it to be understood

http://webs.ashlandctc.org/jnapora/hum-faculty/syllabi/context%20examples.htm




WHAT IS ORIENTATION?

Think of orientation as the exposition of the story

Orientation = Exposition = Introduction (characters, setting and time of the story are established)

Orientation hooks your reader and introduces them to the basic premise of the story


DIALOGUE...THE BASICS

Dialogue is when a character speaks, typically to another character

Basic Dialogue Rules: 1. Each speaker gets his/her own paragraph (a return and indent). 2. Use some attributions, such as ‘he said’, but not too often. The

reader show always be able to tell who’s speaking.3. Always use a comma after attributions (He said,) when

introducing a quote.

http://webs.anokaramsey.edu/wrobel/1121/Course%20Materials/Exercises/basic_dialogue_format_for_narrat.htm




ENGAGEMENT

Hook: get their attention from the beginning - but make sure to keep it throughout

Be interested in what you write about... Readers will easily get disinterested if your writing reflects your disinterest

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules-and-tips/writing-advice-and-tips-on-how-to-engage-the-reader.html

Tips: make sure your first few paragraphs have little to no errors and include lots of detail!






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Education

Introducing Narrator and Establishing Context