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What's your go-to narrative structure?

Tom

Istar
Just as the title says, I want to know what narrative format you find yourself using the most, and why. Yes, I'm getting into the nasty technical bits of writing!

What do you do with things like chapter titles, chapter openers such as quotes, poems, etc, flow of the narrative, stuff like that? Do you use prologues or epilogues or other "add-ons" to the main narrative? How do you usually handle time--linear, non-linear? How many different viewpoint characters do you normally use, and how do you divide the story into parts for each of them? What person and tense do you use most? What do you do for flashbacks?

Yeah, I know I'm really grilling you guys, but lately I've been thinking more about how a writer uses the narrative structure and what it says about his/her style.

Some last few questions: What do you like about your preferred narrative structure (if you have one)? Have you ever broken away from it to experiment?
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
I rely heavily on linear time, only overlapping between multiple timelines/POVs when necessary. The number of POVs varies from story to story: I started out with single POV stories, but have been gradually branching out into dual and multiple POVs as well. Most often I write in third person past tense; only rarely do I venture into first person, whether past or present, aside from RPs like the ones on this site. Chapters are usually just numbered, not named, and I don't use openers like quotations and such. Flashbacks are almost nonexistent.

I like third person past tense because it's very common and pretty easy to work with. First person is much trickier, especially in present tense. I've used both tenses for short stories, and I'm experimenting with first person past for a novel with an MC whose gender is non-binary, necessitating a way to work around unusual pronouns.
 
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Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
For the most part I tend to use first and third person limited. I use past tense and most stories are told linearly.

Other than that, everything else is dependant on the needs of the story, so it varies from story to story. Some stories require flashbacks. Others not. Some require multiply POVs. Others not. Some require prologues/epilogues. Others not.
 

Legendary Sidekick

The HAM'ster
Moderator
First-person present is my favorite. I'm having a bit of fun with second-person at the moment.

Chapter titles: first book -- names. Going forward, I'm leaning toward just numbering the chapter. I want to stay in the character's head. For my most recently submitted work, I opened chapters with an italicized third-person omniscient bit. The purpose is to establish scenery and the distance of characters -- things that the POV character won't narrate. Scenery is ordinary to the character, and she can't narrate thoughts about someone she doesn't realize is approaching. (There are ways to do this effectively from the character's POV; I simply chose not to.)

I like being in a character's head instead of talking about a character. As the writer, I picture things from the character's POV as they are happening. This makes first-person natural for me. I want to write second-person because I noticed that I get that same feeling as a reader, so that's my current experiment.
 

Tom

Istar
I usually write linear narratives from first-person POV in past tense. I don't really write prologues or epilogues, and chapter openers are usually just the numbers or Roman numerals. I prefer using only one POV character, or two who alternate chapters. It's fun to get really deep into a character's head, so that you start thinking like them and feeling the story like you're in it. A large cast of viewpoint characters jars me out of characterization mode, so I stick to one or two.

For my major project I decided to break up the narrative into chapters about real-time events and those about flashback events. It's a little challenging, but I'm enjoying writing my MC at various ages and introducing key characters who would otherwise have a very small part in the linear plot.

For my NaNo I decided to go third person limited, and it's working out well. Not my favorite POV to write, but it suited the story better than first. I'm also experimenting a bit with second person, just because I like the feel.
 

FarmerBrown

Troubadour
For my fantasy titles I've been alternating first-person present. Chapters are numbered with the character beneath. I include a prologue, letters/reports, and an epilogue, and also a map, character lists, royal family tree, and dictionary. Yes, I'm one of the TMI people.

For my zombie books I also write in first person, but past tense and it's in the form of a journal. Footnotes, because the books are quasi-satirical, and the chapter titles are months. Foreword and afterword included.

For my sci-fi WIP I'm using 3rd person. It's not long enough yet to have structure.

For my romance WIP, I'm also using 3rd person, but alternating perspectives. Chapter titles are character names, not numbered.
 

Ryan_Crown

Troubadour
I generally prefer to write in third person past tense. I like going for the feel that you're sitting down with a storyteller and he's reciting this grand adventure (except, of course, that my stories get more in the head of the characters than a storyteller likely would). I like this better than first person because it gives me more flexibility to describe things that the main character might not be aware of, or to change POVs if the need arises. I've only done first person present once. In that story (which I started then stalled out on) the main character awakens at the beginning with complete amnesia. The story is then his journey to discover who he is and how/why he lost his memory. I specifically wanted first person present for that story because I felt it was the best way to really have the reader experience the thoughts, feelings, and fears that the main character was going through, and for the reader to unravel the mystery right along with the protagonist.

For chapters, I strictly use numbers (trying to name every chapter just seems like excessive work for little payoff to me). I also tend to shy away from prologues/epilogues. I'd much rather just drop the reader right into the story and hit the ground running; and when the story is over, just say 'the end' and call it done. That being said, I also tend to write more action/adventure oriented stories versus big epic fantasies, which would likely have more call for a prologue/epilogue than the stories I've written so far do.

As far as timeline goes, I tend towards very linear stories, with maybe the occasional flashback (although I would rather find a way to work the information of a flashback more organically into the narrative if I can, since flashbacks in my mind can easily be disruptive to the flow of the story if not done right).
 
Third person, always. I'm of an opinion that first person means the narrator must be consciously telling the story, and there are a host of complications that come along with that. (That said, the next project I'm contemplating might suit that, so I'm mulling about it, but I'll still probably try third person just to make sure.) And past tense. Present tense does my head in: every time I return to a book written in present tense, I have to get used to it again.

I'm strict in limiting myself on POVs - I want consistency throughout the book, and get irked when 90% of the book is characters x and y, but then character z gets a chapter right near the end because no one else could see that stuff. I consider that poor planning. As a mega-planner myself, I don't start writing until I know who my POV chars are, and which aspects they're going to be narrating. In fact, I often have a cycle worked out: character x, y, z, then repeat, and in that order. (I sound like such a disciplinarian! In fact, I find that I need this artificial discipline otherwise I wander all over the place and get paralysed by "but I could do anything!")

I have a tendency to over-paragraph. I like my punchy statements, and I like them to stand alone, like gothic heroes staring manfully into the middle distance. This is always something I'm hard on when I edit myself after first draft.

And I need chapter breaks. I like to have big significant beats, and chapter breaks are a great way of making sure the reader feels the weight of it too; they give a natural pause that's bigger than a scene break.
 
To say I have a 'go to' narrative is misleading in that it suggests I am an experienced writer. Yes, I have written much drivel over the years, but only recently have I been bitten by the bug to write a complete book (or more) for public consumption. And I am completely unpublished regardless of the opportunity that self-publishing offers.

That said, the book that I am currently working on has gone through three iterations. I began it in first person and realized I did not want to do first person multiple viewpoints. After playing with different versions, I settled on third person limited (recent past) with three viewpoints: Protagonist, antagonist and a supporting character, of which the protagonist viewpoint is about 65% of the total.

I like the intimacy that first person gives, though I can get close with the third/limited. As my skills develop, I would like to do first and third, both. I enjoy reading both first and third, though third omniscient not as much, despite my admiration for Tolkien. Second person, I have played with, only to see what it looks like on paper, and it is way beyond my current ability to make work.
 
Let's see:

Chapters of the same type are always placed in chronological order. For instance, if I have two POV characters, I'll always put each character's scenes in order. I try to maintain general chronological order, but that's not always possible if scenes run concurrently.

I don't have a particular preference in terms of tense or POV. I lean towards past-tense third-person omniscient, but that's only because that's the style least likely to get people to refuse to read my stories.

I usually use two to four main characters, less if I'm doing first-person, more if I have no clear "main character." I generally have no more than two classes of POV character, each getting roughly equal weight in their class. (For instance, Chitin has roughly equal recurring POVs, as well as a bunch of one-use POVs to represent the various views around town.)

I only use jokey chapter titles if I'm posting something online. Print works get normal chapters, or else helpful labels to make clear what time and POV it is.

Unless a story is incredibly flashback-heavy, I generally don't do distinct flashbacks. Characters have memories of the past prompted by the present, often short and piercing, or some tell others about the past. If a story's full of memories, I instead make the flashbacks a distinct style of chapter, often marked by different headings, and almost always in chronological order for clarity's sake. (My big exception was Eternal, which sometimes had flashbacks mid-chapter. I tried to make it clear early on that anything taking place in Hell from Leila's POV was her getting lost in her memories.)

I love to experiment, so I've tried a variety of styles. My favorite had seven POVs, only one recurring, all some shade of genderqueer, and each with a different approach to gendered pronouns. It so thoroughly confused my beta reader that she recommended I learn to write in Pinyin so I could cut out genders entirely.
 

Tom

Istar
I'm experimenting with first person past for a novel with an MC whose gender is non-binary, necessitating a way to work around unusual pronouns.

You know, when I first read Loren's Q & A, I thought the "they" thing might mean that Loren is two people in one body. I had this whole theory constructed in my head that the spirit of a vampire shares Loren's body and they think and move as one. I was actually a little disappointed when you explained it as Loren being intersex, just because I liked my little theory so much.

Maybe I could write something like that myself, just to get it out of my system.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
For the most part I tend to use first and third person limited. I use past tense and most stories are told linearly.

Other than that, everything else is dependant on the needs of the story, so it varies from story to story. Some stories require flashbacks. Others not. Some require multiply POVs. Others not. Some require prologues/epilogues. Others not.
This is the same for me except for the prologues. I don't do prologues, or at least, I haven't found a prologue to be necessary yet. Never say never.
 

Bluesboy

Dreamer
I found that using different narrative styles for different characters works best for me. The main character has only first person past tense narrative style, because I like him to re-evaluate his past with sarcasm and it also helps achieve intimacy with the character. But I have a few chapters written from a third person limited perspective, kinda like A Song of Ice and Fire, because for some characters that style suits me more - it very much depends on my perception of the character, because I have the arc of the main character pretty much planned in broad strokes and thus I feel comfortable writing in first person, but the other characters are more of an uncharted territory. I discover their stories as I write and to keep a bit of mystery around them for myself as well as for the reader, the third person limited helps me with that sort of feel.
 

Reilith

Sage
Depending on the story I want to tell I use different narratives. I mostly stick to 3rd person past tense for novels and fantasy, while for short stories it can vary - I have some really good first person one shots that I am very proud of. I am currently doing my first multiple POV work, combining three POVs, and I do tend to use some reminiscing when needed, usually in italics. For chapters I just use numbering, as I am not sure I'd be able to give justice to each if I named them and I don't want to lead the reader on and then not fulfill it. I like using the character's POV going wider or more narrow depending on what the story needs, but I am not too prone to omnipotent and omnipresent narrator style.
I am using my POVs to show different sides of the same story when needed - sometimes I use only one to tell the event, sometimes I'll use more cause what one character thinks is not enough on the subject. I see it as an interesting tool of telling the story and bringing characters closer together if I can show both perspectives from differnt views and maybe time frames.

Example:

First I write a scene with person A & person B from A's POV. Then I move on but change the POV to B where they show their feelings on the subject in retrospective thinking. I am still struggling with writing two POV in the same scene as I am afraid my jumps would be confusing while reading and I think I still can't do it good enough.
 

Ayaka Di'rutia

Troubadour
My go-to narrative is past tense, third-person limited, although if the scene situation demands it, I'll do third-person omniscient. (This is a very rare situation.) I find third person limited to be the best way for me to present several different characters while building on them and the plot, instead of trying to get into their heads in a scene all at once. I used to write in first-person limited, but haven't done so for years.

My storytelling is pretty linear; going non-linear is, again, pretty rare for me. I use prologues and epilogues frequently to set the scene and some major characters.
 

buyjupiter

Maester
I most frequently use 3rd person omniscient, but I dabble in 1st/3rd person limited a bit. I like my omniscient narrators, mostly because they let me use humor in ways that 3rd person limited doesn't necessarily lend itself too. (And 1st person goes sarcastic awfully quickly, which isn't always the humor technique I want.)

I like to experiment with how the story is ordered, one of which failed miserably...because of the disorganized structure of time or the combination of 1st person for the main story/3rd person limited in the intro/conclusion bit, I don't know. It was a short story so I was asking a lot of the reader.

One of my favorite short stories that I've written takes place over a year+. So I don't always do a narrowly focused time in short stories, which you don't see much of.

Chapter headings? What are those? I usually do scene breaks=new chapter and number them. I don't do a lot of GRRM style 3rd person limited POV chapters. It's a lot of work for stories that aren't generally speaking that complex, since I don't write a lot of epic style fantasy. (Although, we'll see what happens with the story I'm currently in the middle of muddling through. It's getting there, complexity-wise.)

I don't normally do prologues/prefaces/introductory characters who are never mentioned again...but. I may be using a bit I'm writing right now as an opener, because it introduces you to some of the behind the scenes conflict that underlie my main story. (And it's shaping up to be a Socratic dialogue type of thing, so that'll be different enough from ye olde fantasy intro that it might be worth it.)
 
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