Seaport Seminar - Novel Essentials: Narrative Perspective (In-Person!)

Please note that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is required to attend this class. Please submit your proof of vaccination here at least 48 hours before your class begins. 

About this Session

The narrative voice of any novel has an immense impact on the book’s effect on readers. Is the story told in the first person, or is the narrator omniscient, able to dip in and out of all the characters’ perspectives at will? Should the narrative stick closely to the perspective of a bystander, or should the reader be privy to the protagonists’ thoughts and emotions? Determining how much information readers should receive and in what way they should receive it are crucial and often thorny problems for all novelists. In this seminar, we will discuss the various options for narrative voices and the technical ramifications of each. We will look at notable examples of each voice from published authors in order to explore the advantages and disadvantages of each voice.

Using in-class writing exercises and group discussion, we will analyze which narrative voice might suit each attendee’s novel and why, experimenting with different options and examining the ways in which novels can be altered by changing the narrative voice. By the end of the seminar, each writer will have a clear sense of the pros and cons of different narrative voices and a good sense of which voice might work best for their own novel.

Register here: https://grubstreet.org/findaclass/class/seaport-seminar-novel-essentials-narrative-perspective-1/