Narrative Distance: How to Use Point of View for Fiction Writers
Narrative distance can be one of the best ways to grab readers and create a great novel. To shape reader understanding of story events via immersive storytelling centered on a character's internal world, narrative distance is essential. This transcends mere storytelling through simplistic narration. Instead, a reader feels closest to the story when they are able to dive deep inside the characters' mind given access to their thoughts and feelings.
Whether you are writing from a close narrative distance or a far narrative distance, there are two elements that impact how close your reader feels to the story: point of view (POV) and interiority. These two tools give you the ability to control the distance between the reader and narrative by directing the audience's attention.
But first, let's get into exactly what narrative distance is and how you can use it in your novel.
What is narrative distance?
Narrative distance, or psychic distance, is how far away the reader is from the story or point of view character. I like to think about this as a camera angle in a movie. Depending on how the director wants you to experience a moment in a film, they may show you a close up or an angle from far away. Narrative distance does the same thing within your writing with one small exception.
In writing, you can get closer than a camera angle by diving into your POV character's inner world.
Within this internal landscape, there are levels of depth that cannot be reached in other mediums. This explains the tendency of people to seek books for deep emotional experiences.
Even within your protagonist's internal world, your reader can experience a deep closeness to the most closely guarded parts of your POV character's mind or they can keep them at arms-length only revealing their innermost thoughts when the time is right.
Does Point of View Impact Narrative Distance?
Point of view (POV) is the vantage point from which your story is told. There are two popular POVs in modern commercial fiction.
First-Person - Story is told from the perspective of the characters using first-person pronouns.
Third Person Limited (or Third-Person Close) - Story is told from the perspective of the characters using third-person pronouns.
You may be wondering, "What about Third-Person Omniscient?" Third-Person Omniscient is when the story is told from the perspective of an omniscient narrator, who does not adopt the thoughts and opinions of the characters. Instead, the interiority is relayed through the perspective of the narrator. This viewpoint can prove challenging at times and carries the risk of inconsistent narration. It's not common in modern commercial fiction, but you may find it in earlier fantasy or science-fiction novels.
Point of View Character vs. Protagonist vs. Narrator
The point of view character is the character whose perspective the reader is using to experience the story. For each scene the point of view characters should remain the same to avoid confusing your reader. In multi-pov novels, the point of view character can change from scene to scene to add depth and layers to the manuscript.
The narrator is the person who is telling the story. In third-person limited and first-person perspectives, this is the same as the point of view character. However, in third person omniscient, this narrator is separate from the character's viewpoint. In other words, they don't adopt the opinions, thoughts, feelings or beliefs of the point of view character.
The protagonist is the character whose internal journey is central to the theme of the novel. They are sometimes a point of view character, but not always. In novels employing multiple points of view, the protagonist may be among several characters whose perspectives are presented. The protagonist's arc is fundamental to the internal journey of the story.
How to use Interiority to Close Narrative Distance in Your Novel
Interiority is your character's thoughts, feelings, analysis, opinions, and observations of the external plot of the novel. These details give your reader an idea of what your POV character is thinking or feeling as they experience the events of the novel. The deeper you dive into your character's consciousness, the closer your reader will feel to the scene.
To cultivate a deep point of view, or close the narrative distance, authors may consider enriching the interiority of their characters by adding layers. What a character might consider on the surface differs greatly from the depth of a character's innermost thoughts. By showing your reader not just want your character is thinking and feeling, but how they make meaning of the current events of the story, the readers will feel pulled deeper into the narrative.
Industry Standards in Fiction Writing
In most commercial fiction, readers are looking to experience a close narrative distance. This means that the reader has a deep understanding of what the character thinks and expects to be closer to the characters and events of the story. For this reason, most books on the shelf these days is written in either close third person and first person.It is important to note that readers expect to only receive the perspective of one character at a time. If your story shifts perspective in the same scene, you're probably head-hopping, potentially losing readers.
When the perspective shifts mid-scene the narrative distance between the story and the reader widens as your reader is reminded that they are in fact separate from the narrative. Their mind scrambles to figure out what is going on and whose head they are in pulling them from a smooth experience of the story.
This doesn't mean you should abandon your hopes of writing in third person omniscient. However, if you are going to choose this narrative style, I highly recommend having a strong reason behind the choice. A wide narrative distance can be useful in moments of extremis because in these moments, a close narrative may be too much for your reader. At times, you'll want to show the reader up close what horrors are occurring within your story, but other times you'll want them to maintain a objective view of the moment. For this purpose, third-person omniscient is an excellent choice.
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