Hello and welcome to another "How To" thing. Having written a lot more now, and having a bit more experience than when I started with makes me wonder if I should take suggestions; expand my know-how as I think of how to best describe stuff, maybe even do research on it too. XD I don't know. Opinions?
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Engaging Narration

          Not too long ago I was asked (by a bot) to review a piece of writing to see if it was good or not. Gullible me waltzed right-on up to the challenge, read the few paragraphs they sent, and sent in several paragraphs of my own critiques! Haha! Oh.. how fun. Though I later realized I had just wasted several minutes of my life on a bot that wouldn't even read my suggestions, it got my mind thinking about how important narration is to a story. I never really even thought about how important it was until then, when I started comparing my own stories with one another to see what got the best results. And these are the three basic things I found out. Something every writer should consider before even beginning to write!

          Who is writing the book? No, it isn't you... Well, it is, but.. Let me try that again. Who is writing down the events going on in your story; someone actually living in your make-believe universe? It could be anyone if you think about it. Most people automatically place their main character(s) in that role, however, some stories may seem to be written by a side character or even a background character. How can you tell who is writing the story as a reader? Well, I am not sure exactly, but I do know that it should be possible for someone to figure this out by looking closely at how the narrator recalls certain events. Personality also plays a big part in this. Some of the most boring stories I have read are the ones with personality-sapped narrators. Giving the narrator the personality of someone in your book, whether it be the main character or not, really breathes life into your book.

          The next thing all writers should ask themselves is: who is reading this story? This can mean two things. The first one should be referring to the audience. Even if the audience is no one but you and your friends, it still would be handy to think of these few steps both before and as you write, all regarding the narrator. First off, the narrator can't sound too "smart." Using big words that nobody, not even you, understands isn't the direction you want to go in. Using such words might make you sound smart.. in your head, but nearly all seasoned writers and readers alike can detect a newbie simply by taking note of all the big words they use. And why is this so important? It is actually quite common for young writers to be called out for trying to use this technique just to make them sound smart. If you want your narrator to sound smart, then think more about how they look at a situation and try to use descriptive words that everyone understands, in a unique and inventive way. Furthermore, it gets easier as time goes on. Secondly, think about the age range your readers will likely be in -- since you don't want to have a book about puppies and kittens, and also use a ton of adult references and jokes - neither would you want to have a book all about war and gore, but the narration speaks as if trying to explain things to children. Neither would be fun to read because in those the writer obviously forgot who would most likely be drawn into their story! Thirdly, no one should try to please everyone. If you have tried it at school, you know it's impossible, so why try in your book? Instead of trying to reference some things here for these people, add in a few jokes for these people, and create a certain kind of character for these people, ending up with a complete MESS in the end.. why not, just.. not? You don't need to stress over pleasing everyone. Just go after the group of people you know will be interested in your book. Focus all your references, jokes, and characters on what both you and your target audience find interesting and fun. That leads me to another very important one. Fourth-most (is that even a term?), think about yourself as a reader too. We all know it is painful to have to write, especially edit a book we don't even like! So, make sure you enjoy your story. Make you enjoy the personality of your narrator, since that is the personality you will be expressing the most, and make sure the morals of the story are ones you agree with. Otherwise, your book is doomed to fail... Phew! Wow, this paragraph is getting long! Uh, I have just one more thing to say here! You don't have to do this, but I think it is fun to also think about who is reading the book, inside your story! Confused? Well, say someone is writing this book specifically for this one person, specifically. Now, they likely wouldn't actually call out the person in question's name, but they might every now and then make subtle references here and there to that character, or describe things in a way they know that person specifically would understand. It is just something fun you can think about. Overall, the audience is very important when it comes to writing your narrations! So remember that!

          Oh-oh, you thought that was it?! Nope! We still have to go over one last thing that is sure to improve your book narration! What could possibly be so important here? Simple: building personality! Without personality in your book, both your narrator and characters will be bland. With only interesting characters, the driving form of the narrative will be bland. Now, you don't want your narrator to spew monolog after monolog about themself as if they are a character, no! Don't do that with any character either, please! One thing I do, for example, sometimes makes the narrator appear to be struggling too, maybe even stuttering at times; only when the main character who is supposedly writing the story is really struggling or scared. Okay so you don't have to do exactly that, but it isn't a bad thing to express emotion through the narrator as well, as long as it fits of course. Furthermore, if this narrator is the main character -- and it most likely will be -- then take this as the perfect opportunity to grow your reader's investment in them. If you are, for example, writing a book full of action, then you likely won't have much time to flesh out your characters. Instead, you can do this through the narrator (it works best when written in first person POV but can be done through any of them). Just start thinking of the narrator as a team player, with thoughts and opinions too. Just, don't go overboard with this either. Otherwise, you will have the narrator taking the spotlight from the actual characters we are supposed to focus on!

          One last thing I want to add real quick is just how much fun you can have with this new (or already known 😅) information! I always enjoy setting small writing challenges for myself when it comes to making writing more interesting for myself, and sometimes that means messing around with who my narrator is and what kind of a person they are. Sometimes I make them the antagonist, who never uses complimentary words in the direction of the main protagonist, and other times I like to very subtly hint at either mental disorders, low self-esteem, a braggy personality they might never reveal to others, etc, all based around how the narrator takes its time describing places and people in this world. The amount of things you can do with your narrator is nearly endless! It is like crafting a whole new layer of the story over the one you are already telling, being told through how you tell that story. Fun right?! Now, while this may seem a little daunting, there actually is a major payoff that comes with it. And that is the investment of your readers. You telling a story through the lens of an interesting main character, backed by a well thought through narrator, all comes together to tell an engaging story that readers can literally get addicted to! 😂 All in all, being a writer is awesome, and I am so glad that bot asked me to review their story! Otherwise, I would have never stumbled upon such a massive concept that makes writing just that much much more fun. Thanks for reading, everyone.

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9/16/2020
Tomorrow is my little brother's birthday! UuU