2nd session of the Salto del Negro Writing Workshop: types of storytellers

In the second session of the Writing Workshop in the Salto de Negro prison, we reviewed the narrative structure (approach, knot and conclusion) and concluded it with some exercises to reinforce the understanding of this structure.

Then I went on to explain another fundamental element in the narrative that is the narrator, who is the one who guides us through the whole development of what we want to tell and that we need to know what kind of narrator we are going to use when telling our story.

I explained to them that there are several types of storytellers who are related to the grammatical person who is used when telling our story. Therefore, there is the narrator who narrates in first person, in second or third person, but, in turn, these have their variations which are as follows:

First-person narrator: witness

He writes in the first person and participates in the story, but he only tells what happens to the protagonist and usually writes in the past, but the present can also be used.

Example: "When we arrived in the village, Paul told me that everything had changed, that there was nothing left of what he knew. I walked him to the bar, we went in, sat at one of the tables, he greeted the waiter and asked for a drink."

First-person narrator: participant

Writes in the first person, participates in history and can do so in the present or in the past.

Example: "When I arrived in the village everything had changed; there was nothing left of what I knew. I went to the bar, sat at one of the tables, waved to the waiter and asked for a drink."

It should be borne in mind that this type of narrator can only tell what he or she is living or being told.

Second-person narrator

The narrator tells us his story from a "you". It can also be written in the past or present. It is rarely used in narrative.

Example: "When you came to town everything had changed. There was nothing left of what you knew. You sat at one of the tables, waved to the waiter and asked for a drink."

Third Person Narrator: omniscient

It is the narrator who sees everything and knows everything, has knowledge of everything that has happened, happens or will happen in the story he is telling, both of characters, places, stories, intrigues and plots. He always writes in the past tense.

Example: "When he arrived in the village everything had changed. There was nothing left of what he knew. He sat at one of the tables, greeted the waiter and asked for a drink. The waiter looked at him and thought he reminded him of someone, but he didn't know who."

Narrator in Third Person: objective

He only has knowledge of the facts that he sees and describes them as if he were a notary public who verifies the facts that are happening, but he does not know what the characters think and feel.

Example: "When he arrived in the village he went to the bar. He paused for a moment, looked at the name of the bar. He sat at one of the tables outside. Then he greeted the waiter and asked for a drink. The waiter looked at him, stopped for a moment and returned to his duties."

After the explanation was over I suggested that they do several exercises using the different types of narrators using the following argument:

"Mary is a woman who is alone. She has lost everything after a voracious fire completely destroyed her home. "She only managed to save her bird Molly and her dog Tinguel."

The exercises consisted of a short story with each of the narrators who spoke.

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