A narrative can be a story or a story.
Narration is a term from the Latin narratio that has three main uses. Firstly, it is about the action and effect of narrating (telling or telling a story , whether true or fictitious).
A narrative is, on the other hand, a story or a novel : "The last narrative of the acclaimed Canadian author takes place in the 17th century," "The jury highlighted the dynamic and agile nature of the narrative that won the most important prize of the contest" .
In rhetoric , likewise, narration is one of the three parts into which speech can be divided. Rhetorical narration refers to facts to clarify a particular issue and to enable the achievement of the speaker's purposes.
Narration as a story
At a general level, it can be said that a narrative always presents, at least, one actor ( character ) who experiences a certain event. It is worth mentioning that it is not essential that said character be the narrator of the story.
Short narratives, like the story , share a plot structure that includes an introduction (where the topic to be discussed is presented), a middle (moment in which the main conflict is displayed) and an outcome (the resolution of the conflict).
Oral narration allows content to be transmitted.
The anachronism
The narrator is in charge of deciding the order and rhythm of the narrative. It can appeal, therefore, to anachronism (also known as anachrony ), a modification of the order of events in time . This resource, which allows the structure of a story to be altered according to the will of the person telling it, can occur through:
- Analepsis : consists of the narration of past events, whether prior to the point at which the story is located or prior to the beginning of the story. It is worth mentioning that the duration of this jump in time can be small ( flashback ) or considerable ( racconto ).
- Prolepsis : anticipating future events, also with variable duration and depth, distinguishing between a brief jump (known as flashforward ) and an extensive and more detailed narration (called premonition).
It is important to clarify that in both cases we must return to the main timeline, given that both analepsis and prolepsis are resources that the narrator chooses for a better or more adequate exposition of the events that make up the story, and not to alter their course. The excessive use of this narrative tool can result in confusing the reader, causing them to lose interest in the work, due to not feeling able to follow or understand it.
Storytelling genres
Two of the most popular genres within narrative are the short story and the novel . They are similar in that they both use narration to shape a story. And they basically differ in the effect each one wants to have on the reader.
One of the fundamental elements of the novel is time, which allows the author to expand comfortably, in great detail. Almost on the contrary, when writing a story, it is essential to make efficient use of the time available, to achieve a concise work that at the same time offers a rich and satisfying experience to the reader.
In a story, the narration is intense and provokes instantaneous and abrupt sensations , which end when the reader finishes reading. The novel gives rise to a more intimate relationship between the writer and the reader; It offers a more stable experience and demands more loyalty from the reader, with whom it creates a permanent bond, accompanying them and generating changes in their life over time, mixing reality with fiction in an intense and, often, revealing way. .
oral narration
Among the founding members of the Association of Oral Storytelling Professionals in Spain ( AEDA ) is Pep Bruno , a short story writer who has published books such as "Un parro en mi granta" , "La familia C" , "Papeles de don Tadeo" and "Holiday Beetle."
With a degree in Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature ( Complutense University of Madrid ) and in Hispanic Philology ( University of Alcalá de Henares ) and a diploma in Social Work ( Universidad Pontificia Comillas ), Bruno began telling stories professionally in 1994 . This profession has taken him to Argentina , Peru , Mexico , Morocco , Tunisia , France , Switzerland and Greece , among other countries, where he performed at fairs, festivals, educational centers and libraries, for example.
We consulted Pep about the work of the oral narrator:
– What is the biggest difficulty or obstacle that an oral narrator usually faces? How should you work or proceed to overcome these possible complications?
In addition to the difficulties common to other artistic professions (how difficult it is to have decent caches; the intrusiveness; the discredit of our activity; etc.) and to other employed workers (the enormous amount of procedures and paperwork; the payment of fees, taxes, withholdings...; late payment of invoices; etc.) I think that in the case of narration there are some other problems that are becoming more and more relevant:
–On the one hand, this horizontal censorship that has been installed in our society under the mandate of political correctness is aggravated, in many cases, by the inability of some adults to differentiate between reality and fiction. This affects, as you can imagine, the repertoire we have. We move in a fragile balance between good narrative materials (of quality, with depth, polysemic) and flat materials, which do not give rise to misunderstandings and which can only have a single (and acceptable) interpretation (even if that implies zero quality). literary, for example).
–On the other hand, the loss of spaces and times for dialogue, for conversation and active listening, aggravated by the abuse of screens. This creates an audience for whom it is unimaginable that a person can sit still, listen and enjoy for more than an hour a person who is simply talking, telling a story. It also makes it not difficult to meet people in the audience with hearing difficulties.
–Finally, the use of stories as a resource for something (to teach the water cycle, to educate in values, to work on equality, for the SDGs...) means that, in many cases, what is told are not good stories. , but rather lessons (speech, soflamas...) dressed in fairy-tale garb. This means that, for many audiences, listening to stories is just another way of attending class (and, on many occasions, of listening to bad stories). All of this ends up being very harmful to the artistic discipline, since many audiences end up considering that listening to stories is just that.
Obviously there are more difficulties in carrying out my activity, I only wanted to point out three that can be solved, as I think, in the same way: it is enough to tell good stories well. Which, after all, has been the behavior of narrators throughout the centuries. Telling a good story well engages even the most disaffected audience and breaks many of the barriers of that horizontal censorship.
Pep Bruno
– Based on your experience, what are the keys for a narrator to be able to awaken and maintain the audience's attention from the beginning to the end of his story?
It is essential to tell well and tell good stories. An audience will not be able to resist, it will be dazzled by the power of a good story well told.
To all this we must add a good context, that is essential, of course: a suitable place, where the audience can see you well, hear you well, be comfortable, where there are no distractions that take you out of the story.
You can be the best at telling, you can tell the best story, but if you do it in the middle of a fair with noise and distractions... it will be of no use.
Pep Bruno