Narrative Lens and Narrative Distance

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As an editor, I get a lot of questions from clients, other writers, and all of you. Some of those questions come up so often, I’ve decided to do a blog post on the most common ones. In these posts, I’ll set out a generalized version of the question, along with my answer and the writing theory behind that answer.

Today’s question goes like this:

You’ve been talking about terms like narrative lens and narrative distance a lot, but I feel like I don’t fully understand what either of those terms mean. Do they have something to do with POV? Can you more fully explain narrative lens and narrative distance?

Today’s answer goes like this:

This is an amazing question because narrative lens and narrative distance are two of the tools a writer should always have on their tool belt. 

Let’s take a moment to imagine the words on the page as a camera. It’s a little bit of an adjustment, I know, but the image will help. Instead of writing words on the page, the writer becomes a camera person adjusting the angle, focusing in on different characters, or zooming out to let the reader see an entire scene. The way the writer works with the camera is through writing words and sentences.

Got the analogy? Great.

The narrative lens, in this case, is like the filter on the camera. Every single electromagnetic wave of light passes through that filter or, to put it another way, every single word is tinted by the narrative lens. This lens isn’t just a tool, it’s an incontrovertible fact of writing a narrative. This lens is always there, whether the writer is aware of it or not. 

Is this starting to sound like my post on moderation?

Good.

That’s because the narrative lens is the method by which the moderator moderates. In other words, the narrator conveys its view of the world through use of the narrative lens.

Let’s use an example. Here’s a picture:

Take a moment to think about how you would describe it in a narrative. Jot down a few notes. 

Would you note the colors? White, and black, semi-transparent?

Would you talk about how it catches the light?

What about those fun little silver curly-Qs which seem to be hidden by the dangling crystals?

Would you compare it to a night full of shimmering stars?

Would you call it expensive? Wasteful? Tasteful? Extravagant, perhaps?

Well, the answer to all these questions is that it depends. Which character’s perspective are you looking from?

A poor girl pretending to be a princess while attending her first royal ball might wonder how many people like her were ground into the dirt to create that beautiful masterpiece.

Someone with a headache might shield his eyes because the harsh light it scatters is too bright.

An astronomer might look up and marvel at how it resembles her favorite constellation.

A foreign ambassador might scoff at the way this nation builds such inefficient, comparably simple ceiling decorations. 

This is the concept of narrative lens.

Everything in this world you’ve created is being viewed through someone’s eyes, which means that what they see is entirely dependent on the way they view the world. 

In your question, you asked whether narrative lens has something to do with POV. This is the connection. POV shapes the way narrative lens is used. A different POV character will help the reader to see different things through the narrative lens. A different POV will have a different sort of filter through which to examine the world.

The applications pretty simple when used with points of view like 3rd person limited or 1st person, but how does this apply to 3rd person omniscient?

Simple! The “cameraman” just changes “filters” every time you “focus” on a different character. When your narrator needs to jump inside Character A’s head, you switch to Character A’s filter. Same deal with Character B. The added complexity of the narrative lens is one reason why getting Third Person Omniscient POV can be so difficult. You aren’t just dealing with one lens.

Now what about this “focus” I just mentioned? Well, that’s a wonderful segue into the second part of this question: narrative distance.

Let’s go back to the cameraman analogy. You’ve just finished your wide-angle shot, and now it is time to zoom in on a single character’s face as they realize that this was all for naught. On a camera, you use zoom. In writing, you use narrative distance.

The closer you pull your narrative distance, the less distance there is between your reader and your character. With a close narrative distance, you can feel every needle pinprick against their skin as they run their fingers lightly along the top of a cactus. You can feel their heart break as the person they love tells them that the relationship is over. You can feel their blood pounding in their ears as they struggle against their restraints during the villain’s monologue. You can feel their hope, their terror, their aches, their regrets—everything! Close narrative distance allows your readers to put themselves in the character’s shoes, regardless of whether or not you’re in 1st person POV.

Narrative distance and narrative lens go hand-in hand. They let you control how much of the character’s voice comes through the narrative, and how much emotional connection your reader is able to forge with your characters. Close narrative distance combined with a well-characterized narrative lens will help your reader connect with your story, while a long narrative distance and minimal narrative lens (perhaps wielded by a disconnected narrator) isolates your reader.

I hope this Question of the Day post helps you in your writing endeavors. Do any of you have different ways you would have answered this question? Do you have a favorite aspect of narrative lens or distance? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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