16. The Joy that Keeps on Giving

I love to write as some of you may know and I really do enjoy reading something that I feel is new or has something to add to something that I thought I knew a lot about. I have read very many books and I still find new things when I read new novels. I can't seem to get enough of them. There are so many ways that someone can tell a story. For example Michael Crichton uses a form of first person narrative in "Eaters of the Dead" that resembles a journal. It stays easy reading because he keeps it in a single point of view. Bram Stoker uses a similar form of narrative however he uses multiple points of view to establish his story. Bram Stoker's narrative then becomes hopelessly confusing and difficult to follow. However to give him credit he did write on the very cutting edge for his time.

I guess the most classic form of literature that I find in the market is the third person narrative. That is the narrator witnesses everything and doesn't get personally involved. By that i mean he doesn't ever see directly through the eyes of the characters. He just seems to watch them from above. This can be seen in "Ender's Game," " The Hobbit," "The Eyes of the Dragon," and many other books.

Other rare mediums of storytelling include historical setting, short story compilation, and documentary. But I've seen that most authors stick to the mediums that sel the best. That is they stick to things that people are used to.

A perfect example of this is "Twilight." Stephanie Meyer doesn't try to write in an unknown style. She writes in the style that is selling the most right now. First person narrative. It is told through the eyes of Bella and she becomes the narrator of her own story. Other books that are coming out that sell using this format are "The Immortals" series by Alyson Noel and the "Jumper" series by Steven Gould and "The Hunger Games" by Suzette Collins. All are told up close and personal as if the main character said and did everything while writing it down.

This kind of writing makes it possible for the writer to write at a more personal and emotional level. Unfortunately it limits the author to a single view point. Things can't be looked at globally. The author in essence writes himself into a spot where he knows what is going on but his character hasn't put everything together and so he can't tell you. I personally think that mysteries are much easier to write this way.

In the end there are a million ways that a story can be told. Neither one is better than the other. That all depends on the writer.