narrative into its constitutive parts. Narratology takes some of the mys-
tique out of storytelling, emphasises the construction of narratives, and
alerts us to the distinction between what I call real life and text life. Narra-
tology, then, is concerned with the nuts and bolts of narration, it does not
focus primarily on the thematic aspects of fiction: for example, how char-
acters behave, or how they live their lives, but on their function within the
narrative. Narratology, therefore, provides certain indispensable tools and
terms for thinking in detail about narrative technique.
Narratology has come under fire in recent years for a view of narrative
which is too stripped of context. It is certainly true that narratology is
somewhat reductive. It does not fully address the social and cultural dis-
courses in which narratives are embedded, and the way these can reinforce
or question the unequal power relationships between different social
groups. Furthermore, it does not explore the power dynamics which are
intrinsic to the process of narration itself, since who tells the story, and
how, is itself an exercise in domination and control. For example, narra-
tion can be ‘authoritarian’ in reflecting only the point of view of the
narrator, or ‘democratic’ in presenting several different perspectives.
However, the limitations of narratology can be overcome if we can
combine such analysis with a more thematic, discourse-related approach
to writing, as I hope to do in this and later chapters: the two are not mutu-
ally exclusive. We need to combine implementing narratology with an
awareness of post-structuralist theory, for example the influential work of
Michel Foucault who argued that power relationships underlie all dis-
course. (For more about Foucault’s ideas, see Understanding Foucault
Danaher, Schirato & Webb, 2000.)
Because narratology is based on systematic analysis, rather than a
humanist approach to narrative, it often employs terms rather different
from those with which you may be familiar: for example, flashbacks are
referred to as analepses. These terms are often more specific than the ones
they replace, and I have used them, though sometimes in conjunction with
more traditional terms.
Narratologists define narrative as a sequence of events. They distinguish
between the what of the narrative, its content, and the how of the narra-
tive, its form. Narratologist Seymour Chatman calls the what of the
narrative the story , and the how of the narrative, the discourse. In these
terms, it is the discourse with which narratologists are principally con-
cerned (Chatman 1978) and which we will explore in this chapter.
A particularly good book to read on narratology is Rimmon-Kenan’s
Narrative Fiction (1983). Although this book is geared towards literary
analysis rather than creative activity, it can be implemented (with
imaginative adaptation) as a manual for narrative technique. It can be
86 The Writing Experiment