Narrative Scenes Explained

Narrative scene explained
Let's begin by understanding that a narrative scene isn't a simple as adding a character to narrate the surroundings.  Great stories contain many elements, including scenes that are believably detailed and interesting characters the reader can connect with, that show emotions through action and dialogue.  Your practice should go deeper into developing a sense of presence, of presenting a situation intense and detailed enough to make the reader connect with the narrator.

The thing to avoid is too much narrative introspection, though there are times when this might be the exact method you need.  Typically, it takes a lot more craft to make narrative introspection interesting enough to draw in the reader.  Martha Alderson, the Plot Whisperer, wrote the following about balancing your work..

A story unfolds in scene, of course. And, scene is usually made up of dialogue and always action. But the dialogue I'm talking about is dialogue that advances the plot, NOT dialogue that is mere information dumping.

Introspection can give insight into the inner workings of the character, but is inherently flat and thus slows the plot. Therefore introspection should be used sparingly. This also goes for narrative. Telling--summary--puts distance between the reader and the story. Showing--in scene--draws the reader deeper into the story. Use "telling" sparingly.

It really isn't enough to simply explain your point, good storytelling gets the reader involved.  Whether the mental stimulation of sci-fi, the otherworldliness of fantasy, the paranoia of mystery and suspense or the emotion laden nature of romance, you should know your audience and bring them into the situation far enough to feel the tension presented as a result of the conditions you've set forth in the story.

Other sites of interest:

• Mother. Write. (Repeat) - Narrative summary vs scenes by Krista V
• The Narrative Journal - A Narrative Scene that Worked by Robin Sloan
• Matador Notebook - How to Write Narrative Essays using Scenes by David Miller