Keeping the reader close

Keeping the reader close

In my post on psychic distance, I made a sweeping generalisation – that most modern-day writers want to create a close perspective, in which the reader has insight into the inner workings of the main character. It is a generalisation, but it’s one I stand by...
All a Matter of Perspective

All a Matter of Perspective

Narrative perspective is the window that a writer opens up for the reader to look through onto a fictional world. If the reader is going to stay at that window for as long as it takes for the story to unfold, the view has to be clear, uncluttered and steady. I believe...
An Introduction to Psychic Distance

An Introduction to Psychic Distance

In my post entitled It’s all a matter of perspective, I touched on something called psychic distance – sometimes known as narrative, authorial or emotional distance. Psychic distance is about how much space there is between the reader and the character whose...