NARRATIVE
A narrative is a story that is created in a constructed format that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.
Tzvetan Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages:
A state of equilibrium at the outset.
A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.
A recognition that there has been a disruption.
Dealing with the disruption.
A reinstatement of the equilibrium (usually a altered equilibrium from the one at the start).
LEVIS STRAUSS - BINARY OPPOSITIONSNot only did Levi-Strauss make excellent jeans, but he also looked at narrative in a looked at narrative structure in terms of binary oppositions. Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts. An example would be GOOD and EVIL - we understand the concept of GOOD as being the opposite of EVIL.
It is the establishing of these binary opposites that propels the narrative forward. The narrative can only end when this conflict is resolved.
ROLAND BARTHES - FIVE CODES
Roland Barthes (got killed by a laundry truck) argued that every narrative is interwoven with multiple codes. Although we impose temporal and generic structures onto texts, there are in fact marked by the multiple meanings suggested by the five codes. 1. The Hermeneutic Code (HER)
The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.
The full truth is often avoided, for example in: Snares: deliberately avoiding the truth.
Equivocations: partial or incomplete answers.
Jammings: openly acknowledge that there is no answer to a problem.The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved. 2. The Proairetic Code (ACT)
The Proairetic Code also builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next. The Hermeneutic and Proairetic Codes work as a pair to develop the story's tensions and keep the reader interested. 3. The Semantic Code (SEM)
This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.
It is by the use of extended meaning that can be applied to words that authors can paint rich pictures with relatively limited text and the way they do this is a common indication of their writing skills. 4. The Symbolic Code (SYM)
This is very similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning.
This is typically done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflict ideas. 5. The Cultural Code (REF)
This code refers to anything that is founded on some kind of canonical works that cannot be challenged and is assumed to be a foundation for truth.
(Typically this involves either science or religion, although other canons such as magical truths may be used in fantasy stories.) Using Barthes: if you can get your head around the five codes, great - go for it, however, if it's all a bit much concentrate on the first two. The Hermeneutic and Proairetic codes, should be especially relevant to your Thriller openings.
LANGUAGE TO USE
Diegesis
The internal world created by the story that the characters themselves experience and encounter. Plot and Story (Bordwell & Thompson)
Story - the set of all events in a narrative both explicit and those inferred. Plot - the arrangement and presentation of the story in the text. Narrative Range
Unrestricted – the audience knows more, sees more, hears, more than all the characters. Restricted – the characters and the audience learn story information at the same time. Narrative Depth
Objective - the plot confines us to external behavior of its characters. Subjective – seeing things from the character’s point of view such as when we see images from the character’s mind: dreams, fantasies, memories. Narrative Time
Diegectic – the passage of time that occurs within the world of the text. Real time – the time it takes to for the narrative to unfold. For example Harry Potter is set over a whole academic year at Hogwarts so the diegectic time is 9 months, the real time is 2hrs 30 mins. The relationship between the real and diegetic time is influenced in the following ways. Summary – e.g. passage of time shown in a montage of changing seasons Ellipsis – where intervening time between scenes is cut out Scene - where a scene is played out in real time Stretch - where diegetic time is stretched out in real time like in slow motion sequence Pause - where diegetic time stops as in a voice-over commenting on the action
FURTHER READING
Diegesis
The internal world created by the story that the characters themselves experience and encounter. Plot and Story (Bordwell & Thompson)
Story - the set of all events in a narrative both explicit and those inferred. Plot - the arrangement and presentation of the story in the text. Narrative Range
Unrestricted – the audience knows more, sees more, hears, more than all the characters. Restricted – the characters and the audience learn story information at the same time. Narrative Depth
Objective - the plot confines us to external behavior of its characters. Subjective – seeing things from the character’s point of view such as when we see images from the character’s mind: dreams, fantasies, memories. Narrative Time
Diegectic – the passage of time that occurs within the world of the text. Real time – the time it takes to for the narrative to unfold. For example Harry Potter is set over a whole academic year at Hogwarts so the diegectic time is 9 months, the real time is 2hrs 30 mins. The relationship between the real and diegetic time is influenced in the following ways. Summary – e.g. passage of time shown in a montage of changing seasons Ellipsis – where intervening time between scenes is cut out Scene - where a scene is played out in real time Stretch - where diegetic time is stretched out in real time like in slow motion sequence Pause - where diegetic time stops as in a voice-over commenting on the action
Also have look at this infographic
FURTHER READING