by Jim
So a few days ago I was reading a the original ‘Little Mermaid’ by Hans Christian Anderson. I was curious about the story after my boys took a liking to the Disney version. I won’t spoil anything for anyone, but I highly recommend reading the original. It is superior in every way to the lax character development of the Disney version.
Anyway, more on topic, the reason I bring it up is because the story is written in a very old form of storytelling. This is a narrative story. What does that mean exactly? Well it’s a story where the reader tells, instead of shows in many cases. Where in more modern times, things are shown through dialogue and action, these stories were loaded with much more description and close to no dialogue at all. The best example I could give would be a campfire story. When you’re around the campfire speaking your adventure, are you going to load it down with dialogue? Of course not, that’d just look silly. You’re going to talk out everything, including descriptions and character actions.
In modern literature, the golden rule is now ‘Show, Don’t Tell.’ To keep an audience engaged, you need to allow them to draw their own conclusions as to what’s going on, what characters are thinking, and much of the who/what/where. Narrative stories essentially deny the audience that, which is why they are often frowned upon in today’s market.
Does that mean that they are out of date and should no longer be used?
Well… yes, to a point. In more simplistic children’s literature where a child is only beginning to think outside the box, a narrative story is exactly what you want… unless you want your kid asking you a million questions during the story.
However in terms of adult stories… I’m afraid it’s something we rarely see any more. Would I say that they’re out of date? No… more like out of style. Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of narrative stories that keep my attention and keep me engaged, but they are often far in between. The best thing to do is enjoy them as you would any other antique. Though they may not be what they were, often they are still great stories worthy of remembrance. I just wouldn’t recommend writing a new story in this style.
James Harringtons Creative Work 
I agree with you that they’re out of style – it might be a harder sell, but still a good form. I write narrative sometimes. Today’s audience reads less than past ones – they’re more used to SEEING their stories in video, which usually doesn’t give you internal workings (because it’s harder to do in that format.) And their attention spans don’t allow for a relaxed story like – say – Virgil might tell around the fire.
I think a lot of “rules” like “Show Don’t Tell” are really just the new kids (or academics) trying to make changes because tried and true methods are boring. Instead we cycle through fads. Sort of like when public schools moved away from teaching phonics for whole language reading (or whatever they call it now.)
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Anyone who reads older classic literature is familiar with narrative writing. I often prefer it, with the descriptive scenes, characters, and allowing the reader see without having to think on it….Narrative writing leaves the reader with more time to contemplate the underlying message. The ‘show don’t tell’ writing technique can become exhausting to read, sometimes too much in a character’s head, and the experience is more like watching tv. I read a great variety and narrative writing has its place, most definitely.
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