EPISODE · Aug 29, 2025 · 27 MIN
Episode 180 - The critical distance between the reader and the action.
from Essential Guide to Writing a Novel · host James Thayer
The reader is like a camera as the scene unfolds. Where should that camera be? How far away from the characters and the action? Here are thoughts on authorial distance, about the benefits of placing the camera--the reader--near or far. Plus, how Charlotte Bronte worked. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.Support the showBuy the master class.
What this episode covers
The reader is like a camera as the scene unfolds. Where should that camera be? How far away from the characters and the action? Here are thoughts on authorial distance, about the benefits of placing the camera--the reader--near or far. Plus, how Charlotte Bronte worked. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused a...
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Episode 180 - The critical distance between the reader and the action.
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