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Some Tips About the Writer
Section Five — Stories and Novels

Here's a tip — don't trust narrators. Too many end up being untruthful.

You Need to Ask Yourself Questions About the Writing

Some questions ask you to think about how the writer communicates with the reader.

Show You Understand How the Writer Does It

1) The examiner wants to know that you understand that short stories and novels have been thought up, manipulated and written by the writer.

2) You can show that you are aware of this in a very simple way — by referring to the writer.

The Narrator is NOT The Writer

1) It can be tempting to think that the voice telling the story is the voice of the actual writer.

2) BUT — this is totally wrong. You must remember that the narrator is created by the writer in order to tell the story.

3) They know as much or as little as the writer wants them to know.

4) So, make sure you refer to the writer, to show you understand how books are put together — something like "The writer uses the narrator..." NOT "The narrator says...".

Repeat after me: the narrator is not the writer

The examiners want to know that you understand that stories are made up by a real human being. Make sure you stick the odd "The writer says..." or "The writer uses the narrator..." into your essay.