Shannon Dittemore is the author of the Angel Eyes trilogy. She has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a love of all things literary. When she isn’t writing, she spends her days with her husband, Matt, imagining things unseen and chasing their two children around their home in Northern California. To connect with Shan, check out her website, FB, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Have you considered the possibility that your story is being told by the wrong character?

Let’s say, in your story, there’s a house on fire. Not a small, flickering flame either. A fireball of destruction, licking away at the old timbers, popping and snapping as it turns the family residence to ash. And let’s say, for example’s sake, you have three vital characters in this scene.

Tell me then, which character is best positioned to tell this story?

The boy across the street watching the tragedy unfold.
The fireman just outside on the lawn.
Or the young mother inside the house looking frantically for her two children.

The young mother, yes? Closest to the action, nearest to the danger. Her life and the lives of her littles are at risk. This burning house, this story–it’s hers to tell.

Or is it? Nine times out of ten I’d choose to tell this story from the perspective of the young mother, but a case could be made for watching the scene unfold through the eyes of either the boy or the fireman.

To make that possible, we need to ask ourselves some ‘What If’ questions.

What if the boy is the one who started the fire? What if he did it on purpose? What if he started the fire on accident but finds that he likes the feeling of destroying someone else’s property? What if this is the start of something devious in a child? If it is, then this story, this burning house might actually be his story to tell.

Or. What if this house is just one in a string of several arsonist attacks the fireman has responded to in this neighborhood? What if a message has been scrawled to him on the front door? What if this specific fireman is the only one who can unravel what’s really going on in the small town? If he is, then this story might well be his.

We could go on and on, couldn’t we? Asking questions that force us to consider every option on the table. And the options are countless. Perhaps after asking yourself a series of ‘What If’ questions, you decide that this story would be best served if viewed through the eyes of multiple characters. Or perhaps you decide you’ve added too many characters to the scene. Maybe the house burns without a fireman nearby to help.

Who knows?

The point is that the questions we ask ourselves about our story, serve to make it better. And when it comes to zeroing in on the perfect narrator, it’s important that we take the time to ask ourselves a slew of questions. Not every set of questions will lead to superior scenarios or to motivations that you’ll choose to incorporate into your story, but it’s an exercise that, among other positives, might illuminate the perfect narrator for your tale.

Let’s do something a little different in the comments section today, alright?

Pick a character from our example, either the boy or the fireman, and I want you to convince me that the burning house is their story to tell. You can convince me however you like, but perhaps using ‘What If’ questions, as I did, will get your brain and your fingers moving.