Writer as Tour Guide

A good narrative generously orients readers to a character’s life

The selfless guide takes the least comfortable position, and wears the least protection. Photo by Chastagner Thierry on Unsplash

Show context again and again throughout a story. Repeat the broad context that surrounds your protagonist’s goal and struggle. When you zoom in, you must zoom out again. There are many analogies; one is that of the tour guide.

A writer is simply a tour guide to the terrain of a character’s…