Narrative thread

A narrative thread, or plot thread (or more ambiguously, a storyline), refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration. Thus the narrative threads experienced by different but specific characters or sets of characters are those seen in the eyes of those characters that together form a plot element or subplot in the work of fiction. In this sense, each Narrative thread is the narrative portion of a work that pertains to the world view of the participating characters 'cognizant' of their piece of the whole, and they may be the villains, the protagonists, a supporting character, or a relatively disinterested official utilized by the author, each thread of which is woven together by the writer to create a work.

By utilizing different threads, the writer enables the reader to get pieces of the overall plot while positioning them to identify with the characters or experience the situation as if the reader were part of or eavesdropping upon the action the writer is divulging. This aids in the suspension of disbelief and engages the reader into the story as it develops.

A classic structure of narrative thread often used in both fiction and non-fiction writing is the monomyth, or hero's journey, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. First, typically the harmony of daily life is broken by a particularly dramatic event that leads into the main story. Then, second, the plot builds to a point of no return, from where the protagonist – who need not be a person but may be an organization or a community – has no choice but to deal with matters, and thus is tested. At this point, characteristically, there is conflict and the conflict intensifies. Third, and finally, harmony is reestablished by the conflict being solved, or at least explained in the case of non-fiction.

Narrative in communication ethics A narrative must be agreed upon by a group of people and then moves a story into a communicative background (Arnett, Bell, Fritz). A narrative also provides guidelines on human action. Examples of narratives would be religious traditions and scientific enterprise. George Herbert Mead described the way a narrative lives in manner as “Generalized Other” (1962). A sense of voice or articulation are offered by a narrative A narrative is the dwelling place for communication ethics and the good or goods are protected and promoted. There are many types of narratives. Communication ethics is shaped by narrative content. Narratives frame the “oughtness” that arises from a given sense of the good. According to Jensen Oughtness does battle over values and we struggle to understand right and wrong, good and bad, true and false, just and unjust, virtuous and corrupt (Jensen 1997). Oughtness and narratives provide why something happens in communication practices. == See also ==

• Story arc