N is for Narrative, and Alice Neel

The Family by Neel 1970

Today on A to Z it's N day. I'll talk about narrative, and about my favorite portrait painter, Alice Neel.
A narrative is a telling of story, whether in fiction or another creative form. In fiction, it's most often narrated by the main player, in either 1st person (I did this), or 3rd person (she or he did this). Sometimes a story is told in omniscient point of view, but this is not often the case in YA or children's fiction, with the exception of some fairytales. In fact, the YA "police" have a derogatory term for omniscient POV when it's done badly. They call it "head-hopping", which makes one think of head lice or some equally creepy-crawly critter.

Girl in Red by Neel 1967

The trend in YA narrative is to create a high-concept plot. What does this mean? Partly, it's about putting your protagonist in a postion where he or she must act on heroic levels or risk being destroyed. It's much more exciting to have the fate of the world on the heroine's shoulders than to have a story about her saving a cat from a tree (not that saving a cat is a worthless thing!). This trend has flamed into huge proportions because of books like The Hunger Games, and other dystopias where the world is in danger of extinction. I admit it, my YA thriller, Fireseed One has high stakes too. In the stampede, "quiet" books can get lost.

Books aren't the only things containing narrative. Paintings tell stories too! Look at these stunning modernist portraits by painter Alice Neel, and imagine the tales behind them. It's not hard to do, as she put so much raw emotion into them. They have a touch of Diane Arbus to them, but humanity wins out over the macabre in Neel's work. By the way, click here to see a new and amazing documentary about this artist created by her son, Andrew! Now isn't that the perfect homage from a son to his mother? Alice Neel was born near Philadelphia in 1900, and grew to be one of the most celebrated portrait artists of the twentieth century, despite her disregard for the limelight and disinterest in being part of a rarified clique.

Two Girls, Spanish Harlem 1959

What do you think about "loud" vs "quiet" narratives? Does a character always have to be a hero or heroine to make a story great? What piece of art that you know of, feels most engaging to you in terms of telling a story?