Definition
A frame narrative is a storytelling structure where an outer story (the frame) contains and introduces an inner story. Think of it like a picture frame - the frame itself is not the main attraction, but it shapes how you see what is inside. The outer story might be someone telling a tale, reading a manuscript, or recalling events, while the inner story is the tale itself. This structure lets you add layers of perspective, commentary, and distance.
Why It Matters
Frame narratives give you incredible flexibility. They let you create distance between the reader and the events (useful for unreliable narrators), build mystery around the inner story, and add thematic depth by contrasting the frame with the tale. If you want to tell a story about storytelling itself - how we shape our pasts, what we choose to reveal - a frame narrative is your tool.
Types of Frame Narrative
Famous Examples
Shelley nests three narratives inside each other - Walton's letters contain Victor's story, which contains the Creature's story. Each layer adds a new perspective on the same events.
Kvothe narrates his own legend to a scribe in a frame story set in his quiet inn. The tension between the legendary past and the defeated present is what makes the frame compelling.
Mitchell creates an elaborate series of nested narratives spanning centuries, where each story is interrupted and later completed, with each frame commenting on the ones around it.
Common Mistakes
Your frame needs its own tension and stakes. If readers start skipping the frame sections, the outer story is not pulling its weight. Give the frame narrator a reason to be telling this story now.
If you set up a frame narrative, you need to close it. Abandoning the outer story feels like a structural error. The return to the frame is your chance to recontextualize everything the reader just experienced.
Try It Yourself
Write a 600-word piece with a frame narrative. Start with an old person sitting across from someone, beginning to tell a story. Write 400 words of the inner story. Then return to the frame and have the listener ask a question that makes the reader doubt whether the storyteller has been telling the truth.
Novelium's timeline helps you track which narrative layer you are in and ensures your frame story stays consistent across the manuscript.