In fiction, the narrator establishes the setting of the story, the characters, and the plot. An omniscient narrator is God-like, revealing every detail of the fictional world, from the inner thoughts of the characters to their external circumstances. In drama, the narrator is limited, if existent at all. Typically, narrators in the dramatic form briefly preface each scene so the audience knows where the action is occurring. Otherwise, the characters speak for themselves.
In fiction, dialogue is used to enhance character and plot. A narrator might provide a physical description of the protagonist, but the same character's psychological motivation might be exposed in a conversation with another character. In drama, dialogue is often the only means of revealing character and plot. On a physical stage or in a film, the audience can see the characters and actions taking place. If viewing text only, the reader of drama receives information from what is said.
Fiction writers sometimes rely on dramatic structure to advance their narrative. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway uses dialogue, often without attribution, to reveal the central conflict between the male and female character; the narrator maintains a limited role. Conversely, dramatists sometimes rely on narration before scenes of dialogue, especially in screenplays. In the script “The Doctor and the Devils,” Dylan Thomas begins the first scene with a descriptive passage: “From a long way off, we see a deserted road winding downwards from a hill-top. Huge sky, slow clouds.”
The relative structures of fiction and drama determine the visibility of the author. In “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” James Joyce distinguishes between fiction that involves the author personally and drama that allows the author to become “invisible, refined out of existence.” In drama, then, characters take on lives of their own. Although the author controls those lives, her own voice is less evident.