Determine if the point of view is that of a character in the story or not. For example, if you are writing about James Joyce's "The Sisters," which is told from the perspective of a boy who is the main character, write "The boy says." If the narrator is omniscient or unnamed, as in Joyce's "The Dead," simply write "the narrator says" or "Joyce says."
Decide whether the narrator is reliable. While reliable narrators both report and reflect accurately on the events they are relating, unreliable narrators often fail to see the significance of what is taking place. If your narrator is unreliable, treat his or her conclusions skeptically. For example, if your story is William Faulkner's "That Evening Sun," which is narrated by the always unreliable Quentin Compson, your sentences should follow the pattern of "While Quentin sees. . ."
Consider the word choice and vocabulary of your narrator. The narrators of Henry James's short stories are more eloquent than those of Flannery O'Connor's.
Keep in mind the narrative structure of the story. In stories that proceed in a straightforward fashion, like those by authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, O. Henry, and John Cheever, the reader's point of view mirrors that of the reliable narrator, whereas in experimental works such as Donald Barthelme's "The Balloon," otherwise reliable narrators relate events that do not follow one another logically.