There are two schools of thought on contractions outside dialogue:
1. That whether or not to use contractions depends upon the point of view character (even if you are writing in third person rather than first) and so if a point of view character would say it that way, then you can write it that way as well.
2. That in a third person narration contractions should be virtually eliminated because while you may dip into a character's thoughts, you should maintain the style and high voice of a story teller.
I tend to go with number 2, and I tend to suggest to people that they avoid contractions as well. I have recently modified my suggestions, however. Now I look at the style the writer is using. If they seem to stylisitically be writing the narration the way the point of view character would think and behave, then I let the contractions be. If they seem to be trying to do this in a sleak, story telling sort of way, then I suggest that they remove the contractions.
Of course, if it's first person point of view then it's all a matter of character. You need to think about when the first person narrator is writing it, why, what their education and writing skill level is,e tc.
I hope this helps....good question.
However, if you are writing fiction, which we all are, I think, then the rules change.
I alway tell people, and have heard in all my books and from teachers, (and as a teacher this is what I teach,) that contractions should always be avoided in the narration. In the quotations or character thoughts you can break any grammar rule you want.
Some writers have personal styles that carry on to the narratives and allow them to write very informally in the narratives. I would avoid that because it is very hard to get away with and may be harder to publish.
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The problem I end up with in the dialogue is that I have one character who sometimes uses contractions and other times does not. I need to clean that up.
Since when can a person ONLY use one or the other, contractions or none? I myself "swing both ways" when it comes to using contractions in every-day speech. Why wouldn't a character, from time to time, differ as well?
Susan
[This message has been edited by shadowynd (edited August 16, 2004).]
None of this is hard and fast. A uptight character should probably use fewer contractions, for example. But whenever I read fiction where they've been omitted altogeter, it just really irks me.
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Since when can a person ONLY use one or the other, contractions or none? I myself "swing both ways" when it comes to using contractions in every-day speech. Why wouldn't a character, from time to time, differ as well?
The answer to your question is: Because with the written word we lack the benefit of hearing a person's voice, so we must make that voice clear in the writing. If the character switches "vocal" style, it becomes confusing and unclear who is actually "speaking." Even WITH tags.
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The problem I end up with in the dialogue is that I have one character who sometimes uses contractions and other times does not. I need to clean that up.
Hmmm.. perhaps, if it is glaring: Character speaks an entire passage using no contractions whatsoever, then suddenly begins to use them exclusively, and switches back and forth from time to time.
But what if my character says, "He cannot do so; I won't."
ie, A character that freely uses either.
Is that too confusing?
Susan
PS: Actually the topic is "Contractions", even though the original post was asking about the use of contractions in the narrative, specifically. 
But a character who freely uses either in general conversation? HMM. I don't know. I guess I'd have to read more to get a feel for it.
There certainly are instances in which a person migh change their contractional 'voice.' For instance, a formal speech by the President rarely contains contractions, though he uses contractions all the time in his speech. Same might be said for a fictional King who uses more formal (meaning sans contractions) speech when he addresses the Council, but when he's speaking to his wife or his Chancellor privately his speech is less formal.
Also, there are some who refuse to use contractions when writing historical novels of pre-modern times because there is little or no (depending on how far back you go) evidence of contractional use in the written examples of the language we have. But since we don't know what their informal speech sounded like, I am of the opinion that we don't need to do that.
Maybe the only way to solve the problem is to let a few people read it and see if it bothers them. If it doesn't--remember that creative license in your HUB. Anything goes if it works.
It bothers me when I read narrative with contractions unless the writer is going for a more colloquial or informal style.
Anyway, and seriously, I don't know if there is a proper answer to this question. I don't know if there is a proper answer to any question regarding style and writing. It's all opinions when you come right down to it. Generally, the majority opinion wins out.
*races off to see if I've used contractions a lot in my stories*
"Eats, shoots and leaves" has an interesting section on the development of the apostrophe. Anyone with a copy at hand want to add relevent passages?
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The English language first picked up on the apostrophe in the 16th century.
Any more than that would take ages to write out... but, indeed, the apostrophe is well covered in this book. Everyone, this book is a must-read and well-worth every penny (that's both American and English pennies, btw).
HSO
For me, I avoid them in naration. Dialog is based on the characters and time frame/ genre.
LDS
Didn't you say not to use contractions?
I could rephrase this, but when I get to a sentence like this I usually just let it be, in or out of narration.
Thanks
Thanks for the answers, everyone. You have all helped me improve my perspective of contractions. I am trying to get my manuscript ready for POD and have been fretting over every detail. It has been stressful, to say the least.