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S. Lewington

The document provides guidance on writing narratives. It discusses what narratives are and how they differ from recounts. It emphasizes that narratives try to create shared experiences for readers using literary techniques. The document then provides numerous tips for writing narratives, such as using direct speech, flexible tense, themes, sensory details, characters, repetition, and editing. It stresses the importance of capturing the reader's attention through openings, complications and resolutions.

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VERNA A GASTON
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57 views

S. Lewington

The document provides guidance on writing narratives. It discusses what narratives are and how they differ from recounts. It emphasizes that narratives try to create shared experiences for readers using literary techniques. The document then provides numerous tips for writing narratives, such as using direct speech, flexible tense, themes, sensory details, characters, repetition, and editing. It stresses the importance of capturing the reader's attention through openings, complications and resolutions.

Uploaded by

VERNA A GASTON
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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S.

Lewington
What is a narrative? It is a way of telling a story. This
story may be fact or fantasy. A narrative is not a
recount. The main purpose of a recount is to retell past
events or experiences. Recounts usually retell events in
the order they occurred. Narratives do more than
retelling a series of events. They try to create
experiences that are shared with the reader. The writer
uses many literary techniques to capture the reader’s
attention.
They usually use direct speech.
They may use incomplete
sentences. Words are phrases
are used for impact.
They contain facts, descriptions
and atmosphere. Often
designed to entertain.
Narratives have flexibility in
their use of tense.
Many good stories draw heavily on the experiences of the
writer.
Create evocative opening paragraphs.
Paragraphs can be from one word long to several sentences.
Don’t reveal too much.
It should intrigue the reader or put questions in their mind.
Try to include themes that encourage
higher thinking. Think about issues like
global warming, animal activism, human
rights, equality etc. Remember that
people are influenced by what they read.
When you edit what you have written, be
aware of political correctness.
The closing paragraph should tie up the most important
threads of your story. The reader should feel satisfied
that the ordeals of the characters are over.
Doesn’t have to be a happy ending.

Do not use these endings:

...and they lived happily ever after. (eeergh)


...then I woke up and found it was all a dream. (aaagh)
The opening
paragraph and the
title are the first
impressions the
reader has of your
story. They should
capture the
reader’s attention.
 There are four main
sentence types, all of which
can be used in fiction
writing.
 Statement
 Question
 Exclamation
 Command
 n.b. Incomplete sentences
are acceptable in narratives
but less acceptable in most
other writing.
The rhetorical question is a
device that fiction writers can
incorporate into their writing
to hold the attention of the
reader. We use them all the
time in our everyday
conversations e.g. “Why
didn’t I think of that?”

By using rhetorical questions


the writer can put the reader
into the character’s mind and
share his/her emotions.
The length of sentences in your story writing can have a positive effect on the
quality of your writing. Sentence lengths are important for special effects in
your story as well as for maintaining reader interest and excitement.
Any word types can
be used for
sentence
beginnings. They
will add sparkle
and interest to
your story writing.
Repetition is another technique favoured
by competent writers but like most
techniques you can have too much of a
good thing. Repetition must have
purpose.
Words can be repeated for emphasis. How
does repetition strengthen meaning?
Repetition of a sound, alliteration, helps
to create atmosphere in your writing. It
does not have to be the sound that
 Sight – Many students rely heavily on what is seen.
This is important, as sight is one of our most
important senses when developing a story. However, it
is not the only sense with which we can take in
information.
 What do you feel? Using the sense of touch can add
impact to your story.
 What do you hear? Using the sense of hearing can add
dramatically to your story.
 What do you smell? Using the sense of smell can add
to the atmosphere of your story.
 Direct speech is when the writer uses the actual words
spoken. They are spoken in quotation marks.

 Indirect speech is often called reported speech. The


writer uses past tense to report what was said. It is
often used in newspapers with the word ‘that’ in front
of it. e.g. The Prime Minister said that taxes had to
rise.
 Many writers base their
characters loosely on
people they know or have
met. Characters have a
physical
appearance, habits, emotio
ns and a cultural heritage
that makes each one
unique.

 Some writers make a list of


the physical features of
their characters.
 Be consistent.
 Develop characters.
 Getting the right
sounding name can be
important.
 Find names that suit the
character.
 Look for unusual names.
 It is important not to use
names that sound or look
similar. This may confuse
the reader.
 Many readers try to tell
the reader too much and
often too quickly. It also
helps to arouse the
reader’s interest if you
don’t tell them
everything at once.
 Before you start writing you should consider who is telling
the story. If your story is in the first person, that is, the
narrator is telling the story, then the story is from his/her
viewpoint. In first person narrative the writer uses such
words as ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘we’ pronouns throughout the story.
 If it is in the first person, than all the action is limited to
what the narrator can see, hear and experience.
 Many stories are told in the third person from the
viewpoint of one or more of the characters. These stories
are told as if the reader is watching the events that are
happening and knows what going on in the character’s
mind.
Keep a good
dictionary on hand
and use a thesaurus.
 The introduction, or beginning captures the reader’s
interest.
 Complications are introduced which means problems
which have to be solved. Three is a good number.
 There is a climax where things come to a head.
 The problems are solved.
 There is a resolution.
 A coda sums up the whole story.
 All stories do not have to follow this structure.
 An outline or plan is a good idea. This entails writing a
short description of the plot of the story that you
intend to write. You can change or add to it if you
think of more ideas.
 Many writers vary the structure to make their writing
more original and interesting. For example a detective
story may start off with the problem (murder or
robbery) and reveal the setting later.
 Metaphors and similes are two of the main tools of
figurative language. They should be used with care.
Sometimes a single word can act as a metaphor.
 Similes do not always have to be at the end of a
sentence.
 Personification and hyperbole can add impact.
Personification is giving human qualities to non-
human things and hyperbole is exaggeration for effect.
 It is something that
adds another
level, complication or
problem to your story.
It can create added
tension. It can relate to a
person to a change of
place or to a change of
time.
It is the mood
or feelings a
story creates
in the reader’s
mind.
 It is very important to proof read your work and re-
write until you are happy with the result.
 Virginia Woolf famously did this thirty times for each
of her novels before she was happy with them.
 You don’t have to do it that many times but
nevertheless, make sure you edit and re-write until
your work is as perfect as you can make it!

 Happy writing!

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