NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS

A Refresher Course

INTRODUCTION:
Narrative conventions are the tools a writer uses when creating a story. These tools ensure
that it can be understood, visualised, and enjoyed by the reader. They include:

Character Point of View

Who the story is about Who is telling the story

Setting Theme
Where the story takes place The message of the story

Plot Style
What happens in the story The choice of words in the story

When we are writing about narrative texts we can use a range of different terms and some
of them mean the same thing – that is, they are synonyms. Some terms are more formal
than others, but it’s good to vary your language so that you don’t end up sounding
repetitive. Each word/phrase in the list can be used as a synonym for one of the
words/phrases in the table. Match them up by writing them into the table.

Antagonist Message Narrative viewpoint

Central idea Narrative structure Series of events
Location Place Storyline
Narrative perspective Protagonist Time

Character

Setting

Plot

Point of View

Theme
CHARACTERISATION
Characterisation is the means by which writers construct, present and reveal characters.
This affects how we will react or respond to a character. Characters can perform any of
the following roles:

Supporting
Protagonist Antagonist Minor Characters
Characters

Not developed in
much detail but
The main May support the
serve a purpose,
character who Any character who protagonist in
potentially
faces the main creates opposition times of trouble or
providing
conflict, develops for the support the
catalysts for
strengths or learns protagonist antagonist in
change or
lessons. creating conflict.
presenting
contrast.

Characters can be constructed through the following:

Speech What they say and how they say it

Thoughts What they think about

Appearance How they look and what they wear

Actions The things they do and how they behave

Others How other characters feel about them

When analysing and creating characters, remember:

They often represent things about human beings that the author has observed. Look
out for what the author might be exploring about human behaviour.

They are not real. Discuss how they have been constructed, rather than write about
them as though they are real people.

The protagonist isn't going to be perfect or likeable. They should represent the flaws
and weaknesses of everyday people.

As the protagonist develops, the reader learns about conflict resolution

Activity:

Step 1

Let's create an original character. Consider their gender, age, appearance, personality
traits, hobbies and interests. Also consider their speech and behaviours.

Choose an archetype from the following if you’re stuck – a mother, a surfer, an artist, a
farmer, a ballerina or a businessman.

Use the space below to plan your character or write a couple of short descriptive
paragraphs about them.

Step 2

Next, share and discuss with a partner how your characters would interact with each other.
Make some notes below.
SETTING
Setting includes the time, place and atmosphere or mood created in the narrative. Setting
relies heavily on descriptive language and connotation (the ideas and feelings associated
with particular words). When analysing setting, consider the following:

Time Antagonist Supporting Characters

The room, building, town,

The time of day or year in
state or country etc. in
which the story is set. Mood and atmosphere
which the story is set.
Consider the associations are created through
Consider the associations
we have with particular particular word choices,
of particular places e.g.
times of day, seasons, descriptive language and
indoor / outdoor; rural /
months and historical structural features.
urban, beaches, school,
eras.
mountains etc.

The author can communicate ideas to us about the setting through:

The gruesome murder had made the front page news

Direct mentions of DATES
in 1998.

She looked at the clock. "It's nearly ten," she said to her
Direct mentions of TIMES
uncle.

Direct mention of SPECIFIC It seemed that the whole of London was covered in
PLACES thick fog.

Clues about HISTORICAL He slid from the saddle of his horse as it pulled up at
ERAS or LOCATIONS the entrance to the castle.

Direct description of Thelma's garden had a winding pebble path that led
FICTIONAL LOCATIONS straight into the Forbidden Forest.

When analysing and creating settings, remember:

Settings are described to help engage the reader's five senses.

Look at how the weather contributes to the mood of the setting or the emotions of the
characters. (e.g. rain = sadness OR sunshine = joy)

Look for big places (e.g. towns) and small places (e.g. rooms)
 We don't always need to know when the story is set, particularly when the author
intends the story to be read at any time so that it has universal meaning.

Activity:

Select three ways settings can be communicated and create your own sentence that could
be part of a story for each.

Direct mentions of DATES:

Direct mention of TIMES:

Clues about HISTORICAL ERAS or LOCATIONS:

Direct mention of SPECIFIC PLACES:

Direct description of FICTIONAL LOCATIONS:

Weaving details about times and places into the character's ACTIONS:
POINT OF VIEW

Point of view establishes the distance between the reader and the characters in the story
and offers them a lens by which to view the events of the story. It is sometimes called the
narrative viewpoint or narrative perspective. There are four main points of view.

First Person Point of View

Narrator Pronouns Description

It presents the events from the perspective of one

The
character and privileges their viewpoint over others.
narrator is
The narrator is an eyewitness to the events making
usually the
I, me, my, readers feel as if they are there. It personalises the
protagonist
we, our story and brings the reader closer to the character.
but can be
The narrator cannot know everything about the other
another
characters and can really only know his or her own
character.
mind.

Second Person Point of View

Narrator Pronouns Description

It is an unusual form of storytelling that is not used

The
very often. It addresses the reader directly and the
narrator is
reader becomes a character in the story. This draws
an You, your,
the reader into the action. You sometimes see this
observer or yourself
technique used with ‘choose your own adventure’
participant
novels. It is very difficult to keep writing in this way
in the story.
throughout an entire story.

Third Person Point of View

There are two different styles of third person narration. They are third person omniscient
point of view and third person limited point of view.

A third person omniscient narrator knows all and sees all. Lots of information provided
about all characters’ feelings, desires & motivations.

A third person limited narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of one character.
Their perspective is privileged over others.
 Narrator Pronouns Description

The reader can receive a lot of information about all

The narrator
characters and their thoughts and feelings. They
is an outsider
They, them, come to understand multiple viewpoints to give them
who knows
their, his, a better understanding of the world of the text. It
the thoughts
hers, he, creates distance between the reader and the
and feelings
she narrator. The style might sound more detached /
of the
objective so the reader isn't involved with any
characters,
particular character more than others.

When analysing point of view, remember:

The narrator is NOT the author - a writer can adopt a certain voice or persona when
telling the story.

Second person P.O.V is rarely used apart from 'Choose your own adventure' stories.

Some stories have more than one narrator for creative effect.

Some first person narrators tell their own story in a way we call 'unreliable', which
means they may say things that are untrue or biased because they do not know the
whole truth. This can make a story engaging.

Activity:

Read each sentence identifying which P.O.V is being used. Write your answer next to the
sentence.

Jane was looking forward to her upcoming vacation, but her boss was concerned
about some deadlines.

She heard a loud crash in the middle of the night. She was scared as she didn't
know what she should do next.

We love walking the dogs in the woods. We all think it's great fun.

Amy was looking forward to a girls' night out, but her friends were secretly
hoping that it would get cancelled.

I always look forward to my summer vacation at the beach. I like to collect

seashells and swim in the ocean.

To make a great chilli, you must season it early and often.

PLOT

The plot is the sequence of events and the organisation of these elements so that they
generate interest, suspense and surprise for the reader. The plot of a narrative usually
follows this basic structure.

Climax

Rising Action Falling Action

Resolution

Exposition

The purpose and/or function of each plot segment is as follows:

The reader learns background information needed to

understand the story. Setting is established, characters
Exposition
are introduced and a conflict is introduced or hinted
towards.

The protagonist faces one or more challenges or

complications. The issue begins to worsen and these
Rising Action
problems start to move the plot towards the climax,
creating suspense.

This is the highest point of tension. It could range from

a 'life or death' situation to a tense emotional moment.
Climax
The reader realises who or what is going to suceed in
winning the conflict.

These are the actions that help to unravel, solve or

Falling Action deal with the problem that leads us towards the
resolution. It can sometimes involve a surprise twist.

The final outcome of the conflict, whether it is resolved

or unresolved. The tension is broken and the reader
Resolution
feels a sense of closure although the story may not
always end positively.
Types of Conflict

The main plot of the story revolves around a conflict that the protagonist must face. The
most common conflict types include:

PERSON VS. PERSON VS. PERSON VS.

PERSON VS. SELF
PERSON SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT

A character's
A character faces
A character faces belief’s and
A character faces threats to their
an internal desires differ from
a problem with survival or safety
struggle within the ‘norm’ or they
another character within the natural
themselves. aren’t accepted
environment.
into society.

When analysing plot structure, remember:

There are other common structural features in stories including foreshadowing,

flashbacks or flash forwards, withholding and surprise revelations.

Readers can learn about life through characters' struggles and experiences.They enjoy
experiencing the tension and suspense of stories, as well as the sense of relief when the
tension is broken.

The exposition is usually about 1/4 of the story and The climax is usually about 3/4 into
the story.

It's usually through the conflict and resolution that we identify the theme or message of
the story.

Activity:

Come up with a scenario or a story idea for each of the following conflict types:

Character vs character

Character vs self
 Character vs society

Character vs nature/environment

THEME

A theme is the central idea of a text. Sometimes it can be stated as a moral or a message.
Themes explore human experiences and focus on important things in our world.

Writers communicate their thoughts about things they find interesting or concerning
through the experience of the protagonist and the challenges or conflicts they face. Most
stories have multiple themes and we usually state them as ideas.

Writing Theme Statements

Themes are written as statements rather than a single word. Use a keyword to help you
build a phrase. It does not need to identify any specifics from the story but rather, the
broader idea. For example:

Money Money can’t buy happines

Freedom It is better to die free than to live under tyranny

Judgement You shouldn't judge people based on appearances.

Change Coping with change can be difficult.

When analysing themes, remember:

The reader doesn't have to agree with the theme.

A theme is not explicitly written or told to the reader, but rather implied in the storyline.
Stories can have multiple themes.

Themes are written as statements and not a single word. Use the keyword to help you
build a sentence.

Do not include specific details from the story (i.e. a character's name)
Activity:

Try to write a theme statement for each of the following themes. Think about texts you've
read or watched and state the topic as an idea, moral or message.

Love

Friendship

Bravery

War

Truth

Family

STYLE

Style refers to the selection of language and structural features the writer employs to help
tell their story. These choices help set the mood and atmosphere, create imagery, convey
ideas and engage the reader, positioning their response to the story. Stylistic elements
might include:

Diction Syntax

Point of View Punctuation

Language Features Structural Features

Diction

Diction refers to word choice. We can also call it 'vocabulary' or 'lexical choice'. Discussing
diction means identifying word class and connotation and considering how these create
meaning.

Words are divided into classes or groups depending on their function. When discussing
descriptive writing, we might focus on the three main types of words - nouns, verbs and
adjectives. After identifying specific words, we then need to consider their meaning:
denotation and connotation.
 Denotation Connotation

Refers to the literal definition of Refers to the ideas or feelings

a word – the concept to which it associated with a word. These
refers (or the ‘dictionary’ might go beyond the literal
definition of a word). definition.

For example, the words ‘house’ and ‘home’ have the same denotation but the word ‘house'
seems more neutral, whereas the word 'home’ has more emotional connotations. It evokes
feelings of warmth and safety and suggests ideas of family and belonging.

syntax

Syntax refers to the ordering or arrangement of words in a sentence. It includes the

structure of sentences, their lengths, and various arrangements of these through repetition
and patterning. Syntax must be analysed as to how it produces or enhances meaning. We
do this by considering the following:

Sentence Types by E.g. declarative, interrogative, exclamatory or

Function imperative.

Sentence Types by
E.g. simple, compound, complex, compound-complex
Structure

E.g. telegraphic (less than 5 words) short (5-10 words),

Sentence Length
medium (15-20words) or long (30+ words)

Sentence Beginings and Any patterns?

Endings E.g. anaphora, epiphora

E.g. parallel structure, antithesis, tricolon, tetracolon,

Arrangement of Ideas
inverted order

Descriptive Language and Imagery

Descriptive language provides lots of detail to create mental images in the reader's mind,
not just of the visual sense but of sensation and emotion as well. We use various terms to
refer to imagery that calls upon the different senses.

Visual imagery - Imagery that calls upon our sense of sight

Aural imagery - Imagery that calls upon our sense of sound
Olfactory imagery - Imagery that calls upon our sense of smell
 Gustatory imagery - Imagery that calls upon our sense of taste
Tactile imagery - Imagery that calls upon our sense of touch
Kinaesthetic imagery - Imagery that calls upon our sense of movement

Now read the examples below and identify the type of imagery evoked.

She could still taste the salty sea water on her lips.

She could hear the gentle whisper of the breeze and the
chirping birds

As he shifted his weight to each side, the skis glided

smoothly across the ice.

The shimmering sun bounced waves of rippling light off

the ocean.

The grass prickled his skin as he lay on the sports

ground.

The sticky sweet scent of cinnamon donuts wafted in

the air.

Figurative Language

Figurative language is language that creates an image, association or other effect in the
mind of the reader that goes beyond the literal meaning of the words. Some common
types of figurative language are:

Simile - Making a comparison by using the words 'like' or 'as'.

Metaphor - Making a comparison by saying one thing is another.
Personification - Giving human qualities to something that is not human.
Metonym - The use of part of something or something closely associated with a thing
to represent the thing itself.
Idiom - An expression or saying in which the meaning is quite different from the literal
meaning.

Now read the examples below and identify the type of figurative language used.

The sun peaked out from behind the cloud.

 Her cheeks were red like a rose.

She was over the moon.

Her stomach was a twisted storm of butterflies.

All hands on deck

When analysing style, remember:

The writer's choices are intentional, and they desire to have a specific effect on the
reader.

Specific style choices are used to trigger an emotional response from the reader.

When discussing the text, be sure to identify the correct stylistic technique being used
and its effect on the reader.

Activity:

Read the following sentences and identify which language feature is being used in each:

My dog's fur felt like silk against my skin and her black colouring shone, absorbing
the sunlight and reflecting it back like a pure, dark mirror.

We end up buying so much stuff, and storage units for the stuff, until there is so
much stuff that we need to clear some stuff in order to purchase more stuff.

Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.

The piece of paper winced when the girl tore it up.

Her eyes sparkled like diamonds.

The classroom was an oven, slowly melting the brains of the children.
Read each sentence and identify the feeling or mood it's trying to create through the use
of syntax (sentence structure) and punctuation.

Now! Right now! I want you to stop... Just, stop. Now

So I was really, really worried that maybe they thought I was the wrong person
because my ID didn't match the name I gave them even though the name I gave
them was my nickname and not my real name and now I am totally freaking out.

It was beautiful. It was truly beautiful. Truly, breathtakingly beautiful.