Narrative, Descriptive and Creative Writing

What this unit covers

The resources here focus on how stories are built and how to write your own. Many look at plot, character, setting and point of view. Others look at mood, tension and showing rather than telling, with a few sample pieces to read alongside.

Where to start

1. Try the quiz Plots: Grasping Freytag's Pyramid. You place the parts of a story in order using dropdown menus, which is a quick check on plot structure.
2. Read the mind map Elements of Fiction, which breaks down character, setting, mood, theme and style.
3. Open the notes Narrative writting, which ask who is telling the story and whether it is first person.
4. Look at LABOV'S NARRATIVE STRUCTURE, a mind map that begins with the abstract and the orientation.

Using quizzes and maps together

Read a mind map first, then test yourself. After Elements of Fiction, the flashcards in Elements of Fiction Review and short story reveiw let you check terms such as round character, flat character, climax and irony. Return to the map for any term you miss.

For planning, Creating a Good Story_1 walks through setting the scene, introducing a character and describing the conflict. Ingredients to a Successful Story gives examples of settings. You can then use the quizzes Plot and Short Story Unit Test to see how well the ideas have stuck.

Descriptive and creative practice

For description, the mind map Describe a sinister street at night and the notes English Horror Mood Piece show how atmosphere is built. The notes Creative Writing Tips and How to create a setting give shorter, practical advice. Several maps also retell The Three Little Pigs, which makes a handy short story for comparing structure.

Where it fits

This unit sits in the Writing strand of Spanish language as a school subject, within Languages and literature. Pick one resource that matches your next piece of writing, work through it, then add your own notes or maps.