How to write an excellent Narrative

How to write an excellent Narrative

1. Narratives are a popular genre for students and teachers as it provides the writer with an opportunity to share their imagination, creativity, skill and understanding of nearly all elements of writing.

   • NARRATIVES ARE A HIGHLY DIVERSE GENRE OF WRITING
     • Adventure
       • Drama
         • Mystery / Whodunnit
   • STRUCTURE
     • CLIMAX: THE HOW THINGS COME TO A HEAD!
       • The climax of the story is the dramatic high point of the action. It is also when the struggles kicked off by the problem come to a head. The climax will ultimately decide whether the story will have a happy or a tragic ending. In the climax two opposing forces duke things out until the bitter (or sweet!) end. One force ultimately emerges triumphant.
     • . CASTING THE CHARACTERS: THE WHO
       • Now that your student has created a believable world, it is time to populate it with believable characters. In short stories it is important that these worlds are not overpopulated beyond what the skill level of the student can manage.For the most part, short stories usually only require one main character and few secondary ones. Think of the short story more as a small scale dramatic production in an intimate local theater than a Hollywood blockbuster on the grand scale.
     • THE PARTING WORDS
       • Once students have completed their story they can then go back and edit for grammar, vocabulary choice, spelling etc. but not before! As mentioned, there is a craft to storytelling. as well as an art. When accurate grammar, perfect spelling, and immaculate sentence structures are pushed at the outset they can cause a storytelling paralysis. For this reason it is important that when we encourage the students to write a story we give them license to make the mechanical mistakes in their use of language that they can work on and fix later.
     • RESOLUTION: TIEING UP LOOSE ENDS
       • Often, after the climactic action, a few questions will remain unresolved for the reader, even if all the conflict has been resolved. The resolution is where those lingering questions will be answered. It may be that in a short story the resolution will only be a brief paragraph or two.
     • NO PROBLEM? NO STORY! THE WHY AND THE WHAT
       • This is often the area apprentice writers have the most difficulty with. It is important that students understand that without a problem there is no story. The problem is the driving force of the action. Usually in a short story the problem will center around what the primary character wants to happen or, indeed, wants not to happen.
     • SETTING THE SCENE: THE WHERE AND THE WHEN
       • The setting of the story often answers two of the central questions of the story, namely, the where and the when. The answers to these two important questions will often be informed by the type of story the student is writing.

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