narrative writing

1. NARRATIVE WRITING
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2. TYPES OP NARRATIVE
• A narrative Is a story with characters
and there Is a definite plot One. A
narrative normally has a beginning, a
middle and an end.
• There are two types of naffatlve -
fiction and non fiction
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3. FICTIONAL NARRATIVE
• This Includes novels, plays, short stories
and mini sagas.
• In each Instance the focus of the v«ftfng Is
what the v«fter's Imagination has created,
the world and the situations and the
characten he/she has conceived of and
v«fffen about.
• Scripts (film, TV and rado) also belong In
the fiction narralve category. They are so
dfferent though In presentation and the
demands they make on the writer, that
they have their own section.
•

4. nC:IIOM.AI, an....
Hove you ever re-ad a story that stays ,
with you long after you finished reading
it? Or where you can't wait to find out what happens next?.......
The light faded slowly from the screen
even as Santron tried frantically to
reset the controls. It was no good.
Something was Jamming the signal. At
this rate, the en&e ship would be
blacked out wlthln••..Santron checked
the time dial. Three minutes at most.
Santron frowned. Three minutes to fix
the problem or face obllteratlonl
When the sensor buzzed overhead,
Santron swallowed. ff ever she
needed to call on her Frontlne
Trooper skills to get her out of trouble It
was now.•...•
______,
_____
_
___
_
________________

5. NON-FICTION
NARRATIVE
n.ls Includes personal narratives (I.e. Real
lie stories about younelf o, someone
else). blbHogrophles and autobiographies,
as well as feature stories In magazines and
newspapers, and travel articles.
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6. NARllATIV& 8TRUCTUR& AND
VOIC&
ONCE A WR rrER HAS A CH.AAACTER AND A PLOT THEY NEED TO
DECIDE HOW THE STORY WILL IE TOLD.
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(1) So•~ 11orlit1 ar~ told I■ chruuolui:.lc:a l ra~hiun (in urt.lc r of
liluc )
le. EVENT A~ EVENT B~ EVENT C~
•••
Tony and Will get a band together from the
musicians cast off by the school's musk
department. They c.all the band Frinard, and
with effort and determlnetlon manage to
tramform this modey group Into a band with
grunt and stage presence. Determined to
show that they are not losen, F•·izz4rd tries
out for the end ofyear school concert but are
turned down. Disappointed but unfaz-ed, the
band decides they have Just one option; gate
crash the concert!....

7. Flashback
(2) Some stories are told In flashback, l.e
H ♦ A ➔ e ➔ c➔ o ➔ E ➔ F ➔ G + H
Tony mNI WII are sitting outside the
Prlnclpal's office, wondering where th~
went w1ong with their band; Frtusr1. It Is
lite day after the big end of year school
concert where Frlzzard gate crashed lltJ
event. As they sit and wait, Tony
1e1:.•mben how getting a band together
•Ing rejects flom tlte school's music
clep-s tan•nt Nemed ••• such a good Idea
at the time.... Tony meets WIii after bullt
have bNn told the, haven't made It onto
tits schoors big band llat, and they st-a •
ti eIr frustration -d hatch the Idea for
Frlum d.-••(and on to the atory of how the
ban got togellt.w, through to pt■ crashing
tits concert, and back to Tony and WI■
outside- tits Prlnclpal'~ offt~•>·

8. CHARACTER, SETTING AND
PLOT
• Telllng a story Is not something that
happens by accident. Even a true- llfe
story has to be 'shaped' with an
Interesting beginning, a 'page-turning'
development, and a clear and satisfying
ending.
• It Is Important to bring out chmacter, to
sketch In the setting, and to create energy
of some kind - whether by st ucturfng the
piece around what amounts to a plot or at
least adding a strong dramaflc element
(tension between characters). An
Interesting tone, llke humour or satire, can
add flavour.

9. Narrative Writ.ing Tips
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• What can we do to make our sto ·
more exciting to read?
• Use these tips in your writing to h

10. Writing Tip 1
Having too many characters can be a disadvantage as it may be
difficult for your reader to distinguish between them.
Try to stick to tv.o or three characters and really concentrate on
letting your reader know what they are like by describing their
appearance and revealing their personality.

11. Writing Tip 2
VVhen describing your character's appearance, try using a
'sentence of three'.
For example:
Mrs Maples was wearing a shiny overcoat, black wellingtons
and a peaked hat.
Or,
Buster McVey had slick, black hair, brooding eyes
like shovels.
'----

12. Writing Tips 3
Desaibe your characters personality
Use an 'ing' clause to add on to a simple sentence to describe what
someone is doing or thinking. This is called a 'supporting
action'. Look at these, which tells :,ou more:
Tom ate his breakfast Or
Tom ate his breakfast wondering where he should ~
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Mr Potts began to study the map. Or <Ii ':; ~ ·
Mr Potts began to study the map, noticing that Of@
there was a forest in Bigham. ~ ~
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13. Writing Tip 4
Remember:
1. The beginning where you introduce the
characters, set the scene and set up the
problem.
2. The middle in which the hero has
with the problem.
3. The end where the characters sort
problem (or not!) and the story finis
•

14. Writing Tip 5
Use a good story starter to grip your readers
attention. You could:
1. Start with action
2. Use speech to introduce a charac -·---- _
3. Describe the setting
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15. [ Writing-.
Tip-6
Editing your story is a very important part of the process.
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No-one gets it right first time around! '/-Ji'~
Make sure ~u read it through carefully and check:
2. Are your charaaers believable?
3. Have you given a satisfactory ending?
4. Are your spellings correct?
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5. Make sure you have used a range of punctuation ,
(Look at your notes to help you).
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6. Long paragraphs can be af putting. Start a new par
• A change of time, e.g. Early the next morning...
• A change of place e.g. On the cxher side of the moun
• A change of action e.g. At that moment the lights w
• A change of character e.g. Unexpectedly, Dr Townie
comer. - - - -

16. Writing Tip 7
Don't forget to give your story a catchy title.
This is easier to do at the end because a good
title might come to you
as you are writing
your story.
Best of luck and
enjoy writing!