Fictional Narrative Writing

Narrative Writing
WritingaShortStory
Fictional Narrative

What is a Narrative?
 is a story with characters, who follow a defined plot,
 has events in a chronological order,
 is told / narrated from a point of view (POV),
 uses dialog to reveal the characters and advance the plot,
 and normally has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.

What is Point of View (POV)?
First, why do we need to understand Point of View?
Understanding the point of view of a story helps us to pay
attention to how it is written.
When we know the point of view, we can learn more about the
characters and the plot.
POVPoint of View

 fiction
 non-fiction
Types of Narrative
There are two types of narrative:
Novel Novella Short Story
Biography Auto-
biography
Essay
Folk tale
StoryDocumentary
> 100 pages 25 - 100 pages < 25 pages
Personal
Essay

Fictional Narrative Diagram
Setting
Characters
Exposition
Climax
Resolution
Conflict
Beginning Middle Ending
Event 2
Twist
Event 3
Event …
Event 1
Plot
Internal External
(Basic Situation)

Frogged
BOOM! BANG! THUD! The crash pounded like thunder.
Frightened kids and teachers flooded the hallways of the
school and raced to the cafeteria. “What in heaven is going
on?” demanded Mr. Frank, the principal.
“Yuck! Gross! Frog Germs!” the lunch helpers screamed.
Every Friday afternoon, the Acme Biology Lab truck delivered
an important cargo. It was loaded with visiting pets ─snakes,
rabbits, birds and frogs─ anxious for classroom visits.
But on that afternoon a huge, orange bumblebee flew into the
truck’s open window. The frightened driver, trying to swat the
buzzing insect away from his face, swerved off the road.
He crashed smack into the cafeteria walls of Estuary School.
Inside the truck, a slippery frog tank tipped over and
hundreds of the frightened critters hopped right into the
school cafeteria!
Setting
+
Characters
=
Exposition
Event 2
Rising Action
Event 3
Rising Action
Event 1

Fictional Narrative
Jacqueline Marie Quinn was an ordinary fourth-grader.
Jackie’s curly, red hair was tied in a ponytail and a faded blue
baseball cap sat on her head─backwards!
Jackie loved science class best. She loved cleaning the animal
cages and feeding the fish. After school, she climbed trees, dug
for bugs, or snorkeled with her mother in the warm waters of
Half Moon Bay. After all, Jackie wanted to be a biologist when
she grew up.
Jackie was at her locker when it happened. “Thunder? That’s
strange,” she thought. “It’s not even cloudy!” Dropping her
backpack to the floor, Jackie ran toward the cafeteria like a
tornado swirling through the prairie. She couldn’t believe her
eyes. Everywhere she looked there were slimy green frogs, as
round and fat as tennis balls. They hopped under the tables,
against the windows, along the floor, and onto the lunch
tables. Everyone was screaming.
Direct
Character…ion
told by the
Narrator
Third Person
Event 4
Rising Action
Notice the use
of Dialog
Notice the
Description
and Imagery

Fictional Narrative
As Jackie made her way through the confusion, a frog jumped
on her shoulder, grabbed her ear and started croaking. “Help
us!” the desperate frog squeaked. Jackie’s heart melted. She
tried to remain cool and calm but her lips trembled in a weak
smile. Jackie urged the frog into her hands. The squishy lump
didn’t even try to get away. Instead, the frog sat quivering. “I’ll
think of some way out of this mess,” she promised.
“Yes!” Jackie exclaimed. “I have a great idea! I’m sure I’ve left
my snorkeling gear in my backpack.”
Event 5
Rising Action
What do you think will happen next?
Trying to
Resolve the
Conflict
Notice the
Conflict
External

Fictional Narrative
Jackie ran back to her locker and the backpack she had flung
to the floor. To her surprise, she found her backpack missing.
“I left it right here!” she shrugged. There was no one in sight.
For a while, she was perplexed and confused. “What should I
do now?” she wondered in despair. She leaned heavily on the
locker as if the whole world has tumbled down around her.
It took her moments until she regained her composure. She
dashed to the telephone booth at the end of the corridor and
quickly called her mother.
“Oh my God! There is nobody answering!” She slammed the
phone down and raced back to the cafeteria.
A hand grabbed her shoulder from behind.
A series of
quick-paced
events
leading to
the Climax
Unexpected
Events
Twist
When the plot diverts from its expected path, it is called a Twist.
Notice the
Conflict
Internal

Fictional Narrative
Jackie jumped in horror ─her mind racing for answers.
“Are you looking for this?” a deep calm voice asked, handing
her the missing backpack. It was Mr. Frank, the principal.
She grabbed her gear and pulled the outfit over her clothes.
The green and shiny rubber wet suit covered her long legs
and short arms. Her blue eyes bulged through the clear plastic
of her mask as she hopped to the cafeteria on her long
webbed flippers. “Perfect! I look just like a frog.” And then
disguising her voice, “Ribb─eeet, ribbeet,” she tried to calm
the frogs.
It worked! The frogs were still croaking, but they didn’t seem
scared anymore.
Hundreds of green frogs hopped behind Jackie as she paraded
out of the cafeteria. At last, all were safe in the nearby pond
where they belonged. “There’s no place like home,” the frogs
croaked.
the Climax
the Resolution
Falling Action

Fictional Narrative
When I was at school, I used to
sit at the back of the class. I sat there
so I could do stuff. I got away with
lots of stuff by sitting at the back of
the class where the teacher couldn’t
see me properly. I liked to make
people laugh when I felt like it. A lot
of people did laugh.
The back desk at school was the
best. Why? Because that’s where I
could sit and plan my plots of
mischief. It was so cool. I remember
sitting behind Wayne, this huge kid
with a really big head and broad
shoulders. He was the best shield a
guy like me could have wished for.
There was no way the teacher could
see past him to me. Perfect. I used to
lob water balloons and itchy-itchy
balls into the laps of the boys from
my desk and they would think it was
Wayne! It was a scream to see Wayne
look up from his books and just say,
‘What? What did I do?
One day, I…….
Now compare it to

Narrative Components
time, place, mood, and atmosphere
major characters, minor characters, and character
development (found only in Novels and Novellas)
central conflict; plot motivation; setbacks
in chronological order
beginning, transitions (middle), and ending
fist person, third person; omniscient, limited, objective
gives life to characters and reveals their traits
a moral message conveyed by the author
remembering incidences or events
 Setting:
 Characters:
.
 Plot:
 Events:
 Structure:
 Point of View:
 Dialog:
 Theme:
 Flashback:

Narrative Writing
 Create your characters and develop their characteristics and physical traits. Is
there a villain/hero and what is he like? How does the villain/hero impact the
story?
 Create the problem or conflict. What minor problems will build tension
leading to the climax? How will the main character react when faced with the
main problem/conflict?
 Create the setting. Where and when does the story take place? How does the
setting impact the story?
 What crisis will occur at the last minute which will grab the reader and give the
main character a last chance to solve the problem? Plan for a nail biting moment.
 How will the main character resolve the problem? What positive attribute like
courage, creativity, or intelligence does he possess which will help him to
succeed?
 Finish with style. What lesson does the main character learn? How will the
reader connect and learn from the moral?

Narrative Writing
WritingaPersonal
Narrative

Conquering Your Fears
Everyone, well almost everyone, I’ve ever known has thought of
their years in elementary school as their favorites. I, on the
other hand, do not feel so fondly about elementary school,
especially third grade. That was a year I will never forget.
I was only eight, but I remember it like yesterday. I was sitting
in the doctor’s office when they gave my parents and me the
shocking news. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but your daughter’s
condition is getting worse. The only way to fix it is by surgery.”
Those words ripped into me like a serrated knife into a crisp,
cold apple. It was a horrible sinking feeling that seemed to
possess my whole body—a feeling so terrifying that even the
bravest person alive could not possibly endure it.
I knew I had been “sick,” and I knew it had been serious, but
never, even in my nightmares, did I think of surgery. You see, I
was born with a condition that affects your kidneys; it is called
bilateral reflux. The only way I would live was to have
reconstructive surgery.
Introduction
and
Attention
Grabber
Details
Set the Scene
Details
Feelings
Background
Information
Everyone, well almost everyone, I’ve ever known has thought of
their years in elementary school as their favorites. I, on the
other hand, do not feel so fondly about elementary school,
especially third grade. That was a year I will never forget.
I was only eight, but I remember it like yesterday. I was sitting
in the doctor’s office when they gave my parents and me the
shocking news. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but your daughter’s
condition is getting worse. The only way to fix it is by surgery.”
Those words ripped into me like a serrated knife into a crisp,
cold apple. It was a horrible sinking feeling that seemed to
possess my whole body—a feeling so terrifying that even the
bravest person alive could not possibly endure it.
I knew I had been “sick,” and I knew it had been serious, but
never, even in my nightmares, did I think of surgery. You see, I
was born with a condition that affects your kidneys; it is called
bilateral reflux. The only way I would live was to have
reconstructive surgery.
Flashback
Beginning

Personal Narrative
The next thing I remember, it was seven o’clock in the morning
and I was at the hospital. I met with the doctors; rather, the
doctors met with me. Everyone tried to comfort me, but
nothing helped. As far as I was concerned—and I was
concerned!—I’d be a nervous wreck for the rest of my life; that
was, if I had a “rest of my life.”
It was now time for surgery. They sent a surgical nurse down to
my room with a gurney. Being the scared little girl that I was, I
thought the moment I got up on it, they would hurt me. So I
decided that my teddy bear, Rainbow, and I would follow along
behind it, very defiantly, with my parents. When the doctors
saw me walk in, they started to laugh, and I realized that
everyone else who had seen me probably had laughed too.
What was comic relief to them was no comedy at all to me. So I
simply put my nose into the air and kept walking.
Event 1
Details
Thoughts
Event 2
Details
Thoughts and
Feelings
The next thing I remember, it was seven o’clock in the morning
and I was at the hospital. I met with the doctors; rather, the
doctors met with me. Everyone tried to comfort me, but
nothing helped. As far as I was concerned—and I was
concerned!—I’d be a nervous wreck for the rest of my life; that
was, if I had a “rest of my life.”
It was now time for surgery. They sent a surgical nurse down to
my room with a gurney. Being the scared little girl that I was, I
thought the moment I got up on it, they would hurt me. So I
decided that my teddy bear, Rainbow, and I would follow along
behind it, very defiantly, with my parents. When the doctors
saw me walk in, they started to laugh, and I realized that
everyone else who had seen me probably had laughed too.
What was comic relief to them was no comedy at all to me. So I
simply put my nose into the air and kept walking.

Personal Narrative
The nurse prepped me and had me lie down on the operating
table. The doctor asked me what “flavor” of anesthesia I wanted;
I thought for a while and answered, “Strawberry.” He then asked
me to count backward from one hundred as he lifted the mask
over my face. I woke up a few hours later, feeling woozy and
very sore. I saw my parents and drifted back to sleep.
I remained at the hospital for one more week. It was not the best
time I ever had, but it wasn’t the worst either. The highlight of
my recovery was a special visit from two of my favorite cartoon
characters. That was wonderful.
My experience has taught me a lot. I discovered that, in order to
reach the top, you must learn to climb and, in order to conquer
your fears, you must face them first. In a way I am thankful for
my surgery, because I conquered a lot of my fears.
I’m not telling you to go out and have surgery, but if you do, it’s
probably not going to be as bad as you expect it to be.
Event 3
Minor Event
Event 4
Minor Event
Conclusion
Significance
of Experience
and
Advice
The nurse prepped me and had me lie down on the operating
table. The doctor asked me what “flavor” of anesthesia I wanted;
I thought for a while and answered, “Strawberry.” He then asked
me to count backward from one hundred as he lifted the mask
over my face. I woke up a few hours later, feeling woozy and
very sore. I saw my parents and drifted back to sleep.
I remained at the hospital for one more week. It was not the best
time I ever had, but it wasn’t the worst either. The highlight of
my recovery was a special visit from two of my favorite cartoon
characters. That was wonderful.
My experience has taught me a lot. I discovered that, in order to
reach the top, you must learn to climb and, in order to conquer
your fears, you must face them first. In a way I am thankful for
my surgery, because I conquered a lot of my fears.
I’m not telling you to go out and have surgery, but if you do, it’s
probably not going to be as bad as you expect it to be.
Minor Events
that Add Up
to the
Experience
Ending

Fictional Narrative Writing

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