Narrative Writing

Narrative Writing Show me. Don’t tell me. Based on Gretchen Bernabei’s Reviving the Essay

Step I: Mining for Essay Topics • Moment writing not era writing • Era: My high school years. • Moments: The Fourth of July I went to see my grandmother. Prom night. The day I got my first car. The moment the doctor told me I needed more tests.

Moments: • Daily we all have countless “moments” but only a few stand out as important enough to remember. • What are your important moments? • What stands out for you?

Twenty Life Moments: • List a moment when you were proud of someone else • List a moment when you were proud of yourself • List a glorious moment • List three tough moments • List three moments worth rewatching on video • List a money moment • List a sabotage moment • List a bad romance moment

More Life Moments • List the moment you knew love • List the moment you felt grace • List the moment you learned/gave/received forgiveness • List the moment you learned your most valued lesson • List an animal moment • List the moment your pet died • List the moment you stopped trusting someone close to you • List a moment when you fought and won • List a moment when you fought and lost

Narrating Life’s Moments • Circle the three moments that stand out the most to you.

Kernel Essay: Five Questions • Pick one idea from your list and answer the next five questions in five complete sentences after reviewing the sample kernel essay that follows. • Where were you? • What was the first thing that happened? • What was the next thing that happened? • What was the last thing that happened? • What did you think at that moment?

Sample kernal essay: Question One • Where were you? • Inside my grandmother’s antiseptic nursing room, I stepped behind a flimsy pale curtain that divided her bed from Mrs. Landers’.

Question two: • What do you see? • My grandmother’s pale blue eyes peered through her skull; her translucent, crinkled skin draped her bones.

Question three: • What was the first thing that happened? • I slipped out of my scuffed leather boots and crawled in the bed next to her.

Question four: • What’s the last thing that happened? • My eyes filled with tears.

Question 5: • What did you think at that moment? • I knew I was home, at least for a moment. Blessings come in fleeting moments. Life’s preciousness exists even while waiting for death.

Now you try it: • Where were you? • What was the first thing that happened? • What was the next thing that happened? • What was the last thing that happened? • What did you think at that moment?

Pick two more essay ideas and complete two more kernel essays: • Where were you? • What was the first thing that happened? • What was the next thing that happened? • What was the last thing that happened? • What did you think at that moment?

Elaborate on the kernel essay: • The kernel essay still lacks all the details. Now we’re going to add the butter and salt. Add one to three more sentences to each of your five sentences. • Before starting look at the example that follows.

Expanding the kernel essay: Question One • Where were you? • Inside my grandmother’s antiseptic nursing room, I stepped behind a flimsy pale curtain that divided her bed from Mrs. Landers’. From the ill-fitted window, I felt a draft.

Question two: • What did you see? • My grandmother’s pale blue eyes peered through her skull; her translucent, crinkled skin draped her bones.

Question three: • What was the first thing that happened? • I slipped out of my scuffed leather boots, crawled in next to her, and tucked the blanket around both of us. For about three years, grandmother hasn’t had the strength to sit up or even lift her head or roll on her side. She suffers from dementia and Alzheimer. Months have gone by since she last knew my name or told me she loved me. Her failing eyesight and hearing makes communication impossible unless my lips are a couple inches from her ear.

Question four: What happened next? Her eyes looked at me, and for the first time in years she knew me. “Are you still teaching?” she asked. I couldn’t believe the words she spoke. Only a few months before had I begun teaching. Day after day I had lain next to her telling her about my new job, never once considering that she might respond.

Question four: • What’s the last thing that happened? • My eyes filled with tears. No gift could have been sweeter than to have my grandmother know me, even for just a moment.

Question 5: • What did you think at that moment? • I knew I was home, at least for a moment. Blessings come in fleeting moments. Life’s preciousness exists even while waiting for death. Minutes later grandmother’s eyes went blank, but the memory lived on.

Now you try it: • Add the needed sentences to complete one of your essays.

Next: • Circle each noun and add at least one descriptive word to every three nouns.

The Ending: • The ending is just as important as the beginning. • Place your hand on your kernal essay and close your eyes. In nearly two decades of living, this one experience stands out above all others. Why? What deeper meaning does it have for you? What universal life meaning does it hold? • For this particular assignment we’re going to end with a truism.

Truisms: • Examples: • In life’s struggles, perseverance is the key. • Treat others with the same respect you expect. • The actions of the past become the hands that mold the future. • People create their own punishments. • We learn more when we fail than succeed. • Life is a never-ending series of changes. Embrace the new.

If you haven’t already, write five truisms you believe or live by: • 1. • 2. • 3. • 4. • 5. What truism fits your personal narrative essay? Add that truism to the end.

Editing: • Mark this paper as “First Draft.” • Re-read your essay at least three times. • Make needed changes to improve sentence and paragraph flow.

Grammar Check: • Highlight words that need spelling verification. Look up at least 10 words in your essay. • Make sure the correct version of except/accept (I accept the job position; I like all flavors of ice cream except lemon.); it’s/its (it’s = it is; Its = possessive); your/you’re (your = possessive; you’re = you are); their/there/they’re. • Check for run-on sentences and fragments. • For more grammar help, click on Mrs. Stewart’s webpage titled One-Stop Grammar.

Narrative Writing