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Writing a Great Narrative

Writing a Great Narrative. OCHS English Mr. Allen. Start with a hook?. Beginning at the end… Story within a story… An anecdote, quote, or joke… SHOCK! Beginning with a pastoral description of the setting… Others? What do the above things look like?. Setting.

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Writing a Great Narrative

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  1. Writing a Great Narrative OCHS English Mr. Allen

  2. Start with a hook? • Beginning at the end… • Story within a story… • An anecdote, quote, or joke… • SHOCK! • Beginning with a pastoral description of the setting… • Others? What do the above things look like?

  3. Setting • Make sure to describe the setting. Use: • Sensory descriptions. This happens when we show the reader the setting by describing it through the human senses of: • Taste • Smell • Sight • Touch • Sound

  4. Setting (cont.) • Beyond sensory details, what is the environment like? For example: • If it’s Sci-Fi or Fantasy, how did this world come to be? What are the rules, how is it different? • What are the people (or beings) like in the community? • What are the circumstances? Is there a crisis, war, or is everything perfectly normal?

  5. Make Your Characters Memorable • What do they look like? • What motivates them? What do they want? • What are they afraid of? What do they worry about? • Inner monologue: what are they thinking? • How do they speak? How do they use their voice?

  6. Conflict • Every narrative has to have a conflict—a problem that the characters encounter and deal with in some way. • What are some possible kinds of conflicts that might drive a story?

  7. Build to a Climax • Rule 1: Keep secrets. Don’t tell the reader everything. Hint at what is going to happen without revealing the truth. • Rule 2: Things happen by accident, or occur at random. • Rule 3: Characters, usually the protagonist, make a mistake, or several, that help to cause the conflict.

  8. The Climax • Must be visceral (what does visceral mean)—the reader must FEEL what is happening, and it must be raw and contain emotion. • There must be action. Action can be as simple as heated dialogue, or it could be a full blown war, but you must show the reader action. • The conflict, one way or the other, must be resolved. Good or bad, there must be winners and losers.

  9. A Conclusion that Satisfies • How was the conflict solved—what was the fallout? • What lessons were learned? What did the characters learn? • AVOID THE OBVIOUS! And they all lived happily ever after leaves the reader feeling shallow—give them something deeper and more meaningful.

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