What is a Narrative? .

1. What is a Narrative? What is a Narrative? .

2. Write what you think a “Narrative” is…. On your paper, write what you thinka narrative is.

3. iA A Narrative is… Definition: The primary purpose of narrative writing is to describe an experience, event, or sequence of events in the form of a story. The purpose is to tell. 2 Types Personal and Fictional

4. Personal Narratives • Personal narratives are one of the first types of writing that you do. You write about yourself and experiences that you have encountered, read, or heard about. • You can become much more engaged when your write about yourself in personal narratives because you are the expert on the topic of your life.

5. Personal Narratives should show… Details Order Why When Who What Where How Finally Then First Next

6. The general characteristics of a narrative writing include: 1. Revealing something of importance – narratives make a point and that point is usually defined in the first sentence but may appear as the last sentence in the first paragraph. 2. Depicting characters and setting vividly – bring the story to life by using your senses to depict the events of the story: How does it look, sound, feel, smell? ***Include the important events that make up the story in enough detail for your readers to understand what happened while avoiding any details that do not relate to the main point. 3. Showing, not telling – use vivid and precise verbs when describing your events 4. Presenting events in a clear, chronological order – use a logical progression with good transitions when moving from point-to-point. 5. Usually written in the first person, that is using, “I”.

7. Show, Don’t’ Tell Don’t tell the reader what he or she is supposed to think or feel. Let the reader See, hear, smell, feel, and taste the experience directly, and let the sensory experiences lead him or her to your intended thought or feeling.

8. Showing is harder than telling. It’s easier to say, "It was incredibly funny," than to write something that is incredibly funny. The rule of "show, don’t tell" means that your job as a storyteller is not to interpret; it’s to select REVEALING DETAILS. You’re a sifter, not an explainer. An easy way to accomplish showing and not telling is to avoid the use of "to be" verbs.

9. “To Be” words to use NOT Was Am Is Were Be Been Being Are

10. How do I begin? Brainstorm

11. Introduction

12. 3 Body Paragraphs

13. Conclusion How should I end my paper?

14. I’m Finished