(WWB) Narrative Writing Lesson
Narrative Writing Lesson
A narrative (or story) is any account that presents connected events, and may be organized into various categories: non-fiction (e.g. creative non-fiction, biographies, and historiography); fictionalized accounts of historical events (e.g. anecdotes , myths, and legends); and fiction proper (i.e. literature in prose, such as short stories and novels, and sometimes in poetry and drama, although in drama the events are primarily being shown instead of told). Narrative is found in all forms of human creativity and art, including speech, writing, songs, film, television, video games, photography, theatre, and visual arts such as painting, with the modern art movements refusing the narrative in favor of the abstract and conceptual) that describes a sequence of events. The word "story" may be used as a synonym of "narrative". It can also be used to refer to the sequence of events described in a narrative.
Select each literary term below to reveal definitions.
Hooks, Leads, and Grabbers
The beginning of your story may be the most important part. This is your reader's first impression of your story. Your beginning can HOOK readers OR turn them away! The best hooks or leads GRAB the reader's attention and keep them interested in learning more.
What is a lead, hook, or grabber?
A LEAD or HOOK is the part of your writing that interests people enough to keep reading your writing. The HOOK does exactly what it says- it gets your reader HOOKED on your writing. A LEAD is technically the first one- three sentences in your writing.
DON'T
- Start your story with "Hi. My name is..." or " I'm going to tell you about..."
- "Once upon a time" should only be used if you're trying to create a story that
models a fairy tale. - Only start in the middle of the action if you can continue the story from there OR
if you can easily back up and explain how you got to that point in your story. - Don't use the exact words of a prompt - be creative!!!
- Don't say "...and they lived happily ever after. The end."
Using Concrete Details for Narratives
Effective narrative essays allow readers to visualize everything that's happening in their minds. One way to make sure that this occurs is to use concrete, rather than abstract, details.
The word "abstract" might remind you of modern art. An abstract painting, for example, does not normally contain recognizable objects. In other
words, we can't look at the painting and immediately say, "that's a house" or "that's a bowl of fruit." To the untrained eye, abstract art looks a bit like a child's finger painting--just brightly colored splotches on a canvas.
Avoid abstract language—it won't help the reader understand what you're trying to say!
Examples:
Abstract: It was a nice day.
Concrete: The sun was shining, and a slight breeze blew across my face.
Abstract: I liked writing poems, not essays.
Concrete: I liked writing short, rhythmic poems and hated rambling on about my thoughts in those four-page essays.
Abstract: Mr. Smith was a great teacher.
Concrete: Mr. Smith really knew how to help us turn our thoughts into good stories and essays.
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