NWR - Narrative Writing Module Overview

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Narrative Writing

Introduction Image of typewriter Narrative writing tells the story of an experience, an event, or sequence of events

The goal for narrative writing is to tell a story of an experience, event, or sequence of events while holding the reader's interest. Narratives can be either fiction or nonfiction and tell a story. Narrative writing is usually characterized by the following.

  • written in first or third-person

  • characters, setting, plot
  • may include some dialog
  • events organized in chronological sequence (although flashbacks may be used)

Essential Questions

  1. What are the characteristics of narrative writing?
  2. In what point of view are personal narratives told?
  3. What should be included in a personal narrative?
  4. What are some well-known personal narrative stories?

Key Terms

Your understanding of these terms will help you with the material in this module.

Narrative: Writing or speech that tells a story.

Essay: Writing that attempts to explain something from a personal point of view.

Point of View: The perspective from which the story is told.

First Person Point of View: Told from the perspective of the narrator or ''I.''

Omniscient Point of View: A point of view in which the narrator knows everything, may reveal the motivations, thoughts and feelings of the characters, and gives the reader information.

Limited-omniscient Point of View: Point of view in which the material is presented from the point of view of a character, in third person.

Objective Point of View: Point of view in which the narrator presents the action and the characters' speech, without comment or emotion. The reader has to interpret them and uncover their meaning.

Narrator: The character or person telling the story.

Mood: The emotions that a reader feels while reading or viewing a literary work.

Setting: The time and place in which a story unfolds.

Chronological: In order of occurrence.

Memoir: A collection of memories written by a person about public or private experiences.

Flashback: An interjected scene or point that takes the narrative back in time from the current point.

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