What is Narrative writing?

Narrative writing can be broadly defined as story writing – a piece of

writing characterized by a main character in a setting who encounters a
problem or engages in an interesting, significant or entertaining activity
or experience. What happens to this main character is called the plot.
The plot follows a beginning, middle, and end sequence. The middle of
the story is the largest, most significant part, which we call the main
event. The main event is really what the story is all about and involves
either a problem to be solved or a significant life experience for the
main character. Authors write narrative stories in order to entertain an
audience of others – this is called author’s purpose.

Narrative Essay
A narrative essay is a form of academic writing that is built around a
narration of a certain event or situation. It is a short form of a narrative
novel. Its main objective is to tell a story that it is both engaging and
interesting to the reader.
Paragraph Development (Narration)
Narration example:

Around 2 a.m. something woke Charles Hanson up. He lay in the dark
listening. Something felt wrong. Outside, crickets sang, tree frogs
chirruped. Across the distant forest floated two muffled hoots from a
barred owl. It was too quiet. At home in New Jersey, the nights are filled
with the busy, comforting sounds of traffic. You always have the
comforting knowledge that other people are all around you. And light:
At home he can read in bed by the glow of the streetlight. It was too
quiet. And much too dark. Even starlight failed to penetrate the 80-foot
canopy of trees the camper was parked beneath. It was the darkest
dark he had ever seen. He felt for the flashlight beside his bunk. It was
gone. He found where his pants were hanging and, as he felt the
pockets for a box of matches, something rustled in the leaves right
outside the window, inches from his face. He heard his wife, Wanda,
hold her breath; she was awake, too. Then, whatever, was outside in
the darkness also breathed, and the huge silence of the night seemed
to come inside the camper, stifling them. It was then he decided to pack
up and move to a motel.
Comments on narration:

• Normally chronological (though sometimes uses flashbacks)

• A sequential presentation of the events that add up to a story.

• A narrative differs from a mere listing of events. Narration usually

contains characters, a setting, a conflict, and a resolution. Time and
place and person are normally established. In this paragraph, the
"story" components are: a protagonist (Hanson), a setting (the park), a
goal (to camp), an obstacle (nature), a climax (his panic), and a
resolution (leaving).

• Specific details always help a story, but so does interpretive language.

You don't just lay the words on the page; you point them in the
direction of a story.

• This narrative serves as the opening anecdote that illustrates the topic
of the story
What specific skills are involved in narrative writing?
Authors of successful narratives are well-versed in the following skills:

organization – they understand the shape that a narrative story takes as

well as the salient characteristics of this kind of writing

crafting entertaining beginnings – authors must understand the

function of a story beginning – to grab the reader’s attention and
introduce the reader to the story world. They also need to recognize the
specific strategies and techniques authors use to accomplish this.

elaborative detail – involves so much more than assigning adjectives to

nouns! – the author needs to know why to elaborate (to allow the
reader to experience story critical characters, settings, and objects
through the five senses of the main character.), where elaboration is
appropriate, and how to create it.

suspense – story tension is what keeps the reader reading. Young

authors must understand the need for suspense/tension and some
specific techniques for building this into their plots.

fully elaborated main events – every short story has a single significant
main event – what the story is really all about. This main event needs to
be told through a mix of action, description, dialogue, thoughts and
feelings. It needs to be stretched out to reflect its relative importance to
the story.
satisfying extended story endings – after the main event concludes the
author needs to allow the main character to reflect on memories,
feelings, hopes, wishes, and decisions brought about by the main event
Patterns of Development in Writing a Narration
*Describes what, when, and where something happened.

*It is simply telling a story, usually from the viewpoint of oneperson.

Many times, the writer is also making a point as well asrecounting
events that occurred.

*Narration can be found in any form of literature, includingplays, short

stories, poems, novels, or even jokes. They are considered narration, or
narrative, as long as they tell a story.

Example Text: Narrative Novel

The last example is an excerpt from the novel, Moby Dick by Herman
Melville."Landlord! 44" said I, "what sort of chap is he -- does he always
keep such late hours?" It was now hard upon twelve o'clock. The
landlord chuckled again with his lean chuckle, and seemed to be
mightily tickled at something beyond my comprehension. "No," he
answered,"generally he's an early bird -- airley to bed and airley to rise
--yea, he's the bird what catches the worm.--"But to-night he went out a
peddling, you see, and I don't see what on earth keeps him so
late,unless, may be, he can't sell his head. "Can't sell his head? --What
sort of a bamboozingly story is this you are telling me?" getting into a
towering rage. "Do you pretend to say, landlord, that this harpooner is
actually engaged this blessed Saturday night, or rather Sunday morning,
in peddling his head around this town?"
Characteristics of Narrative Writing
The main characteristics of narrative writing are the plot, the
characters, the setting, the structure and the theme.

Plot

Plot in narrative is defined by the events that take place within a story.
The conflict that makes up the plot sparks interest when it is able to
produce an artistic effect and provoke emotion in the reader.

Characters

Characters are central to any piece of narrative writing. It is the writer's

job to use these characters by presenting them through the narrative.

Setting

The setting is the place and the time that the events that make up your
narrative story occur.

Structure

The structure is the general order and shape of the narrative. In the
beginning of a traditional narrative it is common for the writer to
introduce the reader to the setting, characters, situation and the main
character's goal.

Theme

The theme allows any narrative writing to do more than purely

entertain.
Narrative structures
Narrative structure is essential in capturing and sustaining readers’
interest.

Cyclical or circular structure

This structure hooks the reader and makes us curious about how the
characters ended up where they are.

Multiple Narration
The same action is narrated by different characters with very different
perspectives. This interests the reader because of the different voices
and differing reliability of the narrators.

Epiphany

The story is structured around one critical moment of understanding or

decision and that moment shapes the life or future of the protagonist.
Retrospective Narrative

In this structure, the older character looks back with the benefit of
hindsight on their own story or a story in which they have a role. The
question of how reliable the narration is can be central to interpreting
this structure.

Narrative Framing
A framing narrative contains a second narrative or narratives to provide
a context or setting for it.The framing narrative sets the scene for the
other story or stories, providing a context for reading and interpreting
the text.

Chronological Structure

This is the most straightforward structure. It can be useful for

identifying the key elements of the plot.
 This provides a simple, basic story plan on which to build.
Student’s can use organizers like this to help them translate their story
summary or pre-writing plan to a fully elaborated piece of writing. The
Narrative Writing Diamond is needed to guide beginners through the
development and the elaboration of a successful, entertaining narrative
story.
 REFERENCES

https://www.empoweringwriters.com/toolbox/what-is-
narrative-writing/

https://www.empoweringwriters.com/toolbox/the-narrative-
writing-diamond/

http://www.academia.edu/31585690/I._Patterns_of_Developm
ent_in_Writing_A._Narration
By: Jessa Mae Jemino

https://penandthepad.com/characteristics-narrative-writing-
8652332.html or Freelance Writing Success: Narrative Writing:
The Art of Telling a Great Story

https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/essays/narrative/
playground-memory.html
http://www.write.armstrong.edu/handouts/Modes.pdf