Narrative Writing Skills

To write a narrative, it is important to include the following:

- descriptive sentences with high level adjectives.
- speech marks, commas, expclamation marks, question marks, a hypen, a dash.
- plurals, compound words, common and proper nouns, abstract nouns.
- paragraphs
- intersting vocabulary words e.g. use vast for big, miniscule for little,
- a beginning, which sets the scene
- a complication
- a resolution or conclusion

Beginning/Orientation: This sets the scene, creating a visual picture of the setting, atmosphere and time of the story. Characters are introduced and clues are set in place for the coming complication.

Problem/Complication: This is where a problem or complication occurs that affects the setting, time or characters.

Problem seems to be resolved/Minor Resolution: Everything seems to be resolved.
New Problem/Complication: The problem or complication is now often worse than before.

Problem is solved/Ending/Resolution: The problem is solved and the story ends.
Moral/Coda/Evaluative ending: There may be a moral or message at the end of the story.

First, identify the experience that you want to write about and think about why the experience is significant.

Use vivid details and descriptions to actually recreate the experience for your readers. Try to remember that the information you present is the only information your readers have about the experiences. Keep in mind that all of the small and seemingly unimportant details known to you are not necessarily known to your readers.

Begin your narrative with a paragraph that introduces the experience and tells why it is important. This guarantees that readers will understand the significance of the experience as they read the story.


Potential prompts for your narrative essay:
If you're having trouble choosing an experience to write about, take a quick glance through these prompts. They might help you remember or identify a particularly interesting or significant experience to focus on.

A childhood event. Think of an experience when you learned something for the first time, or when you realized how important someone was for you.

Achieving a goal. Think about a particularly meaningful achievement in your life. This could be something as seemingly minor as achieving a good grade on a difficult assignment, or this could be something with more long-lasting effects, like getting the job you desired or getting into the best school to which you applied.

A failure. Think about a time when you did not perform as well as you had wanted. Focusing on an experience like this can result in rewarding reflections about the positive emerging from the negative.

A good or bad deed. Think about a time when you did or did not stand up for yourself or someone else in the face of adversity or challenge.

A change in your life. Think about a time when something significant changed in your life. This could be anything from a move across town to a major change in a relationship to the birth or death of a loved one.

A realization. Think about a time when you experienced a realization. This could be anything from understanding a complicated math equation to gaining a deeper understanding of a philosophical issue or life situation.