WRITING A NARRATIVE

Paragraphs 2 and 3 can be joined

 Descriptive Techniques

To make your narrative more interesting to the reader you

can use:
● a variety of adjectives and adverbs to bring the text to life
(The lovely old woman shook my hand gently)
● Direct speech and a variety of verbs (exclaimed,
screamed, announced, mentioned,expressed, shouted, etc
to avoid usind said all the time)
● Your senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch)
- I heard a loud bang and saw flames coming out of the
building. I could smell something burning and a blast of hot
air past me. I could feel the heat from it.
 Feelings

Narratives should illustrate how the characters feel: e.g.

happiness, sadness, frustration, loneliness, etc.
This makes them more interesting to the reader and brings
the characters to life.
 Techniques to start a narrative

● Creating atmosphere by describing the weather, people, setting

the scene,etc
● Using direct speech
● Directly addressing the reader / rhetorical question
● Describing someone's mood or feelings
● Creating a feeling of suspense or mystery
 Techniques to end a narrative

● Using direct speech

● Asking a rhetorical question
● Describing your reactins, feelings or mood
● Creating a feeling of suspense or mystery
 Useful language
Starting:
● One day last …, … went/ decided,etc...
● It was a ...(cold/windy/beautiful) day and I/we felt...
● It was... (raining hard) when we... (started the trip)
● ...felt (exhausted) as...had been (hiking in the forest)
Describe people/ places/ feelings:
● The young woman at the …
● We walked... (through the crowded streets) trying to ...(follow the
map).
● To our ...(amazement/ surprise/ relief)...
● Imagine my … (embarrassment, annoyance) when ….
 Useful language

Leading up to the main event:

● At first, nobody realised...
● We had only just … (set off on a canoe trip) when...
● The next thing ...(I) knew, (I was)......
The main event (climax):
● Everyone started... (yelling frantically).
● Then just at that moment, …. (a helicopter came)
Ending:
● I / We never felt so ….(terrified) in my / our life / lives!
Lost in the Dark

1 was shining

2 entered

3 had been
following
4 started

5 had strayed
6 heard
7 shouted

8 let