Features of

Narrative Writing

© J Munro 2007
 Narrative Writing
In a good narrative, the reader relates closely to the story,
feels involved with the plot and often identifies with the
characters. A good story is hard to put down and the reader
feels a sense of loss when it ends. The features of a
narrative are:

the plot this is what happens

characters the people or animals in the story
the setting where the narrative takes place
theme the aurthor's message
 Planning your Narrative
Brainstorm your ideas. This does not need to take to long and can be
added to.
Plan the path your writing will take. This plan is in a flow-chart form.
 Opening Paragraphs
The opening paragraph of a narrative will
often give us an introduction to the
characters, the setting, or both and will often
give us a hint about the plot.
Another name for this is orientation. You
orientate your readers, give them an idea,
right from the start, that your text is going to
be worth reading.
 Opening Sentences
The Opening Sentence
To write an opening sentence which will grab the reader’s attention.
Stories can start using the following ways:
Dialogue: “Hands in the air this is a stick up!” he hollered roughly.
A statement: The school principal had to collect the boy from the roof.

Problem: David didn’t know what to do: the school bully, Ted was
expecting him to hand over five doallars and all he had
was fifty cents.
Action: Without a moments hesitation, Maude Drinkwater lifted
the revolver and fired.
Description of people: Mr Sherman looked ordinary for someone who had just
solved one of the world’s most difficult maths problems.
Description of place: The sky was the colour of dish water.
Description of time: As the clock struct twelve it echoed around the hall.
Write an opening sentence for one of these stories using the different
ways to start a story:
• A mysterious stranger
• An accident
• An act of bravery
• The arrival of a new pet
• A win
• A loss

Try two other ways of starting the same story.

 Active Beginings
In order to capture your reader’s attention, the beginning of your story must be
interesting and lively enough to make your reader want to keep reading. One way
to do this is to begin with an action.
Directions: Revise each story beginning. Put your main character in the setting,
and have the character do something relevant to the story.
Example: One rainy day I went to the mall.
Revision: I splashed across the parking lot, yanked open the tall glass
door, dripping wet, stepped into the mall.

1. Hi. My name is Kate. This is a story about the time I went to the zoo.
Put Kate at the zoo doing something
3. This is a story about the time I built a robort in my basement.
Put yourself in the basement doing something
5. I will tell you about my adventure swimming at the lake
Put yourself at the lake doing something
 Exercise 1: The Keeper

• What is meant by unblemished?

• What is an expedition?
• Do you think this book is written about the past, the present or the future?
• What were the clues that gave you the answer to question 3? Discuss the
reason.
• Does the opening paragraph make you want to read on? Why/why not?
 Exercise 2: Rocco
Here is an orientation that gives a setting.

1. Is it daytime or night-time? How do you know?

2. Is the youth sleeping peacefully? Give reasons for your answer.
3. What do you think the story is going to be about? Making reference to the text,
give reasons for your answer.
Exercise 3: Opening Paragraphs
Choose a title and opening sentence from the list below. Use the sentence
beginnings to write an opening paragraph which will orientate a reader into
your narrative.
 Plot
A plot starts with an introduction to the narrative. A
plot will include problems or crises and how these
are solved, and the conclusion to the narrative. If it
is a good plot, there will be situayions which happen
throughout the narrative thaat will make you want to
read on.
What happens in a novel has been carefully planned
by the author. Some authors use a flow chart to plan
their work. Others might write a brief overview of
events noting each crisis, climax or problem and how
each will be resolved.
 Improve your Plot
Who are your story’s main characters?
What are their main needs?(motives)

Who or what tries to stop or thwart them from

achieving their needs? (conflict)
Do the characters succeed or fail in achieving
their goals?
How do they succeed or fail? (resolution)
 Exercise 1: Plot Development
The folowing extract from The Keeper is an example of a crisis in a plot.
 Plot development: The Keeper
1. What is the setting in this extract?
2. Name the people who seemed to be present.
3. Where were Jean and the narrator:
a. at the beginning of the text?
b. when they saw the tiger?
4. How do you think the group felt after this crisis?

This text gives a good example of the rise and fall of a crisis within the
plot. There is a build up with all the action of trying to get out of the way
of the tiger and it leaping, then the feeling of relief when the animal is
dead. Short quick sentences: “Then it looked at me. It did not see me.”
keep the feeling of excitement and suspense going.
This is how the plot of The Keeper might look in graph form.

The plot may have many parts to it. It may have subplots within the main
plot. Whether the plot is action-packed or slow and leisurely, a good plot
will keep the reader interested.

A crisis is a turning-point, a moment of danger or suspense. A climax is

the highest point in a series of events. There is often a build-up to a big
climax near the end of the narrative.
 Characterisation
A person’s appearance, their posture and ways of walking, their hobbies, the way
in which they express their emotions, their secret wishes, fears, prejudices and
religious beliefs are all pointers to their character.
We develop character through the following:
Dialogue what the characters say and how the say it
Action what the characters do
Reactions how the characters think and feel in different situations
Relationships how the character interact with each other, and how others view
them
Crisis a turning point in the story for the character; the way in which
the characters respond in a crisis revaels true character
Exercise
Write 4-6 sentences, using the ‘Show, don’t tell’ method, which reveal the
characters of the following people:

• a greedy child
• a stressed teacher
• a bossy bus driver
• an impatient explorer
• a terrified airline passenger
• a mother trying to get her reluctant todler to eat
 Characters
Narrative Characters may be people of animals. Although they are imaginary, the
author may have modelled their character on people they know. A reader can
usually identify with characters, either through a character’s personality, actions or
experiences, or physical appearance.
Characters in a book may be built up over several chapters with the reader getting
an impression of their personality through actions, reactions and relationships to
other characters.
Character Wheels
Planning a Setting
Things to think about
These settings all paint a picture for the
reader. Think carefully about which style
of scene setting appeals to you.
Do you prefer to be given a clear
description?
Do you prefer imagery where the writer’s
use of words lets you use your
imagination?
Do you prefer a character in the text to
help establish the mood of the setting by
talking about it?
 Create a setting
Write a setting that vividly portrays the background to the plot.
The setting is where the action is happening and when the action occurs ie.
Time of day, month, year.

Choose one of the following and write a short description of it. The description
should include:
time of day,
the weather,
the sights,
sound and smells.

•The beach
•Inside a restaurant
•A city street
•A favourite park
•A swamp
 Add Phrases
Phrases add information and interest to short, dull sentences.
To add an adjectival phrase, you can ask questions like ‘how’, ‘when’, or ‘where’.
Adjectival phrases: The boy was a culprit.
The boy with a cheeky grin was a culprit.
Adverbial phrases: We skipped.
We skipped across the playground.
We skipped across the playground with great abandon
after our win in soccer.

Add phrases to:

2. The girl cried.
3. The door opened.
4. They killed his parents.
5. We worked.
 Join Short Sentences
Sometimes short sentences can be combined to create longer, more interesting
sentences.
Example
First Draft: The rosella was feeding in the tree. It was attacked by
another bird. It flew away
Revised: Attacked by another bird as it fed in the tree, the rosella
flew away.

Rewrite the following examples to turn each example into one interesting sentence.
2. It was Sunday. The cricket match was cancelled. The pitch had been ruined by
rain
3. I was not pleased with my sister Natalie. She scribbled on my homework. I told
mom.
4. I’ve been working all day. I’m tired. I think I’ll take a rest.
5. Every night for dinner we have boiled rice. I don’t like boiled rice. It is my least
favourite food.
 Vary Sentence Length
When you vary your sentence lengths, it creates a pleasant rhythm.
A story can become boring if all the sentences are the same length.
Example
Listen to what is happening. These sentences have five words. Here are
another five words. Five more words to follow it. The sentences begin to
drone. There is no variety here. It’s like a stuck record. It goes on and on.

1. Write a five sentence story; the first sentence should have one word, the
second two words, the third three words and so on.
2. Write a five sentence story with a different number of words in each
sentence.
3. Study sentence lenghts in a page from a published story.
 Smooth Transitions
One way an author can get the reader’s attention is by using pharases
that we call “red flags.” red flags, such as all of a sudden or the next
thing I knew, indicate a new twist in the plot. Red flags can replace
predictiable words and phrases, like next and then.
Read the sample sentences below. Create your own “Red Flag Menu” by filling
in the blanks.
Suddenly I manage to escape from the monster.

Just then I manage to escape from the monster.

I manage to escape from the monster.

I manage to escape from the monster.
I manage to escape from the monster.
I manage to escape from the monster.
I manage to escape from the monster.
I manage to escape from the monster.
 Improve Your Dialogue
What is Dialogue?
It's the conversation that takes
place between characters in a
story.
You can tell more about your
characters' thoughts and feelings
if you include dialogue in your
stories.
 Let's look at a story without dialogue.
Sharing a room with her sister wasn't always fun. Kristi
was tired of always cleaning up after her sister Ashley.
Just because they shared a room, that doesn't mean
they had to share the mess! Ashley was always
leaving dirty dishes on her desk, and there were
always dirty clothes under the bed. Kristi had tried to
talk to Ashley about cleaning up the mess, but
somehow talking didn't help.

Let's add some dialogue to that story.

Sharing a room with her sister wasn't always fun. Kristi was
tired of always having to clean up their room.
"Ashley, you've left your clothes on the floor again! I'm not
picking them up for you this time," said Kristi.
"I'm sorry, Kristi, I don't mean to be a slob!" joked Ashley.
"I just don't notice the mess--really! I guess it just doesn't
bother me.“
"Well, it bothers me! You know it does," said Kristi.
"I'll try harder, I guess," sighed Ashley. "But I can't promise
anything. Neatness just isn't my thing!"
Your audience will have a better understanding of Kristi and Ashley after
reading the conversation that takes place between them. It's more
interesting to read...AND...it helps to understand how both Kristi and
Ashley FEEL .

Dialogue lets you tell so much more about your characters.

It allows your readers to understand your characters more too.

Reminder When writing dialogue you must remember

to:

• Use Quotation Marks.

• Identify who is speaking.
• Indent each time the speaker changes.
• Use commas correctly.
Read the following story:
Paul and his dad were planning their first fishing
trip of the year.Paul wasn't sure what to bring
with him, so he asked his dad. His dad told him
to bring his pole. His dad would bring
everything else. His dad also told him to dress
warmly because it's always cold in the morning
near the lake. Paul told his dad he was excited
about going and would have trouble sleeping.
Rewrite the story adding dialogue.
Here's a sample of what your story might look like.
Notice the quotation marks and commas.
Check your story to make sure you have the correct punctuation.

Paul and his dad were planning their first fishing trip of the year.
"What should I pack, Dad?" said Paul. "I don't want to forget
anything."
"Just bring your pole, Paul. I've got everything else we'll need already
in the car," said Dad. "Mom's already packed us a big lunch. We want
to get an early start!"
"Should I bring a sweatshirt?" questioned Paul.
"Oh, it's always cool in the morning near the lake. You'll need more
than a sweatshirt. You need to make sure you dress warm."
Paul headed up to bed.
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep, Dad. I'm too excited!"
 Create Similes
LEARNING INTENTION: To liken something to something else, by using
similes.

Examples: My attention was as far away as love on a

battlefield.
Her skin is pale as eggshells.

Complete the following:

2. The sun sank in the west like…
3. The baby opened its mouth for food like…
4. When he left, it was quiet…
5. The shadow hung on the wall like…
6. His words were as painful as…
7. The sun on the water was like…
8. On roller skates she looked as awkward as…
9. The sky was as blue as…
10. The clouds rolled across the sky like..
11. After our huge dinner of fish and chips, we felt like…
 METAPHORS
A metaphor is like a simile. That's because it is a comparison that is made
between things, which is not always likely or obvious. We don’t use ‘like’ or ‘as’
in a metaphor.

We often use metaphors without realising it. For instance, when we say that
your parents 'bark a command' at you, you are comparing them to a dog, and
hence engaging in metaphor!

Other Metaphors
A heart of stone
He has the heart of a lion
You are the sun in my sky
You are the light in my life
She is my East and my West, my compass.
You had better pull your socks up
Love is a lemon - either bitter of sweet
 Create Metaphors
LEARNING INTENTION: to understand that a metaphor is a word picture in
which the writer replaces the thing to be described with another image. It makes
a more direct and vivid comparison to a simile.

Examples: The moon is a pearl from a necklace.

The moon is a cold, cheesy pizza.
The moon is earth’s halo

Try to write three metaphors for each of the following examples:

the sun an apple

clouds cheese
a cat the ocean
fog anger
 Personification
LEARNING INTENTION: to understand that in personification, the non-human is
identified with the human or given human characteristics.

Examples: The steel beam clenched its muscles.

Clouds limped across the sky.
The pebbles on the path were grey with grief.
Cricket has been good to me.
The New Zealand dollar had a quiet month.
Life dealt him a heavy blow.

Give the following items human characteristics:

wind refugee camp

night cold
moon war
 Onomatopoeia
LEARNING INTENTION: to understand that Onomatopoeia is found in a group
of words that attempts to replicate certain sounds.

We have words like woof-woof, or bow wow, tweet-tweet, and cock-a-doodle

doo. However, these words are still the creation of the human mind.

Examples: crackle, splat, ooze, squish, boom.

The tyres whirr on the road.
The pitter-patter of soft rain.
The mud oozed and squished through my toes.

Write onomatopoeia for the following:

gun sound wind

bomb tank
planes walking in snow
 IMPACT
Show Don’t Tell
To write what is happening in the story without explicitly stating it.
Telling sentence: Joe was old.
Showing sentence: Joe creacked when he moved, his arthritic limbs
bowed beneath the weight of his eighty years

Below are some telling sentences which simply state facts. Transform them into
showing sentences:
1. It was cold on the beach.
2. Dad was angry.
3. My friend is a great rugby player.
4. The house needed repairs.
5. The car braked suddenly.
 Make every word count
You can improve your writing by removing unnecessary words. It is possible to
eliminate unnecessary words but still retain the same information.

First Draft The idea was thought of by Jim at four o’clock early in
the morning. (14 words)
Revised Jim’s idea came at 4 am. (6 words)

Rewrite these sentences, eliminating all the unnecessary words to make each
sentence more precise.

3. He looked at Mike. Mike was his brother.

4. The people that I would like to tell you about are my father and mother.
5. He let me know that the contest the Bulldogs were in resulted in a win for the
Bulldogs.
6. In the vase were some daffodils. The vase of daffodils was on the table.
7. This recipe deals with and describes one method used to attain the desired
result in the preparation of scrambled eggs.
 Create Word Pictures
We can add details to a sentence to make an image more vivid and life-
like.
Bland The man had a hairy face.
Interesting The hair on Mr Twit’s face didn’t grow smooth and
matted as it does on most hairy-faced men. It
grew in spikes that struck out straights like bristles of
a nail brush.

Rewrite these sentences using details to make the image live.

2. The room was dark
3. The girl ran
4. His dog was unwashed and smelly
5. The lady next door is a busy body.
 Focus on the Facts
We can add on sufficient information to help the reader understand better.
Example A boat came to the island.
What kind of boat was it?
Who was aboard the boat?

What were the feelings of the passengers about reching

the island?
When did the boat arrive?
What was the purpose of the visit?

Read the following sentences. What questions would you ask the writer to
ensure that all the essential information was given.
1. I don’t like school.
2. My aunt is in hospital.
3. We like going out for dinner.
Select one of these sentences. Rewrite them with sufficient information.
 Replace Overworked Words
LEARNING INTENTION: To think of as many different ways as you can to
express the same idea.

Example: Mary is a good person.

Mary is a lovely person.
Mary is a wonderful person.
Mary is a superb person.
Mary is a delightful person.

For my birthday I got lots of presents.

It was a lovely day.
We got off the train at Wellington.
My sister got fifty dollars a week.
In the war, lots of men got injured.
Feeling annoyed, the teacher went out of the room.
We had a nice holiday in Dunedin where we met many nice people.
 Strong Verbs
By using strong verbs we can express movement and help to create a picture in
the reader’s mind.
Well-chosen verbs can give writing power.
With throttles open all the way, big bad bruce and his gang charge down the
highway on their Harleys. Bruce blasts along the highway at top speed. Icy
wind whacks into his face. He whacks it back, twice as hard. He zooms around
corners and shoots up the straight. He pushes his bike to the max.
from Big Bad Bruce by Dianne Bates

Write a description of the action in each of thes pharases using strong verbs.
• a man kicking a door
• a lion stalking prey
• a rabbit digging a hole
• a getaway car speeding around a corner
• a dog chasing a cat
 Using a Thesaurus
A thesaurus extend your word power.

declared
exclaimed
questioned
replied
repeated
b e llo w e d
shouted
r esponded
whispered
asked