Narrative writing

By Geoffrey Gevalt
The old man reached for the doorknob without an inkling as to what he was about to experience …

Now that I've got your attention, it's time to talk about writing a narrative.

Narrative writing is fun; it's the act of telling a story, having a conversation with your reader. You can find good narrative writing in newspapers, magazines and books; it is used in letters or short stories, news stories or novels.

Narrative writing is distinctive because it has voice, detail, characters and plot or progression. Good narrative writing is almost invisible; readers are so closely following the people, action and story, the writing becomes secondary, like a canoe traveling down a river. As a writer, though, you need to avoid the rocks: Tell the story from your heart more than your mind. Here are a few tips to help you write narratives:

The story. Sounds simple enough, but what story do you want to tell? You need to choose a story that has power, characters and a point. It should have three basic parts: the setup or introduction, the problem or conflict and the resolution or ending. Stories can be things you experienced, things that people told you about, or things that you imagine. Good stories have emotion; choose something that is memorable to you or the person who told you the story.

Setting. Where does your story take place? Is the setting important? Usually. Incorporate details of the place into your story to show rather than tell the reader where the story is taking place.

Tone. What tone are you establishing for the story? Is it sad? Happy? Funny? Spooky? As a writer you need to know your story well enough that you can put yourself in the correct tone when you write.

Point of view. Who is telling the story? Is it first person? Third person? Which works best?

Characters. Who are the essential characters? Focus on one or two. Develop them early so the reader can visualize them. Give them breadth and strength; give them history.

The plot. What happens? How does the story begin? What is the main problem or conflict? How will it be resolved?

The structure. Should you tell the story in chronological order? Probably. Are you going to use present or past tense? Present tense gives a story immediacy; past tense can sometimes be easier. Whatever you choose, stick with it. And keep the plot moving along; try to avoid too many tangents.

Opening. The first sentence and paragraph are very important. The opening is the hook, the way you draw the reader in. Is it interesting? Does the reader want more?

Setup. Introduce your characters; give them depth; make the reader care.

Conflict. The point of any story, the reason for any story, is the problem or conflict that the main characters faces. A conflict can be as simple as a choice that brings a moral dilemma or drawbacks. A conflict can be characters competing for something only one can have.

Dialogue. In many stories, dialogue helps draw the reader into the scene to meet the characters first hand. Choose the dialogue well; is it interesting? Would the character say it that way?

Resolution. A narrative must take us to some resolution of the central conflict: The character finally makes a choice, or one character wins out. Or, even, the character has a new awareness. Whatever the action, the resolution brings change -- knowledge, a separation or something more dramatic.

Ending. Sometimes the ending can be just as the resolution is realized (or even just before) or it can follow up later.

Good narrative has one other element: passion. You need to believe in your story and your characters; that will give you voice and passion. With that, you will get the readers.

Geoffrey Gevalt is editor of the Young Writers Project, a non-profit which aims to help students write better. He is a veteran of 33 years as an award-winning journalist and is former managing editor of The Burlington Free Press. For two years he was a juror of the Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting.