Narrative

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What is a narrative?

According to wikipedia.org:

  • A narrative is a story: an interpretation of some aspect of the world that is historically and culturally grounded and shaped by human personality (per Walter Fisher).

    • ...a 'narrative' is a story or part of a story.

    • A story is any form of text, regardless of medium, describing a sequence of events caused and experienced by characters, some of whom may be fictional.

    • It may be spoken, written or imagined, and it will have one or more points of view representing some or all of the participants or observers.

    • In stories told verbally, there is a person telling the story, a narrator whom the audience can see and hear, and who adds layers of meaning to the text nonverbally.

      • The narrator also has the opportunity to monitor the audience's response to the story and to modify the manner of the telling to clarify content or enhance listener interest. This is distinguishable from the written form in which the author must gauge the readers likely reactions when they are decoding the text and make a final choice of words in the hope of achieving the desired response.

According to thewritingsite.org:

Goal:

The goal for narrative writing is to tell a story of an experience, event, or sequence of events while holding the reader's interest. Narrative writing is usually characterized by the following:

  • written in first or third-person
  • characters, setting, plot
  • may include some dialogue
  • events organized in chronological sequence (although flashbacks may be used)

Examples:

 Narrative writing appears in and is not limited to poetry, short stories, novels, personal essays, tall tales, and folk tales, to name just a few. It also takes a particular form in scripts and plays.

Characteristics:

The general characteristics of a narrative writing include:

1. revealing something of importance
narratives make a point and that point is usually defined in the first sentence but may appear as the last sentence in the first paragraph
2. depicting characters and setting vividly
bring the story to life by using your senses to depict the events of the story: how does it look, sound, feel, smell. Include the important events that make up the story in enough detail for your readers to understand what happened while avoiding any details that do not relate to the main point
3. showing, not telling
use vivid and precise verbs when describing your events
4. presenting events in a clear, chronological order
use a logical progression with good transitions when moving from point-to-point
Help!!!
  • Write a story about your the best celebration you have ever had - tell why this is your favorite.
  • Think of a time when you were nervous. It might be your first plane ride or the first time you slept over night with a friend. Tell what happened and how you reacted.
  • Write a fictional story about being an eyewitness at an historical event.
  • Find an example of a narrative in a story, poem or play. Explain why you think this is a good example of a narrative writing.
  • Check out these examples of narratives other high school students have written:

Source: http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/narrative.asp

Your task:

  • Write a narrative.

    • The length depends on how much effort you want to put into this assignment.

    • You decide on the genre (poetry, prose, script, combination, etc.).

    • Criteria

      • Written in first or third-person
        • You may shift POV but only if you are sure your readers will be able to follow the story.
      • Characters, setting, plot
      • May include some dialogue
      • Events organized in logical or chronological sequence (although flashbacks may be used)
        • I don't want to restrict you if you want to experiment with tense shifts, etc. but as with POV, make sure your readers will be able to follow you!

      • Include an easily-found thesis sentence/point early in your narrative

      • Include imagery

      • Show, don't tell!

    • Watch your spelling errors, run-on sentences, fragments, and any other grammatical errors.

  • Pick a song that you relate to the subject of your narrative.

    • Bring in the song on CD so Mr. Janes can help you integrate it with your PowerPoint presentation.

    • Find the lyrics to that song.

  • You will create a PowerPoint presentation which you will use to either recite your narrative to the class, or if you're so technically inclined, will read it for you!

    • The presentation should unfold/read like a book - multiple pages are necessary.

    • You may add photos (pre-scanned) or collect graphics to assist the telling of your story.

  • Any content, music, lyrics or images must be:

    • Pre-approved by Mr. Janes if you have any doubt.

    • Tasteful

    • Within the boundaries of the school environment.

    • Do not fail to heed this rule of common sense!

  • You will workshop this story with a special workshop sheet, so do be sure to include all criteria.

Save your PowerPoint as narrative to your portfolio.

Deadline: Wednesday, March 28 by 3:30 p.m.

Click here for your Narrative Workshop Document.

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