NARRATIVE WRITING

NOTES
The purpose of narrative writing is to:

•Entertain
•To tell a story
•Can be fictional or non-fictional
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE
CHECKLIST

 Covers a 3-5 minute experience

 Must be multi-paragraphed (2+ paragraphs)
 All verbs are in the past tense
 Uses one of the four introduction types (listed below)
CHECKLIST CONTINUED:

 ACTIONS (events) are written in CHRONOLOGICAL

ORDER
 TRANSITIONS, especially TIME transitions, are used between
ACTIONS (events)
 REACTIONS (emotion/feeling words) are used between actions
(events)
 IMAGERY is STRONG (sensory words)
 Reader SEES and “FEELS” everything the writer did
 Conclusion is strong--wraps up the story with a QUESTION
shows a CHANGE in the writer, ends with a FINAL
THOUGHT, or ends with an INTERESTING ACTION
 INTRODUCTION TYPES:

1. COMMON INTRODUCTION:
EX: When I was your age...
EX: When I was on vacation...
EX: When I was on a rollercoaster...

It’s BORING!! Don’t use this intro at all!!!!

INTRO TYPES CONTINUED:

2. ACTION (HERO) INTRODUCTION

example: Hesitating, I held my breath and

jumped off the dock into the frigid water.
 INTRO TYPES CONTINUED:

3. “DIALOGUE” INTRODUCTION

example: “Dad! Dad! Watch my cannonball!” I screamed

to my father, who was watching from the cabin’s porch.

***refer to handout in writing binder for

how to punctuate dialogue
 INTRO TYPES CONTINUED:

4. IDEA/THEME STATEMENT (DIFFICULT!)

example: I deeply regret the day I took my grandmother’s

generosity for granted.

It’s like a lesson/moral learned.

It’s like a Chicken Soup for the Soul intro.

 Sample Intro:
“Wow,” I whispered as I scanned the room for the first time. We had
walked past it many times, even ordered take-out, but we had never ventured
into the Dragonfly. I couldn’t help but notice the blood-red walls with cryptic
characters emblazoned in gold, high-backed chairs without sitters, and a
small, raised dining area. “I thought the place would be bigger,” I said
skeptically as the hostess showed us our table. The restaurant had opened
probably five minutes before the cab dumped us out on State Street.
 CONCLUSION TYPES:
 PREDICTION: an insight into how the future
could be different, better, or worse.
CONCLUSION TYPES CONTINUED:

 POINTED QUESTION: leaves the reader

thinking about your experience
CONCLUSION TYPES CONTINUED:

 FULL-CIRCLE ENDING: circles back to the

introduction
CONCLUSION TYPES CONTINUED:

 IDEA/THEME STATEMENT: a brief

explanation of lessons learned from your
experience

ALSO: Please do not start your narrative with an

onomatopoetic word as a single sentence.
Ex: BANG! I ran into the wall.
AND…
Please no rollercoaster stories!!
 Sample Conclusion:
But that wasn’t the case. After a few frustrating
moments, and telling my brain to stop over-analyzing the
situation, I began to relax and the chopsticks began to feel as
normal as a fork. I enjoyed good conversation and excellent
food. Not only had I been successful taking risks with eating
utensils, but that the Dragonfly chef can make a darn good
radish-sculpture of a fish. The rest of the meal wasn’t that
bad either. Besides, I always look good in what I eat.