Expressive,+Creative+&+Narrative+Writing

Narrative Writing Sourced from English on line The basic purpose of narrative is to entertain, to gain and hold a readers' interest. However narratives can also be written to teach or inform, to change attitudes / social opinions eg soap operas and television dramas that are used to raise topical issues. Narratives sequence people/characters in time and place but differ from recounts in that through the sequencing, the stories set up one or more problems, which must eventually find a way to be resolved. There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience. In a Traditional Narrative the focus of the text is on a series of actions: To help students plan for writing of narratives, model, focusing on:
 * Purpose**
 * Types of narrative**
 * Features**
 * Characters with defined personalities/identities.
 * Dialogue often included - tense may change to the present or the future.
 * Descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind and enhance the story.
 * Structure**
 * Orientation:** (introduction) in which the characters, setting and time of the story are established. Usually answers who? when? where? eg. Mr Wolf went out hunting in the forest one dark gloomy night.
 * Complication or problem:** The complication usually involves the main character(s) (often mirroring the complications in real life).
 * Resolution:** There needs to be a resolution of the complication. The complication may be resolved for better or worse/happily or unhappily. Sometimes there are a number of complications that have to be resolved. These add and sustain interest and suspense for the reader.
 * **Plot:** What is going to happen?
 * **Setting:** Where will the story take place? When will the story take place?
 * **Characterisation:** Who are the main characters? What do they look like?
 * **Structure:** How will the story begin? What will be the problem? How is the problem going to be resolved?
 * **Theme:** What is the theme / message the writer is attempting to communicate?
 * Language**
 * Action verbs: Action verbs provide interest to the writing. For example, instead of //The old woman was in his way// try //The old woman barred his path.// Instead of //She laughed// try //She cackled//.
 * Written in the first person (I, we) or the third person (he, she, they).
 * Usually past tense.
 * Connectives,linking words to do with time.
 * Specific nouns: Strong nouns have more specific meanings, eg. //oak// as opposed to //tree//.
 * Active nouns: Make nouns actually do something, eg. //It was raining// could become //Rain splashed down// or //There was a large cabinet in the lounge// could become //A large cabinet seemed to fill the lounge//.
 * Careful use of adjectives and adverbs: Writing needs judicious use of adjectives and adverbs to bring it alive, qualify the action and provide description and information for the reader.
 * Use of the senses: Where appropriate, the senses can be used to describe and develop the experiences, setting and character:
 * What does it smell like?
 * What can be heard?
 * What can be seen - details?
 * What does it taste like?
 * What does it feel like?
 * Imagery
 * Simile: A direct comparison, using like or as or as though, eg. //The sea looked as rumpled as a blue quilted dressing gown. Or The wind wrapped me up like a cloak.//
 * Metaphor: An indirect or hidden comparison, eg. //She has a heart of stone or He is a stubborn mule// or //The man barked out the instructions.//
 * Onomatopoeia: A suggestion of sound through words, eg. //crackle, splat, ooze, squish, boom,// eg. //The tyres whir on the road. The pitter-patter of soft rain. The mud oozed and squished through my toes.//
 * Personification: Giving nonliving things (inanimate) living characteristics, eg. //The steel beam clenched its muscles. Clouds limped across the sky. The pebbles on the path were grey with grief.//
 * Rhetorical Questions: Often the author asks the audience questions, knowing of course there will be no direct answer. This is a way of involving the reader in the story at the outset, eg. //Have you ever built a tree hut?//
 * Variety in sentence beginnings. There are a several ways to do this eg by using:
 * Participles: "Jumping with joy I ran home to tell mum my good news."
 * Adverbs: "Silently the cat crept toward the bird"
 * Adjectives: "Brilliant sunlight shone through the window"
 * Nouns: "Thunder claps filled the air"
 * Adverbial Phrases: "Along the street walked the girl as if she had not a care in the world."
 * Conversations/Dialogue: these may be used as an opener. This may be done through a series of short or one-word sentences or as one long complex sentence.
 * [|Show, Don't Tell]: Students have heard the rule "show, don't tell" but this principle is often difficult for some writers to master.
 * [|Personal Voice]: It may be described as writing which is honest and convincing. The author is able to 'put the reader there'. The writer invests something of him/her self in the writing. The writing makes an impact on the reader. It reaches out and touches the reader. A connection is made.