Irish O.

Alonzo JD- 1B
Legal English Reporting: Narrative Writing

Outline
I. What is Narrative, its importance and its use
II. Elements of a Narrative
III. Tips in Narrative Writing

Key Takeaways: Narrative Definition

 A narrative is a form of writing that tells a story. 

 Narratives can be essays, fairy tales, movies, and jokes. 
 Narratives have five elements: plot, setting, character, conflict, and
theme. 
 Writers use narrator style, chronological order, a point of view, and other
strategies to tell a story.

What is Narrative?

Narrative-  is a piece of writing that tells a story. It is the account of events,
experiences, and details. The adjective use of the word narrative has its roots
in the Latin word, narrativus, which means “suited to narration.” The noun
usage of the word appeared in the French language in the 15 th century and is
defined as “a tale, story.”

Examples of Narrative

If you look at narrative when used as a noun, you will find many examples.
Most things written in the first-person are narratives. A novel written from
the point of view of the main character is a narrative. The essay you wrote,
entitled “What I did on my summer vacation”, was a narrative. An article
written by a blogger about his/her experience travelling across the United
States on a bicycle would most likely be a narrative.
If you look at narrative when used as an adjective, you will find that it
complements just about any form of writing or art. There are narrative poems,
narrative works of visual art, narrative essays, or narrative dances. If you can
make something tell a story, it is narrative.
The Importance of using Narrative

Everyone loves a story! Everyone has a story. Everyone wants to tell a story.
Everyone can relate to a story. That is why it is important to use narratives.
Narrative is an engaging writing style. It immediately invites your audience
into your world and offers them a chance to participate in the story you are
telling. A reader can easily get wrapped up in a narrative. It is also a style that
invites discussion and participation. By using it you tell your audience that this
story is not over. They can take it home and think about it. They can retell it,
add to it and change it. Narratives are social. They are at the heart of how we
communicate as social beings. If you look for definitions, descriptions, and
discussions of what narratives are, you will find many references to the natural
humanity of narratives. They are a part of who we are and how we share that
with others.
Have you ever read an article that just bored you to tears? Maybe you thought
it was “dry”. (Maybe you feel that way about this article?) There is a good
chance the author did not make good use of narrative, and thus never
managed to draw you in.

Use of Narrative

The narrative voice, or narrative style can be used to transform virtually

anything into a story.
For example:
 Other forms of art can also be considered narratives. You can
choreograph a narrative dance or paint a narrative series of pictures. The
important element is that your creation tells a story.
 Autobiographies are, essentially, narrative. They are written in the first-
person and describe the events of the story-teller’s life.
 Theatrical monologues are narrative. In a monologue, the character tells
an intimate story, often addressing the audience, asking questions and
seemingly seeking answers from them. In Hamlet’s famous monologue,
that begins “To be or not to be,” he is seeking answers to the great
philosophical questions of life and death. He is discussing them with
himself and the audience, trying to puzzle them out and inviting the
audience to do the same.
 Essays can also be narrative. An essay is a literary composition about a
single subject. You have probably written many. A narrative essay is simply
an essay written in a style that tells a story. They are often personal,
anecdotal, and told from the writer’s point of view.
Elements of a Narrative

Every narrative has five elements that define and shape the narrative: plot,
setting, character, conflict, and theme. These elements are rarely stated in a
story; they are revealed to the readers in the story in subtle or not-so-subtle
ways, but the writer needs to understand the elements to assemble her story.
Here's an example from "The Martian," a novel by Andy Weir that was made
into a film:

 The plot is the thread of events that occur in a story. Weir's plot is about
a man who gets accidentally abandoned on the surface of Mars.
 The setting is the location of the events in time and place. "The
Martian" is set on Mars in the not-too-distant future.
 The characters are the people in the story who drive the plot, are
impacted by the plot, or may even be bystanders to the plot. The
characters in "The Martian" include Mark Watney, his shipmates, the
people at NASA resolving the issue, and even his parents who are only
mentioned in the story but still are impacted by the situation and in turn
impact Mark's decisions.
 The conflict is the problem that is being resolved. Plots need a moment
of tension, which involves some difficulty that requires resolution. The
conflict in "The Martian" is that Watney needs to figure out how to
survive and eventually leave the planet's surface.
 Most important and least explicit is the theme. What is the moral of the
story? What does the writer intend the reader to understand? There are
arguably several themes in "The Martian": the ability of humans to
overcome problems, the stodginess of bureaucrats, the willingness of
scientists to overcome political differences, the dangers of space travel,
and the power of flexibility as a scientific method.

Tips in Narrative Writing

1. Establish Your Purpose

Decide first what you want to accomplish in writing your story. This creates a
focus for the details that you include. What overall message, theme or feeling
do you want to express? Will you be writing a personal narrative from your
own experience, retelling a historical event or crafting an original piece of
made-up fiction? Do you want to make your readers laugh, cry or tremble?
These decisions will guide your story’s theme. A humorous personal narrative,
for example, may share an embarrassing experience that reminds your readers
that a true friend will laugh with them. Everything you write will work towards
that purpose.

2. Choose Your Characters

Decide who you want your story to be about. You may want one major
character with a cast of supporting characters, or you may choose an ensemble
cast who share the limelight. If you’re writing a personal narrative, you will
likely be the main character. For fiction, you need to create engaging
characters of your own. Whoever you choose to write about, give them
personalities that will support your purpose and enough detail to make them
come to life for your readers.

3. Craft a Plot

In narrative writing, conflict always drives the plot. With no problems, you
have no story. Decide on a central conflict, then outline the basic elements of
your plot -- a beginning that leads your characters into their conflict, a
sequence of events that complicates the conflict and builds tension, a turning
point that brings your conflict to a climax and a sequence of events that leads
to the problem’s ultimate resolution. To keep track of your plot, it may be
helpful to use a flowchart or write out a quick summary. Ensure that the
conflict and its resolution will lead the reader to the message that you’ve
planned to share. A story meant to teach tolerance, for example, may focus
around a character’s struggle to overcome racial prejudice.

4. Paint a Backdrop

The setting or a story includes both the time and place of its events. Some plots
may lend themselves to a certain setting, such as a mountain for a story of
stranded skiers. Consider the time period, the time of year, the weather, the
physical location and how these elements may affect the events in your story
and enrich the plot and conflict.

5. Find Your Viewpoint

Plan to write your story either from a first-person point-of-view, narrated by a

character and using words like “I” and “we”, or a third-person point-of-view,
where an uninvolved narrator tells someone else’s story. For a first-person
narrator, decide if you want to have the main character or a peripheral
character speaking. Consider how much this narrator will be able to reveal to
the audience, as a first-person narrator can share only his own thoughts,
feelings, observations and insights about the story's events. With a third-
person narrator, decide if you want your speaker to reveal the thoughts and
feelings of all of your characters or only those of the main character. This will
affect the details that you are able to reveal to your readers.

6. Create an Atmosphere

Plan details and images throughout your story that create a mood for your
reader, such as fear or sadness. This can be done through carefully-placed
images like cockroaches and soiled linens in a seedy motel room, or through
the details of your characters’ actions and mannerisms, such as an eye twitch
or fearful glances over the shoulder. Your atmosphere should always support
your story’s purpose, so if your goal is to make your audience laugh, you
probably won’t include details that suggest a feeling of gloom.

7. Fill in the Details

As you flesh out the details and dialogue that complete story, use your original
purpose as a guide. Don’t allow yourself to go off track by including too many
unnecessary details or rambling descriptions that don’t support your theme.
Include enough details to set your mood and make your story interesting and
characters engaging, but not so many that your readers’ attention is pulled
from the central conflict and its resolution.

Summary

Narrative writing can be broadly defined as story writing – a piece of

writing characterized by a main character in a setting who
encounters a problem or engages in an interesting, significant or
entertaining activity or experience.  What happens to this main
character is called the plot.  The plot follows a beginning, middle, and end
sequence.  The middle of the story is the largest, most significant part, which
we call the main event. The main event is really what the story is all about and
involves either a problem to be solved or a significant life experience for the
main character.  Authors write narrative stories in order to entertain an
audience of others – this is called author’s purpose.

References:
https://literaryterms.net/narrative/
https://penandthepad.com/construct-narrative-3658.html
https://www.empoweringwriters.com/toolbox/what-is-narrative-writing/
https://literarydevices.net/narrative-essay/