Narrative Text

What is it?

Watch this video

1. Decide on your plot

1.1 The Seven Basic Plots

1.1.1.  Overcoming the Monster

a) Anticipation Stage

b) Dream Stage

c) Frustration Stage

d) Nightmare Stage

e) The thrilling escape from death and the death of the monster

1.1.2 

1.1.1. Tragedy

a) Temptation  

b) Gratification

c) Problems begin

d) Nigtmare Problems

e) Disaster

2. Write a first draft

3. Choose a beginnig

The first sentence is part of what is commonly known as the hook — the few statements, questions, and/or phrases that begin a writing piece that provoke your audience to keep reading.

Techniques

• Make the reader the subject of the writing
• Create a shocking moment that works with your story or goal
• Succinctly establish a vivid setting
• Make a paradoxical statement or observation
• Go from an ordinary moment to an unusual one very quickly
• Make a statement that a person would not usually say
• Be bold enough to make a statement that may elicit a judgmental response
• Don’t put up a front and share your “flaw” (or a character’s flaw, if fictional)

http://verilymerrilymary.com/2016/04/how-to-write-a-captivating-opening-sentence.html

Openings

The Action Opening: Start the novel with the hero in some sort of physical or emotional jeopardy

The Flashback Opening: Start with a moment of high drama from somewhere later in the novel and then flashback to the events leading up to it.

The First Day on the Job Opening: A good way to introduce the world to the reader is to discover it through the eyes of the hero. They may, as the title suggests, be starting a new job, or they may have just arrived in town.

The Everyday Hero Opening: Your protagonist is going about their everyday life and some event sends them spiraling off into another direction.

Outside Action: The outside action event could be a robbery, or a murder, or any problem that doesn’t involve the hero.

THE THINGS THAT CREATE STORY ATMOSPHERE

• Mood of the characters
• Emotions that characters are feeling. Are they happy, sad, scared, worried? How do they show this in their speech and body language?
• Actions of characters – how do they respond to the situation?
• Time of day – lighting, temperature etc.
• Setting detail about the location of the scene – where and when – sounds and colours
• Situation the characters find themselves in
• Who is in the scene? Which characters, and what is their place in the story? Are the antagonist and protagonist in the scene? Is the hero under threat? How big is this threat? How much is at stake?
• Pauses/beats between action
• Imagery
• language
• rhythm

http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/story-atmosphere-tuesday-writing-tip/

Use this link

Theory for setting

Renowned American creative writing teacher, the late John Gardner developed this exercise for his students:

 A middle-age man is waiting at a bus stop. He has just learned that his son has died violently. Describe the setting from the man’s point of view without telling your reader what has happened.

 How will the street look to this man? What are the sounds? Odors? Colors? That this man will notice? What will his clothes feel like?

Create more conflict

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/hass-storytelling/storytelling-pixar-in-a-box/ah-piab-character/v/character-3

In general, to introduce and increase conflict

• give characters opposing goals
• give characters the same goals but different methods of achieving those goals
• make one character a go-getter who acts before thinking and one a planner who thinks before acting
• give characters vastly different backgrounds or outlooks based on upbringing so that what is important to one may mean nothing to the other
• make characters face their fears
• make characters rely on weaknesses rather than strengths
• don’t resolve conflict too soon
• deny a character what he wants and then deny him again and then deny someone else what he wants
• give a character something worth fighting for
• give readers conflict that satisfies by making your choice of conflict type fit character personalities, yet also surprise readers (and characters) with conflict they didn’t expect
• put obstacles in a character’s path—make him stop to deal with problems on his way to his main goal
• frustrate characters by making it hard to reach goals or distract them with necessary obligations that slow down their march toward their goals
• introduce uncertainty—is a friend really a friend? will the next action lead to the one that will bring about the desired goal, or is a character on the wrong track?
• stir a character’s emotions—make him care and then threaten what he cares about
• pile on conflict so your protagonist feels isolated and under attack from both friends and enemies, and from even himself

Embarrass your characters

Confrontation

This is where the hero and antagonist battle.

More interesting confrontations come from a villain who is justified in what he does.

Unanticipation

Pause after every scene and ask yourself: “What would a reader expect to happen next?” Create a list of at least three directions the story might take.

Then discard those three and do something different. 

Raymond Chandler advice: When things slow down, bring in a man with a gun

1.   A woman runs in screaming.
2.   The lights go out.
3.   A car crashes through the wall.
4.   Heart attack.
5.   SWAT team outside.
6.   Marching band outside.
7.   TV announcer mentions character’s name.
8.   A baby cries (what baby?).
9.   Blood drips down the wall.
10.  Justin Bieber comes in with a gun.

Ending

Feelings

Write about motivation.

Use physical symptoms the character might experience

Use subtext to suggest emotions just under the surface 

“Why of course you can stay,” she said, ripping her napkin into small pieces.

Be specific

• why he was happy, or 
• how happy he is.
• how would I know he’s happy? 
• what is he doing? 
• what’s the expression in his face? 

Use the setting. 

Use internal dialogue

Narrative tenses

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Simple Past
Past simple and Past Perfect
Past simple Past Perfect and Past Continuous
Future of the past
Future of the past 2

 

TIME EXPRESSIONS

Link 1
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Time Linkers in this blog

LINKING VERBS

Linking verbs link the subject to a describing word.

LOOK, SEEM AND APPEAR

Look Seem Appear	+ Adjective
You look happy today.

 

Look/ seem	Like	+ noun
	as if	+ clause  (very formal)
It looks like rain. She looks as if she’s seen a ghost. It seems as if the thunder’s finished now. It seems like the sumer’s over already.

Seem / appear	+ infinitive
	If	That-clause
We seem to be lost. I appear to have forgotten my wallet. (Appear is not used for ‘emotions’)

VERBS DESCRIBNG CHANGE

Become:                Get

Turn:                     Grow

Go:                        Remain

Stay:                      Keep

Rest:

Link 1

Online exercise link

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Link 6 

WRITING WORKSHOP

Link 1

How to create an atmosphere

Gothic horror prezzi presentation

Setting	Feeling	Location	five senses
	grimy /lowdown	seedy bar
	isolation / desolation	lonely motel desolate highway strip
	gothic	rundown English castle
	timelessness history	cementery museum ancient cathedral
	desolation melancholy	beach at night
	fear	deep woods
Natural elements	Weather	Nature setting
	storm
	relentlessly sunny day
Time	scary	night
	dying man drug addict	sunset
Evocative language

Show, don't tell

Worksheet


• Use strong, specific verbs, and avoid overusing adverbs.
 • Provoke emotion through character reactions and vivid writing, don’t simply tell readers how to feel.
 • Use well-placed details to bring scenes to life.
• Use expressive dialogue to show characters’ emotions and attitudes.

Characters

Watch the videos on Character creation

Hero

Brainstorm a list of at least 10 inner demons your hero has to fight. Ten

Give him actions that demonstrate the flaw.

Villain

Give your antagonist just as rich a backstory as your hero. 

• What hopes and dreams did he have? How were they dashed? 
• What life-altering hurt did he suffer? 
• Who betrayed him? 
• How did all of this affect him over the course of his life?

 create empathy.

1. Make the hero funny
2. Make the hero a victim
3. Show the hero in a dilemma
4. Show the hero being highly skilled
5. Show the hero being selfless

Interactive exercises

British Council

Prompt

Crime Writing

The devil is in the detail… (Niall Leonard)

Wikihow

Take into account:

• What could have led to this crime scene?
• What motivation would cause someone to commit the crime, or to frame someone else?
• Think of the protagonist and antagonist features.

Personal Narrative worksheet

Summary of a book