Narrative writing

English Language · Writing: composition. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

A story needs a shape. It has an opening that pulls the reader in, a problem for the main character, a development that rises to a turning point, and an ending that settles the problem. A list of events with no problem is not a plot.

Start close to the action, not with waking up or with general facts. The ending should grow out of the story. ‘It was all a dream’ cancels everything that came before.

Show character through what people do and say. Build tension by holding back: a small sound, a short sentence, a question left unanswered. The narrator's voice must fit his or her age and feelings.

Rules to remember

Plot shape: opening, problem, rising action, turning point (climax), resolution.
Strong opening: begins inside the action or raises a question in the reader's mind.
Satisfying ending: follows from the events and shows a result or a change in the character.
Weak endings: a dream, a sudden piece of luck, or stopping before the problem is settled.
Show, do not tell: actions and speech reveal feelings and character.
Tension: delay the answer, use short sentences and details of sound, silence and darkness.
Voice: the words must suit the narrator; a child does not sound like a textbook.

Common mistake

Students choose an opening that explains the background or announces ‘This is a story about ...’. The best opening starts inside the action.

Worked example

Imran takes his father's phone without asking and drops it in the canal. Which ending is best? A He woke up: it was a dream. B A stranger suddenly gave him a new phone. C That evening he put his savings tin on his father's desk and waited. D Canals carry water to the fields.

The problem is that Imran took the phone without permission and lost it, so the ending must deal with that.
A cancels the story, B settles it by luck, and D is information, not an ending.
In C Imran acts and faces the result, so the ending grows out of the problem.

Answer: C

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