Narrative Writing

Narrative When you are asked to write a short story, or asked to do some "creative writing", you are doing what is called "Narrative Writing." Narrative writing is meant to entertain! Part of being human is getting to tell great stories! Examples: Story (personal, true, imaginative), Fable, Myth, Poem, Play, Biography, and Autobiography.

Step One 1)Write a title Bat Summer The Elephant in my Garage Rafting Down the Rapids

Step Two - Make a Story Board Sketch the events of your story in an order that makes sense. Use your sketch to orally tell your narrative to someone.

Step Three- Jot down ideas, descriptions, and feeling for your story. Bats by street lights Watch out Asleep in bed Bat flies in Sister runs out Bat flying around Hiding under the sheets Scared Dad opens door Catches bat in net Sad that bat died Feel close to all animals

Step Four- Get your story rolling Talk about where or when the story takes place Introduce a character Use dialogue very important to receive a score of 4 Make an interesting comment Use action

Beginning Afraid of Something so Meek During the warm summers in Michigan, my brothers and I liked to play hide-n-seek outside after dinner. I would hide behind trees and neighbors’ cars, thinking it was a place no one would ever find me. Our parents warned us to be careful of passing cars and the bats that flew around lights looking for bugs to eat. They had never bothered us so we just played our games. My mom would remind us sometimes about them. “Make sure you cover your head if they swoop past you because they might get tangled in your hair,” mom would say. I knew to be on the lookout! example

Step Five- Use transitions The next day When we arrived Finally As soon as Around noon During One evening

Middle Well, one night when I was trying to get to sleep, I encountered a flying visitor in my bedroom. A black, fury bat had flown out of my brother’s closet (which had an access to our fireplace chimney) and flew towards the light in my bedroom. My older sister was getting ready for bed. When my sister saw this flapping, dark winged creature coming towards her, she immediately jumped up, screamed, and ran out the door closing me in with the bat. I freaked out too! I sat up and started screaming and waving my arms like a maniac. The bat was flying all around my room bumping into the walls and screeching this high-pitched sound. My heart was pounding so fast. I couldn’t breath. I remembered what my mom said and pulled the covers over my head, wishing for it to stop. example

Middle The next thing I heard was my dad outside my bedroom door telling me that everything was going to be all right. At that time, I really didn’t believe him because he was on the ‘safe’ side of the door. I thought this creature was going to hurt ME when in fact, he was probably more frightened then I was. I peaked over the covers to see if anyone was going to help me. All of a sudden my door opened a crack and swoop! My father reached in with a fishing net and caught the bat in mid- air. The flying had stopped! I hid under the covers. example

Middle I lost track of what happened after that, but I do remember someone carrying me into the bathroom closet to see the bat hanging from the ceiling light in the net, dead. I don’t know how the bat was disposed of but I was told years later that my dad killed it. Tears still come to my eyes when I remember this fact because the bat didn’t deserve to die. He just had just lost his way and ended up in my room. After that night, I couldn’t go in that bathroom for weeks! example

Step Six- End Your Story Feel a feeling – Thinking about that poor bat still makes me sad. Remember a character- My dad did his best to protect me. Think about the ending/ reflect- Maybe the bat could have been set free.

End That experience changed my life in many ways. Some might think that I would be deathly afraid of bats and other night creatures, but I’m not. In fact, my heart aches when I know an animal has been harmed. If I hear its cries or see it in pain, I feel the need to help it. Maybe this is why I am an advocate for any animal in need. example

Step Seven- edit, revise, and publish Edit- spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure Revise- make it better, reword parts, does the story make sense? Publish- recopy or word process and share!

Final Product Afraid of Something so Meek During the warm summers in Michigan, my brothers and I liked to play hide-n-seek outside after dinner. I would hide behind trees and neighbors’ cars, thinking it was a place no one would ever find me. Our parents warned us to be careful of passing cars and the bats that flew around lights looking for bugs to eat. Bats are blind and hunt for food at night. If you close your eyes, you can see dark images when you wave your hand in front of your eyes. This is what the bats see. They had never bothered us so we just played our games. My mom would remind us sometimes about them. “Make sure you cover your head if they swoop past you because they might get tangled in your hair”, mom would say. I knew to be on the lookout! Well, one night when I was trying to get to sleep, I encountered a flying visitor in my bedroom. A black, fury bat had flown out of my brother’s closet (which had an access to our fireplace chimney) and flew towards the light in my bedroom. My older sister was getting ready for bed taking off her make-up and brushing her hair. When my sister saw this flapping, dark winged creature coming towards her, she immediately jumped up, screamed, and ran to the door closing me in with it. I freaked out too! I sat up and started screaming and waving my arms like a maniac. The bat was flying all around my room bumping into the walls and screeching this high-pitched sound. My heart was pounding so fast. I couldn’t breath. I remembered what my mom said and pulled the covers over my head, wishing for it to stop. I got my wish (for a second or two). It landed on the foot of my bed, right at my feet! I kicked my feet up and off it flew wildly circling once more around my glass figurines on my shelves and past my bed like a tornado. The next thing I heard was my dad outside my bedroom door telling me that everything was going to be all right. At that time, I really didn’t believe him because he was on the ‘safe’ side of the door. I thought this creature was going to hurt ME when in fact, he was probably more frightened then I was. I peaked over the covers to see if anyone was going to help me. All of a sudden my door opened a crack and swoop! My father reached in with a fishing net and caught the bat in mid-air. The flying had stopped! I hid under the covers. I lost track of what happened after that, but I do remember someone carrying me into the bathroom closet to see the bat hanging from the ceiling light in the net, dead. I don’t know how the bat was disposed of but I was told years later that my dad killed it by repeatedly hitting it with a baseball bat he got from the garage. Tears still come to my eyes when I remember this fact because the bat didn’t deserve to die. He just had just lost his way and ended up in my room. Maybe my father did not know what to do with it except to kill it. After all, it did frighten his daughter out of her wits. After that night, I couldn’t go in that bathroom for weeks! That experience has changed my life in many ways. You would think that I would be deathly afraid of bats and night creatures but I’m not. In fact, my heart aches when I know an animal has been harmed. If I hear its cries or see it in pain, I feel the need to help it. Maybe this is why I am an advocate for any animal in need. Narrative Writing

Ideas for Narratives Write a narrative about an exciting athletic event. Think of an historical time. Write about someone your age living in that time. In a short story, write about an experience you might have with an unusual animal.