1. Narrative Writing Narrative writing=telling a story Elements of a narrative include:  Setting (time, place, mood)  Characters  A conflict or goal  A plot (the actions of the story)  A theme, moral, or message

2. Narrative Writing When writing a narrative, keep the following in mind: Your story should have a clear purpose  Why are you writing? What’s your message? You need a beginning, middle, and end Description is extremely important.  SHOW don’t TELL and use VIVID, SPECIFIC LANGUAGE  Jessie walked through the creepy woods.  As Jessie crept hesitantly down the path, the bare and twisted arms of the trees stretched overhead, blocking light from the October sun. Figurative language is a good idea! Dialogue can and should be used to help tell the story.  Make sure to punctuate all dialogue properly.

3. Narrative Writing Tips for writing your narrative: PLAN out your story first.  You can’t start writing if you don’t know what you want to say.  Make an outline. Don’t try to take on too much. Come up with a story you can manage in the time frame given. All parts of the story should be equal.  Don’t start out with detailed, descriptive writing in the beginning, only to rush the end. Its okay to add to and delete from your draft.  Cross parts out, add at the end and use arrows, etc.  Drafts should be messy!