Let’s check out narratives!

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LET’S CHECK OUT NARRATIVES!


SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A NARRATIVE?

A storyA taleAn anecdote

A yarnA mythA legendAn account


NARRATIVES CAN BE..

Real lifeMagicalFunnyIn the pastIn the future

ScaryAdventurousIn another world


WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?

An ORIENTATIONA COMPLICATIONA RESOLUTION


SOME HAVE

More than one complicationA moral or a lesson to be learntA twist to the plotA resolution that still leaves you wondering


ORIENTATION

This “sets the scene”It introduces the main charactersIt tells about time and placeIt makes the reader want to know more


HERE’S HOW!Jessica sat in her bedroom and stared angrily around her. She didn’t really see the comfortable bed, the posters of bands and movie stars on the wall, the desk with the laptop on it or the wardrobe full of clothes that her parents had supplied for her. As she blinked the angry tears out of her eyes, all she could see was the unfairness of it. She heard her older brother, Sam, knock on her door and she turned round. “Jess, open the door and let me explain,” he pleaded.


AND THIS!Once, long ago in the time of magic, there lived a very naughty pixie. His little house in a large toadstool was always in a mess, his clothes always needed washing and mending, and he was always borrowing things from the other pixies in Green Forest Village and then never returning them. It was a pity that Paddy was so naughty because everyone else in the village lived happily together as good friends and neighbours.


COMPLICATION

A series of events that happen to the charactersHow the characters react to situations or circumstancesHow the characters interact with each otherThe problems/dramas/events that the characters have to solve


HERE’S HOW! Pete and Josh sprinted along the river bank, each trying to out-pace the other. Josh had narrowly won their last contest and so Pete was determined to reach the end of the pathway first. He began to pull ahead of Josh as the finish line came in sight, “I’m going to beat you this time!” he gasped as he gathered himself for a final spurt. Suddenly Josh’s arm snaked out and grabbed Pete’s shirt and he was dragged to a halt. “Not fair!” he shouted angrily, but stopped when he saw Josh’s face, which was white and shaken. He looked to where Josh was pointing and that was when he saw it! Floating face down in the river appeared to be a body.


AND THIS!Ella rushed through the front door, hardly stopping to throw down her school bag on the way to the kitchen, “Mum, mum, you won’t believe where we’re going on school camp this year!” she yelled excitedly as she burst into the room where her mother was sitting. “It’s only to Briar Farm Horse Camp,” she added with her eyes sparkling with pleasure. “And it’s only going to cost $250.00,” she finished triumphantly. Her mother looked down at a letter in her hand, “Oh dear,“ she said sadly, “I think we may have a problem finding the money. I’ve just lost my job!”


RESOLUTION

How the characters solve the complicationThe things that happen because of the eventsHow it turns out in the end


LIKE THIS!Josie held her breath as she peered round the broomstick she was hiding behind. She saw Evilia hunched over the cauldron stirring the foul-smelling brew and adding a variety of disgusting looking ingredients to it. She slowly and carefully stretched out her hand and replaced the glass bottle on the shelf with the one that the kindly old lady had given her. She watched as Evilia grabbed it without looking and added it to the potion. There was an almighty blinding flash of light and when Josie looked again – there was no Evilia – only a tiny green frog!


AND THIS!Hunter climbed up the wall and leant down to help Cooper. Silently they dropped to the other side and scurried under the overhanging branches of a tree. They looked towards the mansion and saw the light on in the ballroom. “They are definitely after the silver!” whispered Cooper. Hunter nodded and they crept across the garden to the house. Peering into the window they spotted the gang filling up bags with the silver cups and trophies. Silently the two boys slid round a corner and Hunter pressed triple zero on his mobile. It was only a few minutes later when they heard the sirens and the saw the flashing blue lights arrive.


CHARACTERS

Make them real – even though they’re not!Give them a “look”Give them conversationGive them emotionsGive them a personality


HERE’S HOW!Miserea cackled softly to herself as she stared into the cauldron. Her cruel eyes blinked in the foul-smelling smoke and the wart hairs on the end of her nose twitched as she slowly stirred the potion that would soon make her beautiful. She patted her stringy black hair with the talon like fingers of one hand and imagined what she would look like once the spell was complete.


AND THIS!Mr Drummond stamped into the classroom and slammed the door. The class all hunched their shoulders waiting for the explosion. “Which of you hideous children broke my coffee cup yesterday?” he demanded, sweeping his beady eyes round the room. Jamie began to tremble, his brown curly hair flopped across his forehead with each shake, he tried to sink into his seat and become invisible but he knew he’d have to own up. Slowly, painfully, he raised his skinny arm.


SETTINGS

Describe the “time and place” of your storyHelp the reader to visualise where and when this is happeningMake the setting and the time fit the events in the story


HERE’S HOW!It was the hottest day of summer. The sun frizzled the dry, brown grass and baked the bare patches of earth in Jack’s back yard. He wandered past the washing line, down the cracked cement path to the old tin shed. The padlock on the door was gaping open and he wrestled it out and shot the bolt. The door squeaked harshly as it swung open. Inside it was dark and a mouldy smell wafted out. “Don’t be long Jack,” he heard his mother shout, “it’s nearly teatime.”


AND THIS!Once long ago, so long ago that history has forgotten it, there was the kingdom of Futasia. Oh! What a place it was! High rolling mountains, clear, fresh rivers, green lush fields, picturesque villages and bustling towns. One particular village, called Puddlestone, was the home of Conrad, a strong lad who worked for the blacksmith. Conrad loved the forge where he worked. The clanging of the metal and the sparks from the fire excited him every day.


REMEMBER THESEDon’t just “tell” your reader – “show” themVary your sentence startersVary the length and types of your sentencesStay in one verb tense – usually 3rd person past tenseReplace overused vocabulary with more imaginative wordsUse figurative language such as simile, metaphor, alliteration or onomatopoeia

Let’s check out narratives!

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