What is Narrative Writing?
A narrative is a piece of writing that conveys information from generation to generation. There are four rhetorical ways through which authors use to pass information, and narrative writing is amongst them. Besides narratives, there is the exposition which explains and makes an analysis of an idea, argument whose aim is to convince the reader to accept a specific idea, and description which conveys information by writing what you visually experience.
The narration of stories is an art that has been there since eternity and people have been doing this in different ways. Narratives are conveyed in a different form: both oral and in writing. The oral way of narrating anecdotes is through jokes or reminiscence. In contrast, the formal way is through personal essays, fairy tales, short stories, novels, screenplays, autobiographies, histories, and news, to name a few.
The Purpose of Writing a Narrative
Below are three essential aspects of narrative writing:
- A narrative connects different events, patterns, and explains to you how events unfolded.
- A narrative is a link of events that helps shape the story during storytelling.
- A narrative helps in educating the audience or readers by relating the past to the present.
Elements of a Narrative
A narrative has five key factors that you need to be conversant with before you write one. The elements are not included in the story, but they unfold as you read and write your story. The first element is the plot of the story, which is a chronological way in which events have been unfolding. Secondly is the setting, here you have to include the time and where the incident occurred. Characters are the third element, and when selecting characters, make sure they fit in the story. Conflict is the fourth element, and this is the main issue or argument in the narration. Lastly, there is a theme which is an essential element. The subject explains why you’ve decided to write the narrative and what moral lesson you learn from the story.
Tone
When writing a narrative, you need to be careful with the tone as it shows the feeling of the author. You also need to understand that tone in a narrative is not constant but can change depending on your sentence structure, adverbs, and imagery. The tone is expressed through the author’s syntax, diction and the level of formality in your piece of work. Example of tones includes scared, anxious, excited, worried, foolish, smart, and depressing tone, to name a few.
Narrative Genres
A genre is a type, kind, or class of literature or art. Example of genres in narrative include:
- Tragedy- it starts with a significant affliction affecting society and ends with a solution to the problem.
- Comedy- it uses comic and funny characters to educate.
- Romance- often starts with the separation of loved ones or a problem associated with relationships, but later the couples find a solution and rise above it all.
- Satire- this a narrative genre whose story is not only episodic but also opportunistic. This genre also uses elements of other genres, like comedy, humour, wit, and fantasy.