Narrative Writing

• Dialogue: spoken words of characters EX: "Where did you go?" she asked. I said, "Leave me alone."

• Pacing: speed at which a story is told (can be used to speed up or slow down the story) Elements: action, cliffhanger, word choice

• Reflection: writer describes a real or imaginary scene and adds a personal reflection on its meaning Ask yourself questions

• Sensory details are any details that try to capture the five senses.

• You do NOT need to use all of these. I know a few people said you struggled with taste or smell, and it's okay if you focus on only a few that you're comfortable with.

• The five senses are what you: hear, see, smell, taste, and feel

• These details are helpful to slow down your writing if it's going too fast or you need some fluff to get to the word count

• Hear: The bang of the canon pounded through my head.

• See: Suddenly, all I could see was fire rushing across the floor. The orange flames covered everything before long.

• Smell: The scent of freshly cooked bacon wafted under my door and pulled me away from my homework.

• Taste: I could taste the blood from where I'd bitten my tongue in the accident.

• Feel: The wood was rough as I ran my fingers across it.

Look at this image and think of a sensory detail you could use to describe it.

You can tell that's she's nervous or scared, even without saying those words. Now, that's showing!

If you cannot visualize what they're saying, it's not description (or just really bad description, anyway).

By Cherane Christopher

Write a story, or part of a story, beginning with the words: ‘I woke up in an alternate world...’