Narrative Techniques

Plot Structure

Plot StructureExposition: Introducing the setting, & characters.Rising Action: The events that introduce and build up the conflict.Climax: The highest point of the story. The conflict may be resolved.Falling Action: The impacts of the climax are shown.Resolution: Providing a sense of ending.

Star Wars ClimaxesA New Hope: Luke destroys the Death Star. (External conflict)Empire Strikes Back: Luke learns that DarthVader is his Father (Internal Conflict…needs more resolution later).Return of the Jedi: Vader kills the Emperor and returns to the Light Side (External & Internal Resolution)

Falling Action & Resolution

Falling Action:Luke cremates VaderLuke meets with his friends

Resolution: Luke sees Anakin’s Force Ghost at the Ewok party (NubWUB!)

FlashbacksMoments when your character returns to a memory from earlier in their life. This should shed light on their character or the story.5 Tips in Writing Effective Flashbacks:

Find a trigger to ignite a flashback. Think about when you are suddenly pulled into a memory...

Find a trigger to propel a return to the present...

Keep it brief... (1-2 paragraphs for our story)

Make sure the flashback advances the story or to reveal something important about your character...

Use flashbacks sparingly.

Flashback AnalysisWhat was the trigger that pulled Bruce into his flashback?What triggers Bruce’s return to the present?What does this flashback reveal about the character and story?

The platoon of twenty-six soldiers moved slowly in the dark, single file, not talking. One by one, like sheep in a dream, they passed through the hedgerow, crossed quietly over a meadow and came down to the rice paddy. There they stopped. Their leader knelt down, motioning with his hand, and one by one the other soldiers squatted in the shadows, vanishing in the primitive stealth of warfare. For a long time they did not move. Except for the sounds of their breathing, ...the twenty-six men were very quiet: some of them excited by the adventure, some of them afraid, some of them exhausted from the long night march, some of them looking forward to reaching the sea where they would be safe. At the rear of the column, Private First Class Paul Berlin lay quietly with his forehead resting on the black plastic stock of his rifle, his eyes closed. He was pretending he was not in the war, pretending he had not watched Billy Boy Watkins die of a heart attack that afternoon. He was pretending he was a boy again, camping with his father in the midnight summer along the Des Moines River. In the dark, with his eyes pinched shut, he pretended. He pretended that when he opened his eyes, his father would be there by the campfire and they would talk softly about whatever came to mind and then roll into their sleeping bags, and that later they’d wake up and it would not be a war and that Billy Boy Watkins had not died of a heart attack that afternoon. He pretended he was not a soldier.

In the morning, when they reached the sea, it would be better. The hot afternoon would be over, he would bathe in the sea and he would forget how frightened he had been on his first day at the war. The second day would not be so bad. He would learn.

There was a sound beside him, a movement and then a breathed: "Hey!"

He opened his eyes, shivering as if emerging from a deep nightmare.

Flashback AnalysisWhat was the trigger that pulled Paul Berlin into his flashback?What triggers Paul Berlin’s return to the present?What does this flashback reveal about the character and story?

ForeshadowingProviding information on what will come later in the story. This can set the stage and create tension for the reader.Example: Her car sped down the street and away from me forever. At the time, I could not fathom how it all came to be. But looking back on it now, I can’t say that it should have come as much of a surprise.

Show, Don’t TellTelling: Telling your reader a detail or characteristicShowing: Painting a picture in the reader’s mind that makes the action come alive.

Telling: James woke up suddenly.Showing: With his heart pounding so hard that it felt like it would burst out of his chest, James sat up suddenly from his sleep and frantically looked around his room.

Show, Don’t Tell PracticeTurn these examples of telling into showing.

Telling: Javier loved Allison.

Telling: It was hot and I was thirsty.

Telling: Gunther was nervous.

Choosing a TensePresent Tense

Example: I run as fast as I can.Pros: Immediacy & voice. Good for action. Con: Too many details to cover.

Past TenseExample: I ran as fast as I could.Pros: Moving around in Time. Less mistakes. Cons: Can reveal Outcomes.

Point of View: First Person

Example: I heard bullets whistling overhead. Pros:

Greater intimacy between the reader and narratorOnly see what the narrator sees…build suspenseGains access into the character’s thinking and perspective on situataions

Cons:We only know what the narrator knows.We cannot learn about something that the narrator does not know about. (What is the true intention of the other soldier?)Reader assumes that the narrator survives the story (If past tense)

Point of View: Third Person Omniscient All knowing Narrator.Pros

Can know the motives of other charactersCan travel between characters and time periodsCan provide context and build on the setting besides what the character seesCan reveal information that the main character does not know.

ConsLess intimateNarrator must be reliable.

Point of View:Third Person, Limited

The narrator only knows what the main character knows.Pros

More intimate than 3rd Person Omniscient but less than first person.Can’t know if the main character will survive.

ConsLimited to only what the narrator knows.Narrator is reliable.

Rules of Writing Dialogue

http://www.writersdigest.com/tip-of-the-day/write-like-a-pro-master-the-rules-of-dialogue-in-writing

"Hey!" a shadow whispered. "We're moving… Get up.” "Okay.” "You sleepin', or something?" "No." He could not make out the soldier's face. With clumsy, concrete hands he clawed for his rifle, found it, found his helmet. The soldier-shadow grunted. "You got a lot to learn, buddy. I'd shoot you if I thought you was sleepin'. Let's go."