Published on July 6th, 2017 | by Guest

How to Write a Narrative

Whether you’re a novice or experienced author, you may get confused when you sit at the table and see a clear paper sheet against you. The first few lines are always a big challenge. From what to start and how to make the rest of the narrative exciting? How to boost your writing skills?

Although there’s no clear recipe, we’ll try to give you some advice on how to come up with a worthy product. Along with Lucy Adams, a blogger from Buzz Essay, let’s review the stages that your narrative should go through to become a full-fledged product ready for reading.

#1 Planning

Everything starts from planning. First of all, decide on the following:

The purpose of writing (entertaining, informing, conveying certain ideas, purely commercial, etc.).
The main idea(s) of the narrative.
The main character (the protagonist).

Once you decide on the goal, check whether the plot (that you must already have in mind) matches the purpose and conveys the main ideas. If it does, you can safely pass to outlining the story. First and foremost, write the general idea and then try to describe the sequence of events in details. The more, the better. Write down everything that comes to your mind! That’s right what you need now. The more material you will have, the simpler the editing will go.

When you write the core of the narrative, try to:

Make all transitions between stages smooth and understandable.
Come up with right names of characters, objects, and places.

Planning is the most difficult stage for many writers, especially those lacking strategic thinking. However, the actions outlined above are the required minimum to pass to the writing process.

#2 Writing

This part will take the most of your time, but it’s nothing to worry about if you have prepared a well-thought, detailed plan and an outline of the story. You can safely pass to writing.

How to write on a high level?

What’s paramount is not to be afraid to write. Some authors are so much worried about copying someone else’s style that it either makes them quit or significantly complicates the process.

Remember that your story is a part of your personality and can’t be similar to others if you put some personal experience in it. The same words or expressions don’t mean your work is copied or plagiarized until in conveys different ideas and is unique in its essence.

To make your narrative high-quality, try to match the next criteria:

Plausibility. Try to make the story convincing; even it’s a fictional world with no common laws.
Clarity. The reader should understand what is happening in the text and not get confused about the details and characters. Check the consistency of the verbs, avoid frequent use of personal pronouns and do not abuse the specifying structures
Consistency. Even an inverse narrative should be logical. The reader must understand what happened at the beginning and what at the end, which is especially true for narratives about simple everyday activities.
Stylistic purity and smoothness. Any text with grammatical or lexical errors repels an intelligent reader. To avoid typical mistakes, hire a proofreader.

#3 Editing

After you finish the work, leave it alone for at least two weeks. In no case start editing right after you finish writing!

How to edit?

Carefully read the narrative from A to Z, marking all the mistakes and gaps. Don’t correct them at once – do it only after you see the whole picture. Reread the text a few times; at least once – out loud.

If you seem there’s nothing to edit anymore, leave the story along for another two weeks. If the final check reveals no mistakes and roughness, print out the text and read it again. Most likely, you won’t find it as good as it seemed before. Make notes and corrections on the printed copy, and then transfer the e-version. Re-red once again, and if you find no gaps, send the work to the editor. Once you get it back, consider the remarks and make appropriate changes.

Congratulations, you’ve just finished your narrative!

The gift of the narrator makes the author of a good writer. After all, it’s not enough just to invent a story – you have to be able to tell it. Although it would seem that writing a narration is one of the simplest things, the ability to write smooth narrative prose is an art that writers perfect for years, developing their unique, harmonious and convincing styles.

Author Bio:

Lucy Adams is a blogger from a website that provides custom essays at the lowest cost. She’s a generalist who never refuses writing on fresh and interesting topics. Therefore, feel free to share your ideas to the diligent blogger. Blogs posts are free, so don’t miss a brilliant chance to add something valuable to your website at no cost.

Tags: blogging, how to, literature, narrative, write