Telling a compelling story can be a dreaded task. A well-written narrative depicts your prowess, character, and knack to tell a brilliant story in a simple way. A narrative has a simple standard format which is the introduction, body, and conclusion. However, this does not make a narrative incredibly great.
Before proceeding, lets first get what a narrative essay is.
A narrative essay is an essential piece of academic writing which tells a story. The narrator is required to create a thrilling, lifelike experience and keep the reader engaged. As an author, you’ll typically tell a story from your point of view.
Ensure you pick vocabulary that makes the story sound realistic and uses vivid details.
The following tricks will help you create a brilliant narrative essay.
- Choose a Good Topic
When writing a narrative, you need to be familiar with the topic. Ensure you understand the genre to enable you to know how to organize your work. Choosing a topic will help you create an enthralling story. Unlike other forms of writing, narrative essays do not use outside references or research. You only use your personal story to help you provide additional detail.
- Ensure the Story Fits the Prompt
Basically, you will get a prompt from the institution or lecturer. Ensure your story fits the prompt correctly. Ensure your story has a good flow and rhyme with the given prompt.
- Choose a Manageable Plot
The desire to show your prowess in writing an incredible story should not overshadow the plot. Remember you’re not into novel writing. Therefore, ensure the story is concise, precise and reasonably contained. If possible, limit characters. The reader needs to find it easy reading and understanding the story.
- Infuse the Story with Vibrant Details
A great story should be enticing to read. It should have particular images, details, and language to make the story lively. Let the imagination be intriguing to the reader. If you’re narrating a night at grandma’s home, you don’t have to remember every detail. Pick a few scenes like how grandma made aromatic food.
A narrative is not a fiction. Make it sound real.
- Outline the Plot
Do you know where your story starts and end? The reader should not feel confused or lost. The flow should be flawless. And to make it flow, you need to have an outline of the plot before you jot your story down.
A great narrative essay must have a start, middle, and the end. Make every part meaningful and enthralling.
- Be consistent
Ensure you don’t switch perspectives when narrating your story. This might be a difficult technique to adapt to, but it’s effective. One more thing to remember is that narrative essays are narrated in the past tense.
Always write in the first-person narrative. However, you might be instructed to write in the 3rd person.
- Consider Clarity
Syntax and sophisticated words might hinder you from delivering a clear message. So, it would be prudent to avoid them. Distribute your ideas clearly and in a simple way. Complex words will make the reader lose interests. You might also lose the story plot.
Using ambiguous words might show your writing prowess, but the reader might not have all the time to keep on checking the meaning.
- You Don’t Have to Describe Everyone
The readers won’t have all the time to read about each character. However, you can mention a few characters and use a general narrative to describe the rest.
Example: As I walked down the lane at the park, I realized everyone was staring at the sky.
In this case, “Everyone” is a general term you could use describing your friends instead of mentioning each character.
- Limit References
Basically, you’re required to include citations in the text. This is according to the MLA format. However, when it comes to narrative essays, including citations, is described as disruptive. You can include the reference after the essay.
Instead, explain yourself in the story rather than referring the reader back to a particular site or a statement. Ensure the reader is not disruptive either by a reference or some complex words.
More so, ensure you quote anything spoken by the character. And every time a new character speaks, ensure you start a new paragraph.
- Ensure You Describe the Setting
Having a good outline is excellent for a brilliant essay. But let the reader know where the story is taking place. The setting could be in a city, on the beach, at home, inside or outside. Give a precise description of the location and what you can remember about the story.
Conclusion
A great narrative essay should be engaging and sound real. By using the above tips, you can write a compelling story. You can seamlessly guide the reader into a desired, exciting direction.
