20 Narrative Techniques for New Writers by Olivia Salter

 

20 Narrative Techniques for New Writers 

 

by Olivia Salter

Mastering the art of storytelling is crucial for any aspiring writer. Whether you are penning a short story, novel, or screenplay, employing effective narrative techniques can elevate your writing to new heights. In this article, we will explore 20 narrative techniques that will enable new writers to engage and captivate their readers.

1. Point of View:
Choose a narrative perspective that best suits your story, such as first-person, third-person limited, or omniscient. Each perspective shapes the reader's experience differently, offering varying levels of intimacy and objectivity.

2. Dialogue:
Dialogue is a powerful tool for revealing character traits, advancing the plot, and adding authenticity to your writing. Craft engaging conversations that reflect distinct character voices.

3. Description:
Vivid descriptions help readers visualize settings, characters, and emotions. Utilize rich sensory details to bring your story to life.

4. Show, don't tell:
Rather than simply informing readers, show them the story through actions, dialogue, and descriptive language. Let readers draw their own conclusions and immerse themselves in the narrative.

5. Foreshadowing:
Build anticipation and suspense by subtly hinting at future events. Foreshadowing adds depth to your storytelling and keeps readers engaged.

6. Flashback:
By incorporating flashbacks, you can provide background information, enhance character development, or offer a fresh perspective. Use them strategically to deepen the narrative experience.

7. Symbolism:
Symbols are powerful storytelling tools that convey deeper meanings and emotions. Infuse your narrative with symbols to add layers of depth and complexity to your writing.

8. Imagery:
Engage readers' senses through vivid imagery. Create mental pictures that evoke strong emotions and enable readers to connect with your story at a deeper level.

9. Conflict:
Conflict drives a story forward and keeps readers engaged. Incorporate both internal and external conflicts to create tension and propel your narrative.

10. Plot Twists:
Surprise your readers with unexpected plot twists. Well-timed and well-executed twists can leave readers astonished and eager to turn the page.

11. Mood and Atmosphere:
Manipulate the mood and atmosphere of your story through the use of literary devices such as tone, setting, and pacing. Craft the right ambiance to convey the desired emotions.

12. Character Development:
Bring your characters to life by providing them with unique personalities, aspirations, and flaws. Show their growth and transformation throughout the narrative.

13. Unreliable Narrator:
Challenge readers' perceptions by using an unreliable narrator. This technique adds intrigue and suspense as the reader questions the truthfulness of the narrative.

14. Irony:
Employ irony to create contrasting situations between what is expected and what actually happens. This can add depth, humor, and irony to your storytelling.

15. Epiphany:
Allow your characters to experience moments of revelation or self-discovery. Epiphanies add realism and emotional depth to your storytelling.

16. Pacing:
Master the art of pacing by balancing slower and faster sections to maintain readers' interest. Carefully structure the narrative to create tension, build suspense, and give readers a chance to breathe.

17. Metaphor and Simile:
Enhance your writing with metaphors and similes to make abstract concepts more tangible and relatable. These literary devices add depth and beauty to your language.

18. Intertextuality:
Referencing or alluding to other literary works can deepen the richness and meaning of your narrative. Intertextuality allows you to connect your story to a larger literary context.

19. Multiple Timelines:
Crafting a narrative with multiple timelines adds complexity and intrigue. It allows you to explore different periods, perspectives, and themes within a single story.

20. Cliffhangers:
End chapters or sections with cliffhangers to create anticipation and propel readers forward. Cliffhangers keep readers hooked and eager to continue the story.

In conclusion, mastering these narrative techniques is essential for aspiring writers. Each technique enhances different aspects of storytelling, helping to engage readers, evoke emotions, and create memorable stories. Experiment with these techniques, find your unique voice, and continue growing as a skilled storyteller. Happy writing!

👉Narrative Techniques books at Amazon

How to Write Your First Novel | Tips for New Writers (Video)

How to Write Your First Novel

Tips for New Writers

 Writing your first novel can be intimidating. In fact, most writers will attempt several novels before they get to the end. So what’s the secret? Unfortunately, there isn’t one—but, there are tips and strategies you can implement to keep yourself on track, get the draft done, and prove to yourself that you can do it.


TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
0:33 - Basic story building blocks
1:15 - Don't overcomplicate
1:50 - Get in late
2:12 - Accomplish something with each scene
2:48 - Use chapters consistently
3:34 - Set small goals
4:34 - Prepare to get stuck
5:47 - Return to the elements of story
6:25 - Find a writing community

 

The All Purpose Plot | Writing Tip Of The Day

 

Writing Tip Of The Day: The All Purpose Plot

 

The basic plot work for most stories, novels and screenplays -- Here it is.

1. A sympathetic lead character has a desperate need for something -- knowledge, success, love, a solution, to avoid danger.
2. He or she makes an effort to reach success or achieve what he needs.
3. Every effort gets him farther from his goal or deeper into trouble. She doesn't screw up. It's just that every effort either creates or uncovers new obstacles.
4. Every new obstacle is larger than the last, and when he reaches the end, the last obstacle must seem insurmountable. It will require her most inventive choice to reach the desired goal.
   

BUT

 

5. When things look the blackest, he or she manages to get himself out of it through effort, intelligence and ingenuity.

Each scene and chapter should have this same kind of plot structure, but in the case of scenes and chapters, you have something left over -- a question unanswered, a problem to be solved, or a mystery that impels the reader to read on. One trick is to have several plot threads going at once.

One thing that I have observed in most books I read -- and I think it's a carryover from what is called "the screenplay paradigm" is that there is a major twist in the story about 1/3 of the way through and another 2/3 of the way through. Usually this is a surprise or shock -- the lead's friend is really her enemy, the man she is in love with is still married, the clock on the mantle is really a bomb ... and of course, you need your solution at the end. [Don't leave any questions unanswered.]

About the Author 

The Big Switch by Jack Bludis, not by Jack Burns. It's the first time he's using his true name on a piece. He wrote that he doesn't mind being known by both names, but if you look for The Big Switch at your local book store, check under the Bludis name. The Big Switch be available in July at bookstores, at Amazon and B&N on the net. (He'd prefer you to ask your local book stores about it before you buy it on the net.)

• Jack Bludis Books at Amazon  
• Jack Burns Books at Amazon

 

 Free Writing Books Index

Writing Tip Of The Day: Weaving Characterization

 

Writing Tip Of The Day: Weaving Characterization

by Ruth Kohut

"There's no need to stop a story to characterize," writes Editor Sol Stein in Stein on Writing, 1995.

You know your characters inside and out. Their hair color, skin tone, clothes sense, shoe size and favorite foods. You know how they move and how they speak. You know everything there is to know about your characters. Now, the trick is to show the reader everything he needs to know without describing your hero's traits in a grocery list.

When it comes to characterization, use every thread on the loom, except straight narrative description. Don't describe your characters - show them. Challenge your readers to pick up the clues to characters you stealthily weave into your story. Each clue brings the reader closer to a full understanding of your characters.

There are several methods of characterization available - actions, appearance, habits, speech patterns, props, even smells.

1. Actions
"Jane had brown eyes and limp hair that she tucked behind her ears. She wore a blue housedress. She was very nervous as she sat down in the chair."

From this paragraph we know a little about Jane, but it's not interesting or even very enlightening. An easy way to make your character description paragraphs more interesting is to make them active. Show Jane's personality and mood through her actions. Describe her physically as a backdrop to what's happening in the scene. Use drama, not thoughts, to characterize.

"Jane perched on the edge of the wooden chair, eyes trained on the floor. She smoothed her faded housedress over her knees as if drying moist palms. One thumbnail found its way to her mouth, the nail already chewed to the quick. She lowered her arm, sending furtive glances to the other occupants of the room."

This example describes Jane through her actions. We know she's nervous by her moist palms, chewed thumbnail and furtive glances. She's also probably poor (faded housedress) and shy or has something to hide (eyes trained on the floor). Describing your characters through their actions shows rather than tells.

2. Habits
Another trick is to give your characters memorable personality traits. Stroking a mustache, chewing on the arm of a pair of eyeglasses, twirling hair and playing with an earring all show something about your character.

For example, your protagonist might jingle his pocket change nervously every time he speaks to strangers or she might run her tongue over her bottom lip before she speaks. The reader may not remember the character's name, but he'll definitely remember the eye twitch or the tapping foot the next time that character appears. This is especially useful for characters who may only appear infrequently in your story, but who are important to the plot.

3. Props and Appearance
Props can tell a lot about a character. Think of your immediate reaction to characters wearing a feather boa, sweat pants, a cowboy hat or expensive jewelry. Your readers will have a different emotional response between a character with a tattoo and one with a cane. Use that response to create characters that come alive.

"Ahead, teetering along the dark sidewalk on stiletto heels, her beehive hair swaying, her small round hips churning, her arms hugging two grocery bags, was Bernadette Mansaw, seventeen-year-old legend."

There's no doubt about what kind of person Mary McGarry Morris had in mind when she created Bernadette Mansaw in Songs in Ordinary Time.

4. Speech Patterns
What your characters say and how they say it are important threads in the fabric of your character. Run-on sentences, tight wording, polysyllabic words, colloquialisms, or stuttering and pauses distinguish one character from another without author intrusion. Mark Twain endowed Tom Sawyer with speech that would illustrate his education level, his social class and his sense of mischief.

"Confound it! Sometimes she sews it with white, and sometimes she sews it with black. I wish to geeminy she'd stick to one or t'other -- I can't keep the run of 'em. But I bet you I'll lam Sid for that. I'll learn him!"

5. Sensory Information
Using sensory information is often the characterization method most overlooked. The sound of clicking dentures, the smell of aftershave and the feel of a limp handshake are all effective characterization tools.

"Jenny wandered through the crowd, hiding behind a cloud of perfume."

What do we know about Jenny? She's shy and forcing herself to mingle. As a means of disguising her fear, she wears too much perfume.

"The fresh aroma of cut lumber clung to him like sawdust."

Would we expect to see this character in an expensive French restaurant? Probably not, and now the author doesn't have to tell that information.

You know your characters. Now, make sure they are as interesting to your readers as they are to you.

Don't describe your characters. Let them come alive by weaving their characterization through actions and use physical habits, speech patterns, props and sensory information to make them memorable. Your characters will emerge like the pattern in a loom.

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Ruth Kohut is a teacher and Vice Principal in Ontario. She has written two novels as well as several articles which have appeared in Learning and Leading with Technology, Canadian Writer's Journal, ETFO Voice and a Writer's Choice Literary Journal.

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Writing Tips Of The Day: Exposition

Writing Tips Of The Day: Exposition

 Exposition is the background material a reader needs to know for the story to move forward. In "Little Red Riding Hood," we need to know that our main character is a girl on her way to visit her ill grandmother, who lives in the woods. We also need to know that this girl is young and innocent, and so might be given to speaking to strangers, such as cunning wolves, who are hanging out in the woods. In the story of Adam and Eve, we need to know that our main characters are a man and a woman who live in a garden, that they are the first man and woman who ever lived, and that they have been told not to touch the fruit of a certain tree. In the Dickens story "A Christmas Carol," we need to know that our main character Scrooge is a callous, penny-pinching boss, a man old enough to be set in his ways, and that it is Christmas time. Once this background information is established for each of these three stories, they can proceed."

— Rachel Simon