The Narrative Diamond
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The Expository Pillar
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The Opinion Pillar (Persuasive)
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Veteran's Day Project
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Persuasive Writing/ Opinion Writing
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Narrative Writing
Jack Gantos
Jack Gantos visited the Deer Hill School several years ago and gave a very inspirational presentation about how he writes. He showed us the maps he drew of his house and some of the neighborhoods he lived in as a kid. He also showed us some of the many, and by many I mean hundreds of journals he has. Below are several videos of similar presentations he made to other schools. |
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Narrative Writing
The authors purpose is to entertain the reader. The Narrative Writing Diamond represents the different parts of a story. This is only one way to see the different parts of a story. Why do you think the widest part of this diamond is the main event?
Now let's see each part separately.
Entertaining Beginning
The beginning must “hook” the reader and make them feel compelled to read on. The author might use an interesting action, dialogue or exclamation, the main character’s thoughts, or feelings, raise story questions or even use a sound to grab the reader’s attention. Stories should begin as close to the main event as possible.
Starting Off on the right foot!
One way to make your writing more interesting and entertaining is by starting off with a great, attention grabbing beginning! Here are some techniques authors use to begin their stories:
Elaborative Detail
A descriptive segment (3-4 sentences long) which describes a story critical setting, character, or object will help draw the reader in and help the reader experience the fictional world through the five senses of the main character.
Detail generating questions:
.....about a critical character in the story-
How tall/big was this character? How old is the character? What kind of hair? (long, short, curly) What color is it? What kind/color of eyes, mouth, ears, nose does the character have? Does the character have any markings, scars, etc.? What is the character wearing?
......about the setting:
What was the temperature/weather like? What kinds of trees, plants grow there? How did the air feel? What kinds of animals live there? What kinds of buildings were there? What kinds of sounds do you hear? What do you smell? How does the character feel about being there?
......about a critical object:
What color was it? What did it feel like? What shape/size is it? What is it made of? How old is it? What kind of sound does it make? Where did it come from? Who does it belong to now? What does it remind you of
What feelings look like?
Another aspect of elaborative detail is “showing rather than telling”. This helps revealing a character’s feelings.
Example: Telling - Jack was really mad.
Showing - Jack stamped his feet. His face turned a deep shade of red. He slammed his fist on the table.
How could you show your character is
Building Suspense
The ability to leave the reader hanging or wondering what will happen next is a powerful writing technique. To convey a sense of urgency or anticipation you can use red flag words such as suddenly, just then, or before I knew it. These words signal a transition in the story.
Another technique is to use Word Referents. Tease the reader by not immediately revealing what “it” is. Describe a story critical character or object without naming it. Use word referents instead.
Example: Instead of writing: I saw a dragon in the cave.
Use word referents. The creature was huge and dark as night. It made a soft rumbling sound. I could feel the mythical beast’s hot breath on my face.(What is it? The reader is dying to know!)
Main Events
The main event is the problem, adventure, or experience that the story is all about. The important thing here is not to summarize but make a scene! Ask yourself these question to help you fully elaborate the main event.
What did you do (tell it in slow motion, stretch it out)? What did you hear, see, feel? What were you feeling, wondering, worrying about? What did you say or exclaim? What did you hear?
Extended Endings
The extended ending comes after the conclusion of the event. It should leave the reader satisfied that the story is over. You can use the following hints to write your extended ending:
Now let's see each part separately.
Entertaining Beginning
The beginning must “hook” the reader and make them feel compelled to read on. The author might use an interesting action, dialogue or exclamation, the main character’s thoughts, or feelings, raise story questions or even use a sound to grab the reader’s attention. Stories should begin as close to the main event as possible.
Starting Off on the right foot!
One way to make your writing more interesting and entertaining is by starting off with a great, attention grabbing beginning! Here are some techniques authors use to begin their stories:
- AN ACTION - put main character in your setting doing something interesting and relevant to the story. Think to yourself, what would you do? Example: Jake ran full steam ahead across the corral and jumped on the back of a wild stallion!
- DIALOGUE - have your main character say something. What might you say or exclaim? Example: "I can't wait to ride Bazarro at Six Flags!"
- A THOUGHT or ACTION - Show the main character's thoughts, or raise a story question. Think to yourself, what would you wonder or worry about? Example: I wonder if we'd make it out alive.
- A SOUND- Grab the reader's attention through the use of a sound. Think to yourself, what might you hear? Example: Buzz! Buzz! Anthony could hear the approaching swarm a few seconds before he felt the bees sting his arms and face.
Elaborative Detail
A descriptive segment (3-4 sentences long) which describes a story critical setting, character, or object will help draw the reader in and help the reader experience the fictional world through the five senses of the main character.
Detail generating questions:
.....about a critical character in the story-
How tall/big was this character? How old is the character? What kind of hair? (long, short, curly) What color is it? What kind/color of eyes, mouth, ears, nose does the character have? Does the character have any markings, scars, etc.? What is the character wearing?
......about the setting:
What was the temperature/weather like? What kinds of trees, plants grow there? How did the air feel? What kinds of animals live there? What kinds of buildings were there? What kinds of sounds do you hear? What do you smell? How does the character feel about being there?
......about a critical object:
What color was it? What did it feel like? What shape/size is it? What is it made of? How old is it? What kind of sound does it make? Where did it come from? Who does it belong to now? What does it remind you of
What feelings look like?
Another aspect of elaborative detail is “showing rather than telling”. This helps revealing a character’s feelings.
Example: Telling - Jack was really mad.
Showing - Jack stamped his feet. His face turned a deep shade of red. He slammed his fist on the table.
How could you show your character is
- happy
- sad
- angry
- shocked
- tired
- hot/ cold
- frightened
Building Suspense
The ability to leave the reader hanging or wondering what will happen next is a powerful writing technique. To convey a sense of urgency or anticipation you can use red flag words such as suddenly, just then, or before I knew it. These words signal a transition in the story.
Another technique is to use Word Referents. Tease the reader by not immediately revealing what “it” is. Describe a story critical character or object without naming it. Use word referents instead.
Example: Instead of writing: I saw a dragon in the cave.
Use word referents. The creature was huge and dark as night. It made a soft rumbling sound. I could feel the mythical beast’s hot breath on my face.(What is it? The reader is dying to know!)
Main Events
The main event is the problem, adventure, or experience that the story is all about. The important thing here is not to summarize but make a scene! Ask yourself these question to help you fully elaborate the main event.
What did you do (tell it in slow motion, stretch it out)? What did you hear, see, feel? What were you feeling, wondering, worrying about? What did you say or exclaim? What did you hear?
Extended Endings
The extended ending comes after the conclusion of the event. It should leave the reader satisfied that the story is over. You can use the following hints to write your extended ending:
- A MEMORY- What did you remember most?
- FEELINGS - How did you feel about what happened?
- WISH of HOPE - What would you wish or hope?
- DECISION - What did you decide?
- DEFINING ACTION - What did you do?