Narrative Notes

We all tell stories.  Whether we are giving a friend the details of something that's just happened, telling about a significant situation that's happened to us or someone we know, or relating a childhood memory in a psychology class, we narrate that event.  In each incident, we relate the details that recreate the experience.

For this first essay, focus on a time or occurrence in your childhood or teenage years that keeps cropping up in your mind.  Perhaps you can remember an embarrassing or frightening moment--or maybe an especially happy or hilarious  time--with family, friends, or even while you were alone.  Maybe you can recall the exact time that you realized something about yourself or someone else.  Whatever you choose, write about a significant time that  continues to impact your thoughts today.

Remember, your narrative centers around a personal experience--you'll write your story in first person point of view and most likely, in chronological order.  Reflect on why what you've chosen is important to you.  Was there a conflict involved, and how did you work it out?  In Keller's essay, she voiced for us how she struggled to communicate and how her life became a before-and-after story around the day her teacher came and opened the world of language for her.  Your story may not seem that magnanimous, but it should be about something you feel strongly connected to and reveal an important element or conflict in your life. 

Spend time thinking about your topic.  Identify the context of your narrative--what's the beginning, middle, and end?  How do these parts relate to what you've found about the incident? What details best define or image the elements of your story?  What sensory details are involved?  

You need to spend some time freewriting or brainstorming details to determine your main purpose in telling this story--don't "leave home" without having that point in mind.

Remember, don't skip any of the writing process steps:

1)  THINK!  Freewrite/brainstorm to get your ideas flowing.

2)  Evaluate and organize your brainstorming information.  Identify a specific purpose/point you'll bring out in your essay. 

3)  Do a scratch outline to help keep yourself on track. 

4)  Write a really messy draft, and then let it sit for awhile. 

5)  Revise for clarity and detail. 

6)  Revise again for grammar wobbles.  SPELL CHECK!!