Writing Effective Narrative and Descriptive Paragraphs

1. Narrative Mode

When you call a piece of writing a narrative, you’re talking about any writing that is done in the narrative mode. The narrative mode is writing that is driven by a story. Thus, narrative writing is storytelling.

There are so many kinds of narrative writing that you may have seen or even used yourself: fictional narrative, of course, but also personal narrative, where authors write about themselves.

Here are some kinds of personal narratives:

• Autobiography
• Memoir
• Life writing
• Creative nonfiction

Authors may choose to write in the narrative mode for many reasons. These narratives may be designed to entertain, educate, reflect on an experience, or record that experience for posterity.

No matter what, a personal narrative will share the author’s sense of meaning or particular insight into a situation. This is powerful writing.

term to know

Narrative Mode

Writing that is driven by a story.

2. Types of Narrative

As you know, narratives can be stories that are either fictional or nonfictional. If a story is fictional, it will likely follow a structure that is prescribed by the kind of story it is, such as a fairy tale that begins with the line “Once upon a time” and ends with “happily ever after.”

In contrast, a personal narrative may have a looser structure. Regardless, both kinds of narratives need to contain a logical internal structure, meaning a logical sequence of events depicted to tell a story that makes sense.

2a. Fictional

In a fictional narrative, you start by setting the stage. You introduce your readers to the characters, where the story takes place, what the plot might be, what time period it is in, and any other piece of context or important background that the readers will need to follow the story.

The story moves toward the rising action when events begin to unfold. Then, there is the climax, where everything comes together and the action reaches a breaking point. This is followed by the falling action when the story moves toward a resolution.

Everything ends with a conclusion, where all the threads of the plot are untangled, and all the questions your readers might have had about the plot are resolved.

EXAMPLE

Think of the story of the three bears. You begin by learning where they live. Then, you see conflict arise when Goldilocks arrives and eats their porridge. Then, there is the climax when the bears return home to find Goldilocks sleeping in the baby bear’s bed. Finally, there is resolution as Goldilocks runs away from the house and escapes becoming a bowl of porridge herself.

2b. Nonfictional

In nonfiction, similar structures are often deployed. You might see a story begin with a problem the author describes having to solve, followed by an explanation of its significance.

Then, there might be a movement toward solving this problem and, finally, a conclusion that resolves the issue and discusses the overall significance.

EXAMPLE

Think about the purportedly true story of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree. The story has a beginning when young George chops down his family’s cherry tree to prove how good he is with an ax. Then, there is the conflict when his parents confront him about the tree. Finally, you see the conclusion and moral of the story, which tells you why this is significant. George admits the truth and accepts punishment because he refuses to tell a lie. This is meant to demonstrate the trustworthiness of America’s first president.

2c. The Rules for Both Types

Although fiction and nonfiction have their differences, there are some good rules to follow for writing both kinds of narrative:

• Avoid adding too many details if they don’t help drive the plot forward. Do you need to know the color of the walls in the bears’ house? No. Do you need to know that George Washington’s tree was a special tree that someone might miss? Yes. Skip the former, but include the latter.
• Know before you start what the focus and purpose of the story are. Does anyone need to know about the time you tied your shoes wrong? No. Instead, only choose stories that have some significance, and then stay focused on what that significance is.
• If you use dialogue, balance it with written explanations. A narrative story has more to it than just the recording of a conversation or what two characters say to one another. Include dialogue to add richness and detail to your story, but balance it with context and explanation.

The dialogue “I’m hungry! Where’s my food!” moves the plot forward but also adds a vivid description of the events. That dialogue helps explain why Goldilocks wakes up startled.

Here’s a nonfictional example.

The details at the beginning set the stage for something momentous to happen to this author, in addition to showing the speed with which this event moved.

Note as well that the dialogue here not only explains more of the plot but also indicates the emotional significance of the story for these two characters. You might even assume that the purpose of this story is to explain that transformative moments can be bittersweet.

Finally, note that you probably want to read more to see what happens next between the speaker and the mother, which means that this is a good narrative.

3. Descriptive Mode

In addition to thinking about narrative mode writing, you also want to think about the descriptive mode. Descriptive paragraphs provide details about specific persons, places, and things. This mode can be used in any type of writing.

EXAMPLE

You could use the descriptive mode to tell about a vacation you had. You could also use this mode in professional writing when describing how a product works and who it might be marketed toward.

Like the narrative mode, the descriptive mode has some rules that you should follow to ensure it is successful:

• Avoid being vague. A descriptive paragraph should have a good amount of detail.
• Use all senses (sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch).
• Choose your words wisely to create vivid descriptions and rich details.

Here’s an example of a descriptive paragraph that isn’t really working yet.

That’s pretty dull and lifeless as it stands, but consider the revision below. This version is much more interesting, as many descriptive words and sensory details are used. There is even dialogue. All of that makes this a much more enjoyable story in the descriptive mode.

term to know

Descriptive Mode

Writing that provides details concerning a specific person, place, or thing.