Elements of Narrative

1. Setting Description
Describe the setting. Where is this story taking place? At Herrell’s Ice Cream? Make us smell the waffle cones and hot fudge sauce. Let us hear the people talking as they wait in line and choose a flavor. Tell us the color of the walls.
2. Character Description
Describe the people in your story. What do they look like? What are they wearing? What are their habits? Their background? How can you make these people come alive to the reader?
3. Figurative Language – Metaphor & Similes
Figurative language makes the reader see everyday things and people in a new way—metaphors and similes make comparisons, sometimes between the known and the unexplored. For example in the sentence, His teeth were like a weasel’s, sharp and pointed, but twisted and bunched at the roots,” A person’s teeth are compared to a weasel’s. Although we think of using figurative language in poetry, it helps strengthen narrative and essay writing.
* Metaphor – A figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as.
The cup of hot tea was the best medicine for my cold.
* Simile – A figure of speech that compares two things using the word like or as.
The dog danced around like loose litter in the wind.
4. Interior Monologue
What is the character thinking and feeing while the dialogue and action are happening? This literary device helps the reader discover more information about the character or story.