The Importance of Good Narrative

writersblock Writing strong narrative is a difficult task even for seasoned writers. They know to use strong verbs and to cut out the clutter and material that isn’t necessary, but do they follow any certain rules for doing this? I’m sure each writer has their own set of guidelines for writing good narrative and you will device your own set of rules as you become more practiced in your craft, but here are a few guidelines to help you get started.

As a writer you already know you’re a storyteller, this is what grabs the reader’s attention and keeps them interested. If you stray from your main storyline too often and too much, you’ll lose the reader. Backstory is important, but it should only be used in small amounts throughout the story. Never give too much backstory too soon, slip it into your writing in small details.

What’s your story about? Is it about the mountains or the weather? Generally, a good story is about people. Your character can be an animal and I’ve read many good stories with an animal as the main character. The point is your story isn’t about places or things but about the characters; the people or the animals. Keep your story focused on the characters. When using descriptive narrative about a room, scenery or an object, make sure you write it from the characters point of view. Doing this will ensure that the story is still about the character and their perception.

Use your words to paint pictures. This is often what sets great writers apart from mediocre writers. They’ve learned how to paint images with the use of words so the reader actually “sees” what the writer intended. Show the story through the character’s eyes. Many writers want to go into great detail describing the character or telling about the character. It’s better to give few details about the actual character, but show their world through their eyes and let the reader “discover” who this character is, what makes this character tick. It engages the reader and gives them something to think about. If you lay your character out like spreading mayonnaise on bread, that’s what you’ll get–a thin character with no substance and a reader that’s gotten up to make a sandwich instead of reading your story.

E.B. White and F. Scott Fitzgerald both used this technique. They described what the character saw more than the character himself/herself, but the reader comes away with a good sense of who that character is.

Use specific details. Readers will remember specific details before they will vague ones. Details lets a reader know the writer did their homework; they took the time to find out the facts instead of making vague guesses or observations about something.

Be consistent with your images. If you’re trying to describe something and relate it to something else, stick with that association; don’t switch to something else to try and give a better description. If you’re describing something like an apple, stick with the apple relation; don’t change it to an orange.

If you read my piece Writer’s Lament, you can get a good idea of how narrative works. It’s a short piece but you can see the writer with vivid images. By describing his surroundings you get a clear picture of a disheveled writer who’s had writer’s block for several weeks, at the expense of personal hygiene. Even though I’ve described the conditions of the room, you learn about him as well.