Planning Narratives
Plan narrative writing by considering how authors have developed characters and settings, drawing on techniques observed in texts read, heard, or performed
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify specific authorial techniques for character development from a mentor text
- Plan a character using techniques such as showing through action borrowed from a studied author
- Analyse how an author builds setting and apply similar techniques in planning own narrative
1 · Read
Before authors write a story, they plan so the story holds together and the reader wants to keep reading. They think about what their character is like and where the story happens. You can plan the same way, by noticing what authors already do in books, shows, or plays you know. Name the technique exactly, and borrow the technique, not the exact words.
Writers show a feeling through what a character does. A student used that move to plan a scared character: shaking hands, a dropped ball, and refusing to look up. Authors also build settings with sounds, smells, and textures you can sense.
Keep the book you are studying nearby while you plan. Name the technique exactly, like 'shows fear through shaking hands,' instead of just saying the author was good at writing.
Look at how authors build character and setting, then plan your own story using the same techniques.
Rewritten readings were written for this dataset.
More to read
Making a story plan
Arranging a story can feel difficult. Start with its main idea, characters and setting to make the planning manageable.
Collect ideas freely. Write down whatever occurs to you, including silly suggestions. They do not need to make sense yet.
Choose your premise: the central idea that connects the story. Ask what you want the story to be about.
Decide who the main character is, what they want most and what blocks them. Clear goals and obstacles help readers care about the character.
Choose a time and place. A seaside town during a storm offers different possibilities from a crowded space station. The setting affects what characters can do.
Outline the major events. Decide on an opening, a problem in the middle and an ending. Leave smaller details for drafting. This outline gives you a starting plan.
Planning a personal narrative
A personal narrative essay tells about an experience in your life. It includes characters, events and a conflict.
Read examples by writers you admire. Look at how they introduce people and describe places. Consider which techniques could help your own writing.
Choose an experience you can describe clearly. A small event may work well, such as losing your first tooth or getting lost while shopping. Look for a beginning, a middle and an ending.
Before drafting, list the main events in order. Identify the important people and their wants. Decide when and where everything happened; these details affect the story's mood.
Identify the problem or difficulty. Following this conflict gives the events a focus.
Finish by explaining what changed and why the experience mattered. Planning these choices can make the essay easier to write.
Planning characters and events
Wattpad lets people share and read stories, including free ones. Some authors using it have become famous and published books.
To plan your own story, choose a genre you enjoy. Adventure, mystery and humorous school stories are examples. The kind you choose helps guide your characters and events.
Give your main character a clear goal, such as finding a missing pet or winning a competition. Add an obstacle. Readers have a reason to follow a believable character's efforts to reach that goal.
Choose the setting. An eerie library offers different possibilities from a bright beach. A place can also create trouble: a storm might keep everyone indoors.
Outline the opening, the central problem and the ending. Planning can help you draft faster and connect the events more clearly. Write the chapters one at a time.
Starting a novel while you are young
You do not need to be an adult to begin a book. The task may feel daunting, but knowing life as a child can help you write for young readers.
Begin with a small idea. A girl could discover a fox that talks, or a boy could find a hidden door at his school. An idea like this can grow into a novel.
Choose your main character and their goal. Decide where events happen and how that place helps or hinders the character. Study techniques used by favourite authors, such as revealing feelings through actions.
Outline the important events from opening to ending. You need not plan every page. Some writers need detailed outlines; others prefer brief ones. Choose what helps you write.
Begin drafting. Writing a little each day lets the story grow over time.
2 · Watch
به انگلیسیTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.