Narrative Genres: How to tell a GOOD story

What is a narrative genre?

Essentially, it is a story. We tell stories all the time, all day long. We live and breathe stories. The entire entertainment industry is propped up on stories. Stories are about people (or sometimes dogs) and is how we connect to people.

A few examples of narratives are:

• Memoir

• Flash Fiction

• Personal Essay

• Poetry

• Blog posts

• Podcasts

• Musicals/Operas

• Comic Books

• Movies

• Novels

• Twitter threads

• Reddit posts

• Snapchat "stories"

• Facebook posts

What makes a story?

The basic elements of a story are:

• Character - Who is in the story?

• Setting - Where does it take place?

• Plot - What happens?

• Conflict - Where is the tension?

Some narratives are easy to identify:

The Hunger Games is about a young woman named Katniss living in a dystopian society who participates in a viscous and homicidal contest only to win and become the people’s hero against a tyrannical government.

• Character: Katniss

• Setting: dystopian society

• Plot: vicious and homicidal game

• Conflict: people’s hero against a tyrannical government

While some narratives are more difficult to dissect.

Who are the characters? What is the setting? What is the Plot? What is the conflict (or who are they making fun of)?

Wait, but isn’t that a persuasive genres? Yes. This would be an example of a hybrid genre: a persuasive genre which use narrative to sell the product. This is not uncommon, and it is often more successful in connecting the product to the consumer.

Considering that a narrative is simply a story, can’t anything be a story?

A narrative needs characters and a series of events. You need characters that do something. Is sitting looking out a window doing something? Yes. Is it interesting? Not really.

Characters need to be active.

When you are analyzing a composition and trying to determine if it is a narrative or not, ask yourself: who is the story about and what are the dynamic events of the story?

While many creative writers and novels may claim they do not have a specific audience in mind when they write, however, other writers, like Stephen King and Margaret Atwood, say they have a specific ideal reader in mind when they write. For Stephen King, it is his wife Tabitha. For Margaret Atwood, it is people in her past who have supported her work. Audience is important when crafting a story, because it will influence decisions the writer makes.

Don’t assume that subject matter determines the audience. Look at The West Wing vs Scandal.

Both TV shows are about Presidents and the White House. However, while The West Wing is written like an office drama where the coworkers help run a country, Scandal is about a powerful Washington DC figure who “fixes” the problems of prominent government officials, including the President.

The West Wing was known for its fast quippy dialogue and political policy while Scandal is known for being Crazy Twisty Sexy, focusing on Olivia’s complicated relationships with, well, everyone. Politics takes a back seat.

The West Wing, when it was on the air, consistently appealed to an older predominantly white audience. Scandal features an African-American Female lead and appeals to both younger and older audiences. (Both are available on Netflix if you are interested.)

In EM Forster's book Aspects of the Novel, he explains that what makes a story is the writer's unique take on the subject. It is the "unknown element x" within each writer which explains why the market can support, for example, so many Spiderman movies. Each one is different in one way or another because who ever composed it is contributing their own take.

How does a mode change how a story is told?

I have included here two different audio-only stories (Click through to listen):

• Fiction -- Limetown - Episode 1: What We Know

• Non-fiction -- Serial - Episode 1: The Alibi

Remember that the composer had to rely on the tools afforded to them as an audio mode. When you listen to these, ask yourself what choices the composer made in order to convey the characters, conflict, tension and plot of these stories?

What is the difference composition choices between the Fiction piece (Limetown) and the nonfiction piece (Serial)?

Both of these audio narratives tell the stories out of order. This is form. And this non-linear form works for them both because they are both stories of events that happened in the past which need to be reconstructed. Stories are not just A happened, then B happened, then C happened. Sequence of events is important, but that is not always enough to compel someone to keep reading. Remember how Bitzer said that all rhetoric is persuasive. You are persuading someone to keep reading. If Serial began with Hae Min Lee being discovered in the woods (ala Law and Order) then the center of the story would be who murdered Hae Min Lee. Instead it begins with the reporter claiming to have spent the better part of a year trying to determine where a high schooler was in 1995. The focus is instead on where that high-schooler was and if the police arrested the wrong person for Hae Min Lee. The choices in how a story is told determines where the audience will focus their attention.

What else makes a good story?

• Well-Rounded characters: these are characters which most represent real people. Someone who cannot be summed up in a simple sentence.

• Specific details: A dog is a generic description, but a Rottweiler is a specific one.

• Show don’t tell: show characters in action. It is the difference between She left the classroom quickly and She dropped her can of Coke and bolted out of the Chemistry lab. Action and specific details.

Ask yourself what you prefer when you read, view or listen to stories?

Now you try.

Look at the picture. I took this at The Sweet Shop on FSU's campus. It was drawn on the wall above a booth, which means anyone who comes in for a latte or a croissant can wonder what the heck happened to Bekah? There is a story here. There is a reason why Bekah’s name has been crossed off the wall. Write the story of what happened to Morgan, Kayla and Bekah. You need a setting? You need a plot? You need conflict?

Write it like a story in 200-300 words (or more, if you need it) and post it to your Wix page by 11:59 pm on 9/19.

Twitter assignment:

Now, take your Wix story about Morgan, Kayla and Bekah and retell it on Twitter. Ask yourself how you need to change the story? Do you need to add images or gifs? Do you need to change the vocabulary? Needs to be told in a minimum of 10 tweets before 11:59 p.m. on 9/24.

Do you enjoy writing stories, poems, screenplays, flash fiction, essays, or songs? Do you want to? Set up an appointment to video conference with me about creative writing.

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