Planning a Narrative
Narratives typically tell the story of one event—constrained within a specific time period—in order to make a point or observation about a larger issue. For example, in “Harry Potter and Divorce Among the Muggles,” Constance Matthiessen uses one night’s event to examine the difficulties of divorce and its effects on children.
Planning for a narrative is not that different from planning for other types of writing—you have to think about your point and what evidence you will use to support that point. In this case, though, the evidence is the elements of the story.
So, what does that look like in practice?
A typical narrative prompt might ask you to think about a moment when you had to make a quick decision, describe the moments leading up to it, the factors you considered in making the decision, and the consequences resulting from your decision.
In your brainstorming stage, you should have chosen the event that you want to write about. You might have already decided your overall point (your thesis)—if not, now is the time to start thinking about it, as your point will determine what details you must include. For our example prompt, a working thesis might look like this:
My seemingly sudden decision to end my relationship proved to be the right one and taught me that I should always follow my instincts.
This is the point that your entire story must prove.
How do you organize the story?
While you always have options as a writer, narratives are typically organized chronologically. An outline of your narrative should consider your audience and the order in which they should receive the information. Sometimes it's beneficial to include an introductory paragraph, but many authors begin a narrative by just jumping into the story (in medias res: in the middle) to make the story more effective. Regardless of how you begin your narrative, your conclusion must include your thesis to illustrate why the story itself was important--it answers the "so what?" question. An informal outline for our above prompt might look like this:
I. In medias res: Arguing on the couch
A. Dialogue
B. Description of the room/situation
II. Context: Background of our relationship
A. When and how we met
B. What our relationship was like at first
C. The change in our relationship: what our problems were
III. Return to story: My moment of realization/decision
A. Dialogue
B. My thoughts
C. His reactions
IV. Aftermath of breaking up
A. What happened immediately
B. Lasting consequences (both bad and good)
V. Conclusion: Stating of thesis
A. Briefly identify other situations where I've followed my instincts since that day
B. Answer the "so what?": Explain how that choice influenced those other situations
While this outline is brief and informal, it provides us with a foundational structure to prove the point we want to make. This outline works for the sample thesis--remember to tailor your own narrative organization for your own purpose. You can make your own outline as detailed as you want/need it to be to help you start drafting. For instance, we could have added specific quotes from the dialogue, details about the setting, and events that happened later. By adding details such as these to your outline, you provide yourself with key points to expand upon when you draft.
