Narrative Essay

 Okay folks, now it's time to really get your engines going.  Here, we're talking about what comes naturally to every human being -- perhaps it's what makes us human beings -- and that's the ability and desire to tell stories.

 

            As background to your own writing, you should have read the section on narrative writing in your textbook.  Now you’re going to write your own stories, in the form of a teeny, tiny memoir.  What is a memoir, you might ask?  Well, it’s a story that’s personal, meaningful, and has a direct relation to you.  It’s not an autobiography.  No, those sorts of things are concerned with facts, figures, and heavy doses of reality.  We, on the other hand, are concerned with meaning, something that cannot really be boiled down to names, dates, and events.  

 

            Let me give you an example.  Let’s say that your father went on a business trip when you were three years old and left for two weeks (which is an eternity for a three-year-old child).  You felt abandoned, lonely, and it had a profound effect on who you are as a person today.  An autobiography would include the dates, destination of the trip, all of the details that inform someone who’s reading a history.  Yet a memoir is not overly concerned with those types of details.  Instead, what’s important to convey are the feelings, the significance of the experience – and the details that support that sharing of feelings with your reader.  

 

            Yes, there are some narrative hints that will help make your memoir more effective.  Some of them include:  

 

1.      Be aware of the conflict involved -- that's what makes stories interesting.  The types of conflicts usually used include: a) an internal conflict within a person's heart or mind; b) a conflict between two or more people; or c) a conflict between a person and some larger outside force such as nature, society, fate, etc.

 

2.      Be aware of the point of your narrative.  That is, what is the meaning or significance of what you're writing?  Are you trying to educate, ridicule, entertain, or what?  You need to answer one question for the reader: “So what?”

 

3.      Develop the details that help you tell the story you want to tell.  Leave out all of the unnecessary stuff and concentrate only on that which helps you.

 

4.      Organize your narrative sensibly.  You can tell it in strict chronological order (first 1, then 2, then 3).  Or, you may want to start the action somewhere in the middle and fill in some of the background information via flashbacks.  Don't forget that you can also use flash-forwards to, essentially, start at the end result and then retrace the steps it took to get there.

 

5.      Be aware of your language.  Use logical, sensible transitional statements that indicate time relationships, such as afterward, then, during, next, etc.  Of course, active verbs -- that are interesting -- are preferable to passive verbs, especially if they're dull.  Please use sensory language in your writing.  However, be aware that sensory descriptions slow down narration, so unless your purpose demands it, limit the amount of sensory language used at any given time.  Use dialogue.  Period.  It makes for interesting stories to actually hear people speak to each other.  And, lastly, keep in mind that your narrative point of view (in terms of person and time/tense) needs to be kept consistent throughout your story.  You may use either first or third person narrative, and although you may use present tense, I personally would suggest using past tense to tell a story.  It's easier.

 

         The format of the finished paper should look like this:

 

1) Double-spaced (single spaced only under dire circumstances);

2) Use a sans-serif font such as Ariel; 

3) 12 point height (neither less nor more); 

4) Follow consistent MLA formatting; 

5) Assignment will be electronically checked for plagiarism  

6) Length: 4 or more pages;

7) Identified as to type of paper being submitted (“Narrative”) 

Papers that do not follow these guidelines will not be read or graded. 

 

What are you going to write about?  Well, because much of our reading this semester will focus on electronic technology and how it is affecting your life, we are going to start with an exercise meant to heighten your self-awareness of how wired you really are.  Here's what I will ask you to do:

Spend an entire 24 hours completely unplugged from anything electronic. That means: no phone, tablet, computer, TV, radio, microwave, no wrist gadgets, nothing at all electronic.  Spend 24 hours living as people lived 100-200 years ago.  

Observe yourself and what you think, feel, and how you behave.  What do you notice? How do your actions and interactions with others differ? What do you appreciate (either gaining or losing)? Then, when you're done with this experience, write about it in detail.  Tell the story of your 24 hours and go into detail. Move beyond the superficial actions you took.  Delve into both your actions but your thougths and feelings as well.  

Please begin working on this as soon as possible.