Key Tips for Writing a Narrative Paragraph

Are you having trouble getting started with your narrative paragraph? Well, worry no more. This article has laid out all the tips that will help you succeed at completing your narrative.

A notebook, reading glasses, pens, and a keyboard placed next to each other.
Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

From practical writing tips to constructing your paragraph, this article is a great companion to help you along the way. Narratives can be a challenging form of discourse to write.

But by the time you finish this article, writing them will be easy as pie!

What is a Narrative?

Narratives are a famous form of writing that is useful for stories and reports. These stories are commonly told through the words of a narrator or from the first-person perspective.

They usually begin with the narrator asking the audience a question. And then, it continues to talk about the problem they are trying to explore. The story’s ending will then reveal a solution to the conflict and a lesson. A narrative can either be real or fictional.

Tips for Writing a Narrative Paragraph

Brainstorm your topic

Before anything else, think about the main topic of your narrative. What do you want people to take away from reading this paragraph? Are there any key lessons that you want the reader to learn? Once you’ve settled on a topic, you’ll have a clear view of the overall structure of your story.

Choose a perspective

There are three common perspectives in writing a narrative: the first-person, the second-person, and the third-person. You can write your narrative in any of these perspectives or all three. The first-person is typically used when writing a personal story or memoir.

Be as descriptive as possible.

One of the strengths of a narrative is that it is very descriptive. It lures readers and makes them feel like they’re part of the story. They feel connected. So make sure to write beautiful and descriptive sentences with your paragraph.

Describe your main characters and the setting of the story vividly. To describe the weather, you might say that “the weather was chilly, and tiny droplets of rain started falling from the gray sky.” 

Write at least nine sentences per paragraph.

Narratives are naturally long. They can go on for about five pages depending on the topic. So don’t be afraid to expound on your topic and indulge in some detail. Just a few sentences won’t be enough to paint an accurate picture of your characters.

Make sure to write some continuation paragraphs in addition to the main ones. This will help you get your point across without going overboard. 

Tell the story in chronological order.

To help make your story flow more smoothly:

  • Tell it in chronological order.
  • Mention major events in the order of their occurrence.
  • Start with an opening paragraph introducing the beginning of the story, then go into the main plot and conflicts that occur in the story.
  • End with a bang. Your ending paragraph should provide your readers with a conclusion.

To Wrap Up

Writing a narrative paragraph is challenging, but with the right tips, it doesn’t have to be. As long as you know how to construct your paragraphs properly, you’ll be able to tell a compelling story that captures your readers’ attention.

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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