Welcome to Narrative Writing: Setting, Character, and Plot
Have you ever read a book that whisked you away to an ancient tomb, an enchanted forest, or a stormy coastline? Have you ever cheered for a hero or held your breath as a mysterious shadow crept closer? That is the magic of narrative writing!
A narrative is simply a story. Whenever we write a narrative, our goal is to entertain, excite, or move our reader. To build a brilliant story that makes complete sense from start to finish, every writer relies on three golden building blocks:
1. Setting — Where and when the story takes place.
2. Character — Who is in the story and drives the events.
3. Plot — What happens, including the twists, turns, problems, and solutions.
Note: For a closer look at creating vivid moods, see the chapter "Description and atmosphere". For writing what characters say, explore the chapter "Dialogue in narrative".
Building Block 1: Crafting the Setting
The setting is the world of your story. It tells the reader the location (such as a dusty attic, a bustling Victorian street, or a quiet riverbank) and the time (such as midnight, midwinter, or long ago in the past).
1. Use Your Senses
When you describe a setting, don't just tell the reader what it looks like. Help them step right inside by exploring what can be heard, smelled, felt, or even tasted:
• Sight: twisted tree roots, flickering street lamps, cracked stone steps
• Sound: the rhythmic tapping of rain, a sudden screech of brakes, the gentle rustle of dry leaves
• Touch: damp moss beneath trembling fingers, icy wind biting cold cheeks
• Smell: stale dampness, the sharp scent of pine needles, smoky chimneys
2. Power Up with Expanded Noun Phrases
An expanded noun phrase gives extra information about a noun (a person, place, or thing). Instead of writing a plain sentence like "The boy entered the woods," expand the nouns with carefully chosen adjectives and prepositional phrases:
"The anxious boy crept into the ancient, whispering woods behind the crumbling school wall."
3. Anchor the Setting with Prepositions and Adverbials
To show where things are and when events unfold, use prepositions and fronted adverbials. Remember to place a comma after a fronted adverbial at the start of a sentence:
• Deep within the forgotten cellar, water dripped from the ceiling.
• At the stroke of midnight, the iron gates creaked open.
Key Takeaway for Setting: A great setting makes the reader feel as though they are standing right next to the characters. Use sensory details, expanded noun phrases, and clear fronted adverbials to bring your location to life.
Building Block 2: Creating Captivating Characters
A story needs interesting people, animals, or creatures to make things happen. Readers love characters who feel real, have distinct personalities, and experience genuine feelings.
1. Show, Don't Just Tell
Instead of telling the reader, "Jack was terrified," show Jack's feelings through his physical reactions and actions:
• Telling: Jack was scared of the dark corridor.
• Showing: Jack clutched the cold metal torch tightly. His throat tightened, and his knees trembled as he stared into the pitch-black corridor.
By showing physical signs — such as sweaty palms, wide eyes, a sudden grin, or clenched fists — you allow your reader to infer how the character feels without spelling it out directly.
2. Adding Rich Detail with Relative Clauses
You can weave extra information about your character smoothly into your sentences using a relative clause. Relative clauses often begin with relative pronouns such as who, which, where, or whose:
• Grandpa Arthur, who had explored jungles all over the globe, carefully unlocked the brass chest.
• Maya, whose fingers were numb from the bitter cold, fumbled with the rusty latch.
3. Motives and Personality
Every character needs a motive (a reason for doing what they do). Ask yourself:
• What does my main character want most? (To find a lost pet? To escape danger? To win a contest?)
• What are they afraid of?
• How do their choices affect the rest of the story?
Key Takeaway for Character: Make your characters leap off the page by showing their emotions through bodily reactions, revealing their motives through actions, and using relative clauses to add striking details.
Building Block 3: Plotting the Adventure
The plot is the sequence of events that carry the story forward from the opening line to the very end. A plot needs structure, otherwise a story can wander off course.
The Story Mountain
Think of your plot as climbing up and down a mountain. Most narratives follow these five key stages:
1. The Opening (Introduction)
Introduce your main character and their everyday setting. Hook the reader with an intriguing action or detail so they want to read on.
2. The Build-up
Things begin to change! The character starts on a journey, finds a strange clue, or notices an odd event. Excitement and tension gently rise.
3. The Dilemma or Climax (The Problem)
This is the peak of the mountain! Something goes wrong: a monster appears, a secret is revealed, or the hero faces their greatest test. The stakes are at their highest.
4. The Resolution (Falling Action)
The character takes action to overcome the problem. Clues fall into place, allies help out, or a clever plan is put into motion.
5. The Ending
The action winds down. The setting returns to safety or establishes a "new normal". The character reflects on what has changed or what they have learned.
Key Takeaway for Plot: A strong plot moves smoothly across the Story Mountain: introduce your world, build the tension, unleash the main problem, solve it with action, and bring the tale to a satisfying close.
Putting It All Together: Paragraphs and Cohesion
Now that you have your setting, character, and plot, how do you glue your writing together so it reads like a finished book?
Organising with Paragraphs
A story without paragraphs is like a house without rooms — messy and hard to navigate! Always start a new paragraph to organise your ideas around a theme, especially when there is:
• A shift in Time (e.g. Later that evening...)
• A change of Place (e.g. Back at the camp...)
• A change of Topic or Action (e.g. moving from the calm build-up to the sudden crisis)
• A new Speaker in dialogue
Building Cohesion Within and Across Paragraphs
Cohesion means your sentences and paragraphs link together smoothly, helping the reader follow the action effortlessly:
• Adverbials of time, place, and number: Words and phrases like afterwards, meanwhile, nearby, finally, and without warning show how moments connect.
• Pronouns to avoid repetition: Instead of repeating "Maya" in every sentence, use pronouns like she or her. Switch back to Maya when needed so the reader always knows who is acting.
• Conjunctions: Link your ideas using co-ordinating conjunctions (and, but, or) and subordinating conjunctions (because, although, when, if).
Keeping Tenses Consistent
Most stories are written in the past tense (e.g. she walked, he listened, they wondered). A very common slip-up is jumping into the present tense by mistake (she walks, he listens). Decide on your tense before you begin writing and keep it consistent from start to finish!
The Writer’s Toolkit: Plan, Draft, and Edit
Great authors do not write a masterpiece on their first try. They follow three important steps:
Step 1: Plan
Jot down your initial ideas. Draw a quick story mountain, sketch your character, or list sensory words for your setting. Rehearse your favourite sentences out loud before picking up your pen.
Step 2: Draft
Write your story section by section. Keep your audience and purpose in mind. Don't worry about making everything 100% perfect on the page straight away — just get your exciting narrative flowing!
Step 3: Evaluate, Edit, and Proof-read
Read your work aloud to check that it makes sense. Look out for:
• Spelling and punctuation: Check for missing capital letters, full stops, commas after fronted adverbials, and correct apostrophes.
• Tense consistency: Did you accidentally slip from past into present?
• Word choices: Can you swap a dull verb like went for a vivid verb like stumbled, dashed, or tiptoed?
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
• The "Waking Up from a Dream" Ending: Ending your story with "...and then I woke up and it was all a dream" leaves readers feeling cheated. Solve the problem for real!
• The Rushed Climax: Spending three pages describing breakfast and only two lines on fighting the dragon! Give the most dramatic moments the time and detail they deserve.
• The Vanishing Setting: Forgetting where the characters are once the action starts. Remind the reader of the cold rain, the slippery rocks, or the darkening sky even during fast-paced scenes.
Quick Review Quiz
Test your knowledge with these quick checks:
1. What are the three essential building blocks of a narrative? (Setting, character, and plot)
2. What punctuation mark must you place after a fronted adverbial at the start of a sentence? (A comma)
3. Why do writers use "Show, Don't Tell"? (To reveal character feelings through actions and physical signs rather than just stating them)
4. What is the peak of the Story Mountain called? (The climax, problem, or dilemma)
5. Name two reasons to start a new paragraph in a story. (A change in time, place, action/theme, or speaker)