ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Writing Videos 89 videos
Want even more deets on wordiness? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Want even more deets on tenses? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Want even more deets on semicolons? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
How to Make Anything Sound Narrative 4141 Views
Share It!
Description:
How do you make an essay sound narrative? Check out this video for some helpful advice on everything from point of view to tone to conflict. With these tips, anything can sound exciting and engaging.
Transcript
- 00:04
How to Make Anything Sound Narrative a la Shmoop
- 00:07
Remember when you were a child and you sat on your grandpa’s knee and said, “Grandpa,
- 00:11
can you read me a story?”
- 00:13
…and your grandpa put you in front of a tablet and let it read the story to you?
- 00:18
Sure, it was a good story, but… not very personal, is it?
Full Transcript
- 00:22
You might have wondered if your grandpa even loved you.
- 00:25
We’re sure he did. In his way.
- 00:28
First thing’s first – you always want to show, not tell.
- 00:31
Act like you’re telling a story to your friends.
- 00:34
Just cut out all the hand gestures, likes, and you know what I’m sayin’s, like…
- 00:39
you know what we’re saying?
- 00:42
Stick to one point of view. If it’s a personal narrative, this will most likely be the first
- 00:47
person.
- 00:47
Which means you should be using “I” a lot.
- 00:50
Don’t worry, we won’t accuse you of sounding self-centered.
- 00:53
When you’re not talking about yourself, make sure you use lots of details.
- 00:57
Don’t just say, a piano fell on my grandfather when I was eight. Describe it: the piano plummeted
- 01:04
to the ground in a shower of ebony and ivory, as my grandfather was crushed beneath its
- 01:09
weight.
- 01:10
This might not be the time to admit that you’re the one who dropped the piano one him. We
- 01:14
understand you’re bitter about the story thing, but that’s pretty harsh.
- 01:18
Speaking of harsh, always make strong word choices, especially when it comes to verbs.
- 01:23
Your grandfather wasn’t simply under a piano when it fell.
- 01:28
The piano didn’t fall: it plummeted. Your grandfather was squished. Splattered. Flattened.
- 01:37
Don’t forget that all stories love conflict.
- 01:41
There’s already enough conflict between you and your grandfather.
- 01:44
But you can create conflict in anything. The digestive system is battling the food that
- 01:49
is traveling through the alimentary canal.
- 01:51
Nikola Tesla absolutely hates Thomas Edison.
- 01:54
Find the conflict in the story you’re trying to tell.
- 02:00
You can even incorporate dialog, especially if you have quotes from someone.
- 02:04
While the final "argh" your grandfather shouted before the piano fell isn’t exactly eloquent,
- 02:10
it gets the job done.
- 02:11
So how do you make your essay into a narrative?
- 02:14
Use a consistent point of view.
- 02:15
Use lots of details.
- 02:17
Make strong word choices.
- 02:19
Find the conflict.
- 02:19
And incorporate dialog if you can. Enter your narrative essay in a writing contest.
- 02:31
Maybe you’ll win a cash prize large enough to pay for anger management classes… or
- 02:36
bail yourself out of jail.
Related Videos
This video offers some rules of thumb for writing a good introduction. It covers everything from tone (confidence is key!) to phrases and clichés...
Even the best essays can go wrong in the conclusion—this video covers what not to do in a conclusion to help avoid any essay-ending problems. The...
You want to be as picky with your citations as Goldilocks was with her porridge—not too many, not too few... juuust right. You want to prove that...
Want even more deets on wordiness? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Want even more deets on Run-on Sentences? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.