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How to Make Anything Sound Narrative a la Shmoop

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Remember when you were a child and you sat on your grandpa’s knee and said, “Grandpa,

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can you read me a story?”

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…and your grandpa put you in front of a tablet and let it read the story to you?

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Sure, it was a good story, but… not very personal, is it?

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You might have wondered if your grandpa even loved you.

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We’re sure he did. In his way.

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First thing’s first – you always want to show, not tell.

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Act like you’re telling a story to your friends.

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Just cut out all the hand gestures, likes, and you know what I’m sayin’s, like…

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you know what we’re saying?

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Stick to one point of view. If it’s a personal narrative, this will most likely be the first

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person.

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Which means you should be using “I” a lot.

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Don’t worry, we won’t accuse you of sounding self-centered.

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When you’re not talking about yourself, make sure you use lots of details.

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Don’t just say, a piano fell on my grandfather when I was eight. Describe it: the piano plummeted

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to the ground in a shower of ebony and ivory, as my grandfather was crushed beneath its

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weight.

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This might not be the time to admit that you’re the one who dropped the piano one him. We

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understand you’re bitter about the story thing, but that’s pretty harsh.

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Speaking of harsh, always make strong word choices, especially when it comes to verbs.

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Your grandfather wasn’t simply under a piano when it fell.

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The piano didn’t fall: it plummeted. Your grandfather was squished. Splattered. Flattened.

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Don’t forget that all stories love conflict.

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There’s already enough conflict between you and your grandfather.

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But you can create conflict in anything. The digestive system is battling the food that

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is traveling through the alimentary canal.

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Nikola Tesla absolutely hates Thomas Edison.

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Find the conflict in the story you’re trying to tell.

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You can even incorporate dialog, especially if you have quotes from someone.

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While the final "argh" your grandfather shouted before the piano fell isn’t exactly eloquent,

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it gets the job done.

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So how do you make your essay into a narrative?

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Use a consistent point of view.

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Use lots of details.

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Make strong word choices.

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Find the conflict.

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And incorporate dialog if you can. Enter your narrative essay in a writing contest.

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Maybe you’ll win a cash prize large enough to pay for anger management classes… or

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bail yourself out of jail.

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