Telling a story: useful guidelines
“Inside each of us is a natural-born storyteller, waiting to be released.”
Robin Moore, author
Telling a story in an effective way can be quite a challenge. This page intends to offer students some insights into the story writing process.
Find out more on:
8 Writing Tips That Will Make You a Powerful Storyteller
A basic plan in a narrative would include:
- An introductory paragraph, in which you introduce the characters and set the scene.
- The main body of the story (2 or more paragraphs), in which the main events are described, leading to a possible climax.
- The final paragraph (the ending), where you can refer to consequences, people’s feelings etc.
Here are some tips to keep in mind during the story writing process:
- Stories can be written in the first or third person and can be about real or imaginary events.
- We normally use past tense in stories.
- Stories describe a sequence of events. The use of linking words such as: First, Then/Next, After/Before, During/Meanwhile, No sooner…than, Finally etc will give your story coherence.
- Using a variety of adjectives (terrified, thrilling etc) and adverbs (fearlessly, cautiously etc) will make your story more interesting to read.
- You can use descriptions of people, places or objects to create atmosphere and emphasize specific parts of the narration.