The Elements and Structure of Narrative

8/13/2019 The Elements and Structure of Narrative

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The Elements and Structure of Narrative

Narrative writing is not just a writing style. As much as narrative demands creativity, it also demandsdiscipline. Much of that discipline falls into the three categories examined here:

Development of the elements or ingredients of a story.

Development of the narrative structure.

Knowing what not to use in the story itself and how to use supplementary layers to enhance thestory presentation and to tell the story using multi-media.

The elements of narrative

Journalists tend to think in terms of the basics of journalism: Who, what, when, where, why, how.Narrative journalists must think in terms of story elements: setting, character, plot, conflict, climax,resolution, dialogue, theme, action, scenes.

Elements shape reporting.The story elements shape not only your writing but your reporting. For instance, you can answer who

with a name and some basic details, perhaps age, hometown, occupation: Steve Buttry, 51, a writingcoach. However, if youre developing a character, you seek and find considerably more: Air Force brat,preachers kid, Yankee fan, cancer survivor, novelist wannabe, father, husband, former editor, lousyathlete, Eagle Scout, writing coach, itinerant journalist, game creator, wise guy. When may be a placeon the map, where a point on the calendar or clock. Setting demands description. It demandsrelationship in time and place to other events and places. Setting is a time and place where you transportthe reader to watch the action unfold. Plot is not a set of events, but a series of events, each flowing fromthe one before and leading to the next. Conflict demands resolution, or explanation of the inability toresolve. Think of these elements as you report, so you have the material you need when you write.

Elements shape lead.Story elements may help you write your lead. Which is the most important element for this story? Perhapsthat should be the focus of your lead. What is the climax? Perhaps thats where you should open the

story. Does the intersection of two elements (a character in a setting, the setting of a climax) bring thereader immediately to the point of a story? Then establish both immediately, link them clearly and developthem simultaneously. Is one element secondary to another but still essential? Then introduce thesecondary element but keep its development clearly secondary, so you dont shift or confuse the focus.

Treat quotes as dialogue.If a quote just gives the reader information, perhaps you should do that in your own words. In a narrative,you use quotes primarily for characters speaking in scenes.

Use sensory detail.Help the reader picture the characters, setting and action of your story, even if photos or online videos willaccompany your story. You want your words to complement the visual elements, enhancing the picturewithout describing what the reader can see for herself. Use your other senses to complete the experience

for the reader. Help her hear and feel, perhaps even smell and taste. Senses are an important tool intransporting the reader to the time and place of the story.

Identify critical elements.In shorter narratives, you wont have much space for character development or setting description. Youmay not have space to develop all the elements. Identify the most important elements, the mostcompelling characters, the key moments, the most telling details. You may develop one character fully buthave only a few words to establish minor characters.


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Planning your structure

Think about structure early and often as you work on a story. As soon as you get the idea or assignment,start considering the best way to tell the story. You have lots of choices and no structure is right or wrongfor every situation. The right structure depends on you and the story. As you report and discover thestory, seek the best way to tell it. Consider alternatives. Try a couple approaches if youre not sure.

Consult with your editor.Dont hold your cards too close to your vest. Your editor can provide valuable direction on story structure.Even if you arent on the same wave length as your editor, consultations help prepare the editor forsomething different. Or the consultation may identify standards that you have to meet when tryingsomething different. If your editor likes the approach youre planning, you get an ally in winning over othereditors who might be skeptical. If youre trying a structure you havent tried before, the editor might haveexperience with that structure. If youre lacking confidence in your new structure, the editor can provideadvice and encouragement.

Plan your structure.Especially if youre considering a structure you havent used before, write a plan or outline of your story.What will be the central conflict? How will you resolve it? Who are the characters? What is the plot? What

is the setting? Where will you start? Where will you end? Will you write a single story or a series? Or apackage with a main story and sidebars? Discuss the plan with your editors. Take inventory as you rewriting the plan. What do you already have that this plan requires? What do you need to learn to carry outthis plan? Where can you learn that information?

Avoid formulaic writing.None of these structures is inherently good or bad. Each of them has strengths and can be effective. Anyof them can become a clich if overused or used ineffectively. The structure doesnt ensure a good story.Your creativity and high standards make the structure work for your story.

Find the right structure.The structures presented below are only some examples of ways you can structure a narrative. Some ofthem overlap, so your story probably will fall in more than one of the categories below. Or you might be

creative enough to craft a perfect structure for your story that defies any of these labels.

Types of narrative structure

Basic structure.Writing coach Dick Weiss summarizes the essential structure of narrative: a story with a beginning, amiddle and an end, where action moves through time. Each of these descriptions that follows is avariation of this basic structure.

Martini glass.This story form, named by writing coach Don Fry, starts out as a traditional inverted pyramid, giving thereader the most important news first in a straight lead, following with other news in decreasing

importance, just like the inverted pyramid, which becomes the top of the glass. At the bottom of thistriangle is an olive, the nut graf or set-up for a narrative. The narrative follows in a straight path, the stemof the martini glass. The story ends with a conclusion that wraps up the story, perhaps fulfilling a promiseyou made up in the olive paragraph or resolving the conflict laid out there. While an inverted-pyramidstory can cut from the end, the martini-glass story needs this ending, the base of the glass. If you mustcut, you probably will need to shorten the stem. This is a different description of what Roy Peter Clark ofPoynter calls the hourglass, structure, which turns from inverted pyramid to narrative with some sort oftransition like It started with This approach can be effective in using a narrative approach for a dailynews story. You need to cover the news up high and give a few important facts, then you launch into the


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narrative of what happened. Another variation on this is called the champagne glassthe top before thenarrative begins is a summary, but not necessarily in inverted-pyramid structure.

Conflict/resolution.Ken Fuson of the Des Moines Register says every story at its heart is a story of conflict and resolution.Establish your conflict early and clearly. Unfold the plot as your characters pursue the resolution. Ideally

the resolution will provide a powerful and fitting end. Because we write many news stories before theconflict is resolved, you sometimes need to alter this approach. Instead of resolving the conflict, yourstory becomes about the quest for resolution or the frustration of waiting for resolution.

Story arc.Jack Hart of The Oregonian coaches writers to plan their narrative stories along the story arc exposition, rising action, climax, denouement. The exposition sets the scene and introduces thecharacters, or at least the protagonist. The plot begins to unfold with the rising action, when theprotagonist engages the complication of the story. (This is the conflict Fuson says is essential to a story).The rising action will be the body of the story, the unfolding plot. It must build tension, or at least piquecuriosity. The rising action leads to a climax, the resolution of the conflict. The writer ties up the story andany loose ends in the denouement.

Brief narrative.The brief narrative is effective for simple stories about a single incident. A routine police story or lightfeature may be a brief narrative. A government meeting might provide a brief narrative. You can unfoldthe brief narrative in a variety of ways. If youre writing a news story, you may need to give the reader thenews first before you begin the narrative. Start with a summary lead, telling the basic news. You mightfollow with a paragraph or two of context and/or explaining why the story is important. Then you start atthe beginning and tell what happened. You might open with the who, what, when and where, then use thenarrative to tell how and why. With a feature story, the brief narrative can start at a key moment, thenjump back in time and unfold chronologically. Or you can start at the beginning and let the story flowchronologically. In a feature, you might want to use suspense and tension to keep the reader moving,rather than giving away the end at the top, as you may have to do with a news story. A brief narrative maydevelop just a few story elements.

Long narrative.A long narrative is an especially effective approach for a weekend story or for second or third-daycoverage of a big news story. It also works in feature stories. In the long narrative, you don t want to giveaway the whole conclusion, or perhaps any of it, at the top of the story. If youre writing a narrative abouta major news story, the reader will already know the whatof the ending, but may not know the whyorhowor the background or all the details. A long narrative needs to hook the reader quickly and give thereader a reason to stick with you. Tension and suspense, even mystery, are important elements of thelong narrative, but confusion is not. Give the reader an early hint, or promise, of whats to come early inthe story. Fuson (who credits editor Jan Winburn of the Baltimor Sun with teaching him this) says thepromise sometimes plays the role of nut graph in the long narrative. The promise may raise a questionthat the reader can expect you to answer by the end of the story. It may lay out the mystery that you willsolve or establish the conflict you will resolve. Story elements are crucial to the long narrative. Developthe characters carefully so the reader cares about them and wants to know what happens to them. Placethe characters in a setting and use sensory detail to transport the reader there. Use dialogue to help thereader hear the characters. Capture the key moments in memorable scenes where your narrative slows(or accelerates) to highlight the drama. Use what Clark calls internal cliffhangers to build suspense,move the reader along and give a promise of an ending worth the journey. Use what Fry calls gold coinsto keep the reader following your path. These are the compelling, intriguing, amusing or enchantingdetails or anecdotes that you would shove to the top of an inverted-pyramid story. You need to stringthem throughout the long narrative to reward the reader for continuing the journey.

Serial narrative.A serial narrative follows many of the same techniques as a long narrative. Each piece needs to stand on


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its own as well as link to the others. You need an overriding theme and/or conflict holding the serialtogether. Each installment needs a sub-theme or conflict. While the ending must wrap up that days story,it also should have some element of promise or mystery, maybe even a cliffhanger, to invite the readerback for the next installment. Be especially demanding of the serial narrative and each of its parts. Yourebetter off cutting the story short by a day or two than risking a story or two that drag or wander from thecentral conflict. If you lose readers during a narrative with a weak link, they wont come back. Mostnewspaper narratives start on Sunday, when many readers have extra time to spend with the newspaper.Your readers patience threshold might be lower on weekdays, because shes reading your paper quicklybefore she goes to work, or on a coffee break at work. Installments that day must be shorter and/or morecompelling to continue holding reader interest.

Partial narrative.Narrative is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Some stories about issues or news events will use narrativetechniques, even though they arent pure narrative stories.An anecdotal lead may be the best way toopen a story that shifts to an examination of the issue that the lead illustrates or introduces. A story thatrequires mostly straight-news techniques with officials talking to the reporter might need a narrativepassage to highlight a key moment.

Structural Issues

Avoid confusion.In a long or serial narrative, multiple characters can confuse the reader. Consider the importance of eachcharacter and decide whether you can omit some. If your story still has a large cast, consider a cast ofcharacters box with mug shots and thumbnail identification. This will help the reader keep charactersstraight, particularly when a minor character resurfaces quite a while after you first introduced him. Wherepossible, avoid reusing minor characters. Geography and chronology also can be confusing, especially ifthe story doesnt flow in chronological order or doesnt occur all in one place. Consider a map or timeline,or a map with numbers and text blocks that show how the action flowed through time and space.

Process bogs down narrative.Reporters need to know much more about process than readers want to know. Consider one of theseapproaches to explaining legal, bureaucratic or technical processes that arent essential to the narrative:

Omit process explanation. Its not important to some stories.

Minimize process explanation. Process detail is not important to some stories.

Handle the process in a sidebar, providing explanation to readers who want it but not burdeningyour main story.

Handle the process in a graphic that will explain it better.

Nut graphs.Journalists disagree about the necessity (and sometimes the definition) of nut graphs. But this much isdifficult to dispute: High in every story, even a narrative, you need to tell the reader why she should readthis story today. A good nut graph often is the best way to achieve that. But a clumsy nut graph candisrupt the flow of a narrative. For an issue story, the nut graph sometimes is a simplification of the issue.That doesnt work for most narratives, but an artful promise of whats to come can help orient the readereffectively.

Layering your story

Your narrative is more than the prose that you write. Your story is the full package of information andimages that your newspaper presents to the reader. As the journalist whose name will appear mostprominently and as the journalist usually with the largest investment of time and pride in the story, the


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reporter has to assume responsibility for the full package and take an active role in its planning andproduction.

Telling a narrative story in layers allows a writer to use other forms to present supporting informationthat would slow down the story. It also gives you multiple chances to lure the scanning reader into yourstory. Maybe the headline alone wont draw the reader into the story. But a pull -quote or graphic makes

the reader stop and read. If a reporters interest in the tasks of presentation wont motivate involvement,perhaps vanity will: More people will read and remember your story if your newspaper presents it inan eye-catching package.

Consider all the ways you can present information, in addition to your story. Your newspaper might havedifferent terminology for some of the elements described here. Your newspaper might use some layersnot explained here. Make sure you learn the terminology used in your newsroom and learn whichelements your design favors most. These are not all the layers that you might use with any kind of story,just the ones most likely to complement a narrative story:

Staff photographs.Work closely with the photojournalist who is helping you tell this story. Photos are an importantstorytelling tool. Make sure the photographer knows how you are planning to tell the story, who the main

characters are and how important the setting is. Photos will be the readers introduction to the story inmost cases. The best narrative packages are a result of close collaboration between writer andphotographer. Dont be bashful about making suggestions, but respect the professional skill of thephotographer to come up with better ideas than you might suggest.

Archival photographs.Check your files, paper and electronic, for historical photographs that may tell part of the story.

Donated photographs.Ask the characters you interview for photographs they have taken that might show events or placeswhere you were not present. Seek candid photographs and mug shots of dead or missing people youwrite about. Seek youthful photographs of people you write about, if your story will deal with that period intheir lives. Some photos that you dont use may help you describe people, places or events in the story.

Illustrations.A staff photographer or artist might be able to create an effective illustration to help tell the story andattract the reader's eye. Or a character might be able to provide illustrations done by others.

Maps.A simple locator map might help the reader understand where an event took place. Or a complex mapmight show how and where events unfolded.

Diagrams.If the reader might wonder how did that happen? or how does that work? consider a diagram toprovide a clearer answer than you can in prose. Again, you can produce a staff-generated diagram or youmight come across a diagram in your reporting that you can use with permission and credit.

Timelines.A timeline places a specific event or series of events in context with other events. This can be simple textor you can turn it into a graphic or perhaps illustrate with photos of some of the events. You can combinea timeline with a map, showing how an event unfolded through space and time.

Chronologies.A chronology details how an event unfolded. A chronology can be all text or can tie into a map or diagram


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that explains key steps. If you dont have a map or diagram, photos of key people or events mightenhance the chronology.

Glossaries.A glossary explains terminology relating to a particular issue. This doesnt absolve the writer fromexplaining some terms in context in the story, but gives an opportunity for more detailed definitions.

Use-It Boxes.Pull out useful information for the reader into a box that attracts the eye quickly. This may be somethingthe reader will be looking for later when she returns to the story. Use-its, also called go-and-do boxes,might have date and time of an event, ticket price, location, a phone number for more information, how tomake donations, how to volunteer, who can participate, web sites, etc. Use-its run more often with non-narrative stories, but be sure you consider the possibility. A narrative about someone with a disease orabout a victim of abuse might provide information about organizations that provide assistance for peoplein those circumstances. A narrative in relation to an anniversary might include a use-it with informationabout activities to observe the anniversary. Consider how the reader might act in response to your story.If you write a story that moves the reader to act, put the information that tells the reader how to act in oneplace thats easy to find.

Whats-next box.A serial narrative needs a box telling readers where this installment fits and what to expect next.

Tables, charts and graphs.Numbers can bog down any story, but especially a narrative. If you have more than two related numbers,consider presenting them in a table, chart or graph. Numbers almost always work better in one of theseformats than in prose. The more numbers you use, the more important that you simplify them for thereader in one of these forms.

Statistics.Does your story include statistical information that can be presented in an understandable typographicaltable as a separate element, such as a box score?

Cast of characters.If the story involves several people, consider a separate element with mug shots of the characters andthumbnail sketches. This can be simple biographical information or it can include fun facts that dont reallyfit into the narrative but add to the character development of the total package.

Bio box.If your story focuses on a particular character, especially a newsmaker, consider a box with some basicinformationage, education, occupation, family and perhaps a fun fact or two. With both the bio box andthe cast of characters, some overlap with the story is inevitable and desirable. But exact duplication is awaste of your space and the readers time. Make the bio box or cast of characters mostly newinformation. Mug shots or even a wide candid shot add to a cast of characters or a bio box. (A note aboutthe boxes referred to here: Whether you actually box them with a border is a matter of design style foryour paper. If the borders of your box are white space, call them windows or breakouts if you prefer. Or

make up your own terminology that works for your staff.)

Fact boxes.Sometimes, especially with a complicated story, a fact box summarizing key points is helpful to thereader. This is especially important if you are using the narrative approach to tell a story related to animportant public issue. Fact boxes and some of these other layering devices help you address points thatdont fit in the narrative.


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want a lame or misleading title for the series, just because you left the packaging of the story tosomeone else.

Plan the layers

Plan layers early.

As you discuss a story with your editor at the planning stage, discuss possible layers you might use in thepackage. On major stories, consider a maestro meeting, where you meet with the editor(s), visualjournalists and online editor who will work on the package gather to brainstorm ways to present thepackage and coordinate their efforts. This makes the presentation integral to the story, rather than anafterthought. In the maestro meeting, everyone can talk about any aspect of the package, regardless ofspecialty. The maestro meeting replaces the traditional handoff from reporter to editor with a teamworkapproach from the beginning.

Plan layers as you go.However well you plan early, stories will change as you learn more about them. You will come acrossinformation you didnt anticipate in your maestro session. For a major change, you may need toreconvene a maestro session. More often, you can change plans with an individual conversation or two.

Plan layers as you write.As you write the story, you may realize that some information will work better in a sidebar or graphic.Discuss these possibilities right away with your editor. Ideally your early planning will avoid last-minutechanges in plans. But you should still try last-minute changes if they improve the package for yourreaders.

Put the plan in writing.For a routine story, a simple budget line that details elements of the package may suffice. For biggerstories, you should follow the maestro meeting up with a written plan that details the elements of thepackage, the roles of the journalists in producing and coordinating the elements and deadlines forproviding information and finished elements. Writing this plan may actually help you focus the writing ofthe main story. It will help you see where the story fits in the package and what points you dont have tocover in the narrative.

Advice for reporters from Earl Swift of the Virginian-Pilot:

Once you have the story finished, youll want to again redefine your job to inc lude editing and design.Volunteer to write the captions. Offer headline suggestions. Proofread all the pages. Sit in on photo-editing sessions, so that you have a voice in what images are chosen to accompany your work.Collaborate with the designer assigned your story to ensure that the overall feel of the presentationmatches the mood youve established; no matter how carefully you craft a story, your readers will be leftemotionally befuddled if the packaging strikes a disharmonious chord.

I call this Following the Story, and, on a big series or feature, I will even drive to the plant at midnight towatch the paper come off the press, and hang with the pressmen to ensure the register is perfect on the

photos.

Take similar pains, and perhaps youll avoid the kind of unpleasant surprise visited on my colleague FredKirsch when his very first story was published by a paper in New Jersey. It was about a high schoolbaseball teams deep pitching rotation. Unfortunately, some editor mistyped the headline, and the mistakegot by the proofers; the story thus appeared under the announcement Bull penis strong. You canimagine how Fred felt showing that off to his mom.


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Narrative Devices:

Definition:This term describes the tools of the story teller (also used in non fiction), such as ordering events

so that they build to a climatic moment or withholding information until a crucial or appropriate

moment when revealing it creates a desired effect. On the essay exam this term may also apply to

biographical and autobiographical writing.

Examples: SONS

-Foreshadowing, hinting at events to occur later.

--InRomeo & Julietthe two main characters both state early on that they would rather die than

not be together.

-Personification -the use of comparative metaphors and similes to give human-like

characteristics to non-human objects.

-Plot twistis a change ("twist") in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of a film or

novel.

-Suspenseor tensionis the feeling of uncertainty and interest about the outcome of certain

actions -- most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work.

-Dialogueis a reciprocal conversation between two or more persons

--"Alex," my mother asked, "what were your activities and pursuits at your middle school

today?"

--"I had a full day of activities, Mother. My teachers were stimulating, and my English class was

especially delightful."

The Elements and Structure of Narrative

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