Find out what narrative writing is and learn how to make yours excellent with these 10 tips.
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Narrative writing is the process of telling a story via written words. Two major categories of narrative writing exist: fiction and narrative non-fiction. Fiction is the telling of stories that didn't actually happen in real life, while narrative non-fiction is the telling of stories that did. 

At a basic level, a story is a communicated group of events that centers around at least one subject character and builds to a conclusion about those events.

​The subject character is typically a person, but can be an animal, mythological figure, or any other type of entity with the capacity to think (whether real or not). You can't write a story about a rock in the dirt. At least one character needs to be conscious.

Technically, for a story to meet the definition of narrative writing, it should be written down. However, spoken stories follow a similar flow.

When you were a kid, did something wild ever happen to you and a couple friends, then you told a bunch of your classmates at school the next day? If so, you've already done something that's almost identical to narrative writing - all that was missing was writing the story on paper, typing it on a computer, etc.

​Fiction writing mainly covers novels, short stories, comic books, plays, screenplays (the written basis of a movie), and teleplays (the written basis of a television show), though does span other formats. As long as the events in the story aren't a direct retelling of actual ones, the story is considered fictional.

Often, fictional stories are inspired by real incidents, though aren't a direct account of them. For example, in real life, a screenwriter may have witnessed a person rescuing somebody from a burning car.

​After the writer got home, he was motivated to write a story that opens with someone pulling somebody else out of a vehicle in flames. However, since the writer invents the characters in the story, and places them into various invented situations after the rescue, this story would be considered fictional.

As mentioned, non-fiction writing involves stories that directly chronicle real events. However, not all non-fiction writing is considered narrative.

For writing to be considered narrative non-fiction, it needs to unfold like a story. Again, that means it unfolds as a communicated group of events that centers around at least one subject character and build to a conclusion about the events.

For instance, chronicling the rise of a real musician from unknown performer to world-famous singer would be considered narrative non-fiction. It centers around a subject character (the singer) and events that build to a conclusion (the gaining of notoriety as a musician).

Books like biographies and memoirs are considered narrative non-fiction, as are journalism articles that tell real stories about real people. A news article about the weather, for example, would not be considered narrative non-fiction - though the article is covering a real topic, it lacks a subject character.

On the other hand, a magazine or newspaper article on a real person wouldn't be considered narrative if it only listed highlights from the person's career (ex, a profile) or briefly reported on some event the person was involved in (ex, mentioning the person won a local pie-eating contest).

However, if an article went into depth about challenges a person went through and how those challenges shaped the person's life, the article would be considered narrative.    

​Fiction writers have more flexibility than non-fiction writers when implementing these tips. Since fiction writers are making up a story, they're not confined by the limits of real-life events.

Non-fiction writers, on the other hand, need to stay true - at least to some degree - to the real-life material their writing project is based on.

Non-fiction writers should look for angles in the material that lend themselves to the storytelling techniques described above.

For example, if you're writing a story about a historical figure, you can cover the person's childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. Further, you can write about specific eras within each of those periods, or even narrower, specific years, weeks, or days.

My advice is to first seek out a worthy antagonist in the person's life.

Possibly, as a child, the historical figure had some struggles, but they weren't in relation to another person in particular. However, while an adult, the historical figure had a strong political rival. You can build a dramatic story around this clash.

Sure, your story can cover all aspects of the subject character's life, however, I'd spend much more page space on the dramatic conflict between hero and villain during this particular stage of adulthood.

You might also like my post on how to market a book online.
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​Interested in writing your first book? Below are 5 key steps on how to write a book for beginners.

​If you have no storytelling experience, that's okay. Since you have an interest in writing a book, chances are you enjoy reading. And reading makes for a great starting point... 

​Once you've picked your genre, your story should stay true to the expectations readers of the genre have. For instance, in a mystery novel, some crime should happen toward the beginning that your main character must solve. Though you want your story to keep within the traditions of your genre, you also want it to be unique.

There's only one of you. So, for your story to be unique, simply look at what you find intriguing about the world. Two helpful categories to think about are people and situations, since these can be naturally shaped into characters and plot.

What's a type of person that interests you? 

Maybe people who explore caves have always fascinated you. Your mystery novel could open up with your main character climbing through a cave with a couple friends and coming across a dead body.

What's a situation that interests you? 

Maybe you've always wondered what would happen if someone stole a famous painting from a museum. Sounds like a solid premise for a thriller.

Once you identify your favorite genre and some people and a situation that you find intriguing, your foundation will be set. However, that's not enough to put together a captivating story with a beginning, middle, and end. Fortunately, doing that can be straightforward if you have insight into the four key elements of storytelling:

• Characters. Who's your protagonist? Who's the central antagonist trying to stop the protagonist from getting what they want? Who are the other opponents that prevent the main character from accomplishing their goal? Who are the allies that help your protagonist along the way?

 

• Plot. What's the event that shakes up your protagonist's world at the beginning of the story and makes them want something they don't have? How does your main character try to get this thing? What does your protagonist stand to lose if they fail? What's the big, climactic scene the story builds toward?

 

• Theme. What sort of commentary is your story making about the world? 

 

• ​Emotion. What sort of emotions will a reader feel while following your main character's adventure?

​Once you have an understanding of characters, plot, theme, and emotion, you should be ready to outline your story. An outline is a document that captures the major events in your novel from the beginning, through the middle, through the end. In my How To Write Gripping Stories online course, I provide a blueprint guide that makes outlining your novel simple.

Some questions your outline should answer:

• What's the first major obstacle your main character runs into while pursuing their goal?

 

• What's the aftermath of this obstacle, ie how does it change your protagonist's approach for achieving their goal?

 

• How does the first obstacle's aftermath lead your protagonist into a second major obstacle?

 

• How does the aftermath of this second obstacle change your protagonist's path forward?

 

• How does this path lead your protagonist into a third major obstacle?

  

• In the climax scene, does your protagonist defeat the villain and achieve their goal...or does the villain win?

 

• By the end of the story, how has your protagonist changed as a person?

​Once you've got your book outlined, your next step is to start writing your chapters. The minimum length for a novel is considered to be 60,000 words. I realize that may sound like a lot, however, if you break the process into smaller steps, it'll seem manageable.

Writing 500 words a day is a great goal. That's two pages, double-spaced. Pretty doable, even for a beginner. Let's say you get into a good, consistent routine and you're knocking out your 500 daily words. In only 120 days - just 4 months - you'll have the first draft of your book completed. Let's say you miss a day here and there, but still stay pretty consistent, you're looking at maybe 5 months till a first draft. Not too long, and not too much required of you per day.

Once you finish the first draft, start at the top, read through it, and edit things that seem off. On this second draft, make sure your characters and conflicts are interesting and your sequence of events makes sense, ex fix any plot holes you may notice.

I'd recommend a third draft, where your focus can get a bit narrower. Tighten up your dialogue and descriptions, removing any sentences that aren't necessary for characterization or plot development. You can also keep your eye out for issues with spelling and grammar.

Learning how to write a book entails a lot more education than reading one article. Various guides are dedicated to scene structure, dialogue, editing, and any other writing topic out there  - I'd suggest you start checking them out.

This post focuses on writing a novel, however, narrative non-fiction books follow many of the same principles. You might want to have a look at my article on the types of narrative writing.

​If you're new to writing, you also should learn how to market a book online and how to write a short story.

Download my FREE story-outlining guide: