How to Start a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is an essay that tells a story in which you are free to be creative. Depending on the requirements of the assignment, your story can be fiction or non-fiction. The narrative essay opening may seem difficult to write at first, but you can make your job simpler by narrowing down the topic and outlining the story. Then you can write the introduction easily.

Table of Contents

Choose a topic for a narrative essay

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Read the title to determine the requirements. It’s best to read the question more than once to know exactly what to do. Note if there are any reminders or questions that you need to answer. Besides, you should also check the requirements listed to get the highest score. ^{[1] X Research Source}

If your teacher gives you a grading scale, read it carefully to determine the requirements for getting the maximum score. You can then compare your essay before submitting it.
Ask your instructor if you have any questions about the topic.

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Brainstorm possible ideas for your essay. First, let your thoughts flow freely without narrowing the topic. Decide whether you should write a story of your own or fiction. Once you have a list of potential topics, you can choose a suitable one. For example, you could write about the first time you slept over at a friend’s house, the first day you brought a puppy home, or the fictional story of a boy struggling to light a campfire. Here are a few suggestions: ^{[2] X Research Sources}

List the first thoughts that come to mind when you think about the requirement or question of the task.
Mind mapping to categorize your ideas.
Freelance writing opens up story ideas. You can just write whatever comes to mind without worrying about grammar or logic.
Make an outline to put your ideas in order.

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Choose a meaningful event to detail. Review the ideas you listed earlier to find an event that meets the requirements of the task. Then narrow the topic down to a specific incident that would fit an essay. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Do not try to include too many facts, as this will make it difficult for the reader to follow.
Let’s say you receive the assignment: “Write about a setback that taught you perseverance.” You can write about a trauma that you overcame. To narrow the topic down, you can choose the incident you first practiced and had a leg injury and the difficulties you faced.

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Determine the overall theme or message you want to convey. Match the idea of the story you intend to write with the requirements of the task and listen to how you feel about the story. Besides, consider what emotions your story will bring to the reader. Based on that, you can determine the key theme or message of the story you are about to tell. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

For example, a trauma story might be a theme of willpower or perseverance towards a goal. You may want to inspire people with optimism after they finish reading the story. To achieve this, you need to focus on your success throughout the process and end the story on a positive note.

Outline the story

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List and describe the characters in the story. Starting with the main characters, write down their names, ages, and characteristics. Next is to determine the motives, desires of the character, and the relationships between the characters. Once you’ve finished sketching the main characters, you can make a brief list of the supporting characters to mention and important details about them. ^{[5] X Trusted Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Go to Source}

You will still have to do this step if you are a character in the story yourself. As much detail as you want to write about yourself is up to you, but it’s helpful to make notes about yourself, your interests, and your wishes at the time of the story, especially when the story goes on. it happened a long time ago.
A description of a main character might be as follows: “Kate, 12 years old – a basketball player is injured. She wishes to recover so that she can return to the field. You’re Andy’s patient, a physiotherapist is helping her recover.”
A description of a supporting character might be: “Lopez is a friendly and caring middle-aged doctor who treats Kate in the emergency room.”

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Describe the setting in the story in a few short sentences. Identify the locations and times of the story. Write down all the contexts you’ll cover, although the level of detail when describing each location may not be the same. Then, jot down a few descriptions that you relate to those places. ^{[6] X Trusted Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Go to Source}

For example, a story about recovery from a sports injury might include several settings, such as a basketball court, an ambulance, a hospital, and a physical therapy room. While you need to help the reader visualize each setting, you need to spend most of the time describing the main setting.
You can list descriptions of the basketball court such as: “The floor creaks”, “the cheers of the crowd”, “the overhead lights are bright”, “the team colors are filled with spectator seats”, “smells of sweat and sports drinks” and “the wet shirt stuck to my back.”
Your essay can describe many different scenes, but you don’t have to describe each scene in equal detail. For example, your scene in the ambulance is short-lived, and you don’t need to describe the ambulance in detail. Instead, you could talk about “feeling cold and alone in a sterile ambulance.”

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Divide the plot into openings, middles, and endings. A narrative essay usually follows a typical story structure. It begins with the introduction of the characters and the setting, followed by an event that draws the reader into the action of the story. This is followed by increasing tension and climax, and finally describing the end of the story and what the reader might feel afterwards. ^{[7] X Trusted Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Go to Source}

For example, you could introduce a young basketball player who is about to enter a big game. The event that opens the story could be the girl’s trauma. Then, the growing stress was her efforts to complete physical therapy and return to the soccer field. The climax can be the day of selection of players for the team. You can end the story with her seeing her name on the team roster, the moment she realizes she can overcome any obstacle.
The Freytag Triangle or a graphical alignment tool can help you outline your essay. The Freytag triangle looks like a triangle with a long line on the left and a short line on the right. It is a tool to help you plan the beginning of the story, the beginning of events, the rising tension, the climax, the decreasing tension, and the ending of the story.
You can search online for a Freytag triangle pattern or a graphical arrangement tool for narrative essays. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

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Write the climax of the story in detail or in outline form. The climax is the climax of the story. The opening and most of the middle will build up the climax of the story. The epilogue resolves the conflict that led to that climax. ^{[9] X Trusted Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Go to Source}

The most common types of conflict include conflicts between people and people, between people and nature, and between people and themselves. Some stories will have more than one form of contradiction.
In the story of a traumatized young player, the conflict here occurs between the person and herself, as the girl has to fight to overcome her own pain and limitations.

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Choose a point of view for the story, such as first or third person. Your perspective will depend on the narrator. If you are telling your own story, your point of view will always be in the first person. Similarly, you can use first person if you are telling a story from the point of view of the character in the story. You would use a third person point of view if you were talking about a character or someone other than yourself. ^{[10] X Trusted Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Go to Source}

Usually, a narrative essay about self will use the first person point of view “I”. For example, “During the summer vacation with my grandfather last year, I learned more than just how to fish.”
If you are telling a fictional story, you can stand in the third person. Use the character’s name and suitable pronouns like “he” or “she.” For example, “Mia picked up the pendant and opened it.”

Write an introduction

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Begin your essay with a “bait” sentence to lure the reader in. You need to start your story with a sentence or two that will engage the reader. To do this, draft an example sentence that introduces the topic of the story and suggests what you will tell. Here are some techniques for engaging readers: ^{[11] X Research Sources}

Begin your essay with a rhetorical question. For example, “Have you ever been in a situation where you lost something important to you?”
Quote a sentence that matches your essay. You could write: According to Rosa Gomez, “You don’t know how strong you are until you face adversity.”
State a notable example that relates to your story. For example, “About 70% of kids stop playing sports by age 13, and I was almost one of them.”
Use a short anecdote that is related to the larger story. For your essay on overcoming trauma, you could tell a short story about your best moment in sports before your injury.
Start with a shocking statement. You could write, “As soon as they put me in the ambulance, I knew I would never be able to play sports again.”

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Introduce the main characters in your story. The reader needs to know which character this story will be about. Name and briefly describe the main characters in the story. You don’t have to tell every detail about the characters in the introduction, but make sure the reader knows who they are. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Let’s say you are the main character in the story. You could write, “As a tall, skinny 12-year-old teenager, I easily outshine other girls on the soccer field.” Readers will visualize your appearance as well as your interests and athletic abilities.
If it’s a fictional story, you could introduce the character like this: “When Luz stepped onto the school podium, everything about her exuded confidence, from the Kate Spade headband on her head to Betsey Johnson heels under her feet that she bought at the thrift store.” Thus, you can not only draw the image of Luz, but also show the reader that she put a lot of effort into taking care of her appearance. The fact that Luz shopped at a thrift store could suggest that her family background is not as wealthy as she appears to be.

Advice

A narrative essay is always one that tells a story, so you need a clear plot.

Warning

Don’t borrow other people’s ideas or copy someone’s writing. This is plagiarism and can lead to serious consequences, including loss of marks.

Steps

Choose a topic for a narrative essay

Outline the story

Write an introduction

Advice

Warning

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