Talking of Narrative Writing

- K S Sivakumaran -

Knowledgeable people say that in creative writing, descriptive and narrative writing plays a vital role. This is true. In journalism and creative writing courses, this aspect is explained by the lecturers. Even in high schools abroad especially creative writing exercises are very popular among students. This I know first hand as an English teacher in such schools. Even in newspapers, where they encourage young and new writers to write short fiction the editors look into the aspects of creativity that includes description and narration apart from the main concern of the content. There may be readers and young writers who would like to write short stories and to help such people it could be desirable to talk about these things through this column in the capacity of a teacher and a journalist /columnist with a bias towards literary criticism.

So, let’s begin with some basic features in narrative writing. Narration basically means relating of facts or what the imagination creates in a factual manner.

From what I have gained by reading and writing and judging good writing, I have listed the following as hints that might help: We must relate events in a natural order of sequence. A pattern must be worked out either neatly or dramatically to the end. The stages of progress of the narrative must be told convincingly and the reader must feel what is being related, apart from understanding it.

In imaginative narration the writer must be able to vividly imagine the subjects, the events, the impressions he or she is putting across, if he hopes to gain the full attention of the reader or listener. In narrative writing great drama or tension can best be expressed by short sentences or by double sentences. Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Richard Wright are few who excel in writing this type of sentence. However, in a narrative to use a simple style effectively, the incident must be exciting and convincing, the scene must be vivid and the writer must capture the feeling of being there. I found that Arthur Koestler succeeded in this style of writing.

We can note that the action related in the narrative is generally physical. It represents what happens during some significant portion of human experience. There can be no experience that is not in some way or the other physical (the experience of the body-senses). Mental experience is also significant because the external acts of the human being often less important than their mental states, and the true meaning of human’s deeds can best be told by relating what goes on in their heads Let’s jot down some other features of narrative writing:

It should have a character or characters
A pace or scene – a definite location
A time sequence
A form or structure of the parts of the general narrative must be connected so as to make a complete whole.
Any accounts of happenings in Nature acquire significance in narrative only as they are seen in relation to human experience.
Narrative writing, therefore, recreates an actual experience or creates an imaginary one.

Methods
The subject matter could be a situation affecting one or more characters in such a way that a conflict arises between opposing forces which can be followed to its reasonable conclusion.
The subject matter could be the experience of a character or characters involved in a situation which brings about an interplay of opposing forces.
The situation, the characters, the conflict of forces, the development of the conflict to its logical end – These are the elements of the narrative.

A narrative can be told by dialogues, descriptions and by the use of symbolism or imagery.  The written word can be used to enter into the thought of the characters, to give the reaction of the characters to one another and to events. It can represent both their sensations and their ideas. Critics say a narrative must establish tension until a satisfying conclusion is reached. It must be circumstantial in its account of events – it must provide enough detail to dramatise the action effectively.

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