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Writing Workshop: Tell Us a Story! Elements of Narrative Writing

In this 6-week Narrative Writing Workshop, learners will brainstorm ideas, analyze writing styles, and craft a well-developed narrative arc to tell their own fiction or nonfiction stories!
Susan Ehrenclou
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(72)
Class

What's included

6 live meetings
4 hrs 30 mins in-class hours

Class Experience

We all have stories to tell, and we each have a unique voice with which to tell them! But how do you go about writing a story? In this multi-day interactive class, we'll walk through the pieces step-by-step with lots of examples and time for writers to ask questions. Outside of class, writers will work on telling their own stories with the tools we've shared! Our goal is to build a safe, supportive place for constructive feedback and new ideas. 

Writing Workshop: Tell Us a Story! Elements of Narrative Writing 1 - Territories
Learners will build an awesomely impressive and personal list of ideas for fiction or nonfiction narrative stories: our "Writing Territories." What ARE Writing Territories? They're all of the things--past events, experiences, trips, ideas, loves, and hardships that are part of our life landscape--that we can claim as our own. We’ll walk through an example list of “Writing Territories,” then students will make their own Territories list, choose an idea they feel passionate about, and begin to write about it! This may be a start to a longer story or a short piece that’s done in this class. By the end, students will have a choice to share their writing if they'd like. Either way, students will feel empowered to write with a voice that’s uniquely and awesomely theirs! 

Writing Workshop: Tell Us a Story! Elements of Narrative Writing 2 - Style
What makes a writer have a certain style? We’ll read two selections from published writers and analyze what makes their writing sound the way it does, then give writing in their style a try. Afterwards, we’ll share our day's writing and what elements we decided to copy, or emulate, in our own writing.

Writing Workshop: Tell Us a Story! Elements of Narrative Writing 3 - Narrative Arc & Brainstorming the Beginning
What are the major parts of a story, or Narrative Arc? We'll go beyond the basics that students may have learned in elementary and middle school to ask: What do authors promise to their reader at the beginning of a story, and how do they create a believable world for their readers? We'll first chart the Narrative Arc, then focus on the fun of who/what/when/where/why/how creation: imagining characters, giving them names, and establishing a setting in which they’ll live. We’ll discuss tense, point of view, level of description, and other important decisions authors make, then have a chance to share those decisions with one another at the end of class!

Writing Workshop: Tell Us a Story! Elements of Narrative Writing 4 - Conflict & Climax in Writing
The stories we love to read have lots of twists and turns: the author introduces conflicts to make it hard on their characters! We’ll learn what universal conflict types exist in literature and name them in example stories. We’ll also analyze how characters can deal with multiple conflicts at once, building to the story’s climax.

Writing Workshop: Tell Us a Story! Elements of Narrative Writing 5 - Resolution
Good stories leave the reader wondering “What will happen next? How will this all end up?” and this class is all about how to move your story from the climax scene to the end in a satisfying way. We’ll ask questions about pacing, the primary conflict, and what feels “undone” or “done” in different stories. We'll also address global versus local revisions for narrative drafts that students will bring to class in Class 6. Writers will be ready to wrap up their own projects to share in our final week!

Writing Workshop: Tell Us a Story! Elements of Narrative Writing 6 - Celebration of Stories! 
This the day to share and celebrate! Students can bring their finished first draft narratives to class and read portions aloud with our group. We’ll talk about what authors do next in terms of pacing, dialogue, punctuation, tense shifts, and proofreading. We’ll also talk about constructive criticism and options for future Open Writing Workshops - ongoing class space to share your work in a small-group forum.

Learning Goals

In Class 1 (Territories): Students will understand how their past personal experiences can be the basis for narrative fiction or nonfiction writing, brainstorm a list of writing topics, and practice elaborating on one of the subjects they choose. 

In Class 2 (Style): Students will analyze writers' published works to compare and contrast sentence structure, word choice, dialogue, and punctuation, and describe how these choices contribute to an overall writing style. They'll emulate one to two aspects of that style in their own writing.

In Class 3 (Narrative Arc): Students will understand the narrative elements of a story including setting, rising action & conflicts, climax, falling action, and resolution by reading a short narrative text. They will establish the setting for their own narrative stories. 

In Class 4 (Conflicts & Climax): Students will identify universal conflicts in literature and identify each type in sample stories. They will understand that characters may face multiple conflicts, but the primary conflict is revealed and resolved in the story's climax. 

In Class 5 (Resolution): Students will learn tactics authors use for finishing narrative arcs, looking back to the beginning and thinking about pacing and providing an ending that feels "right" to their readers. We'll also address global versus local revisions for narrative drafts that students will bring to class in Class 6. 

In Class 6 (Celebration of Stories): Students will listen to others' stories and learn about next steps revision, as well as what we mean by constructive criticism in a workshop setting.
learning goal

Other Details

Supply List
Learners will need lined paper or a notebook and a pencil or pen during the class to take notes and do in-class exercises, and either a computer or paper to complete their narratives outside of class.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
This exercise is based on what I have taught in the English Language Arts classroom from the book In the Middle, Third Edition, by Nancie Atwell (2014).
Joined August, 2020
4.9
72reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have an MFA in Writing and am a certified teacher (MEd) who has taught writing to students from middle school to college! I've earned teaching awards for my teaching approach that encourages all levels of writers. 

Reviews

Live Group Class
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$16

weekly or $95 for 6 classes
1x per week, 6 weeks
45 min

Completed by 3 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-13
3-9 learners per class

This class is no longer offered
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