The Traditional Structure of Narratives

 

Abstract – Statement of intention; what point does the author intend to make.   5%
 

Orientation – Set up of the narrative; get the reader in the place and time; establish the personalities in play;  establish relationships, clarify character.
Complication – Developing the problem which is the point of drama and tension in the narrative and which (in a personal essay) will illustrate the truth of the  abstraction by the way it is resolved.
Resolution – the outcome of the story which shows that the abstraction is true; how the complication is resolved.

 

    

 

80%

 

 
Coda–analysis of the universal application of the abstraction. How does what you discovered affect everybody?  What should your experience mean to everyone?   15%

Click here for instructions as to what to do after writing the draft of your true, funny and/or dangerous story.