Narratives. They don’t seem like anything new. I probably wrote my first narrative in first grade. Was it good? Probably not, but it’s the effort that counts. However, the narratives we’ve been used to since first grade are a little different than Narrative articles. These require a lot of work before the writing starts.
Make the Interview everything. The interviews you do are going to give you majority of the information you need to write your story. So here are some tips to get the most out of your interviews.
Notes, notes, and more notes: You want to take notes on absolutely everything. From the setting, to what the person says, to how they act and react. The more notes you take, the easier it will be when you actually go to write the story. It will also help add more detail. Even if you are recording the interview, you should still take notes. The more you have to go back to, the better.
Quotes: Using quotes can really add voice and personality to your narrative…if you use them the right way. Don’t just quote someone to quote someone. There are a lot of things that you can just paraphrase. When you use a quote, use it as dialogue. Make sure it’s powerful, not just someone saying a generic line.
Make a Movie: Set the scene, make your angle known, and zoom in on interesting things. The more detail, the more likely your reader is going to get pulled in. Whatever you do, make sure the detail is relevant. If the reader is sitting there turning your story into a movie in their mind, you’re doing something right.
Rebecca Potzner 