Article: Storytelling Methods

So far, I have been able to share with you what I would call an overview of writing. How to set up your environment, some tips on how to get the ideas flowing, and things of that nature. Now we need to start discussing some of the nuts and bolts of writing. This is where we get to break down what we're writing and identify what it is that we're doing and then we'll be able to make some decisions as to whether it is effective or not. I used to argue with a teacher of mine about knowing what things are called, because if I was writing correctly, why did I need to know what it was I was doing? Actually, what I was really asking was why we had to study things that were so BORING. I'll try to keep the boring parts to a minimum. The reason it is important for you to know what you are doing or what is correct, is when you want to change it or deliberately break the rules for effect or simply try different mechanisms to see which works the best. Let's get started with an examination of narrative mode.

So, what do I mean by narrative mode? Narrative means a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious and mode is a manner of acting or doing; method; way. So a narrative mode is simply the method or way in which we tell a story. There are five methods to telling a fictitious story: dialogue (the conversation between characters in a novel, drama, etc.), description (a statement, picture in words, or account that describes), action (description in motion; an event or series of events), thoughts (the act or process of thinking; cogitation), and exposition (writing or speech primarily intended to convey information or to explain).

Usually, during the course of a novel, most, if not all five, of the methods listed above will be used. Your characters will have dialogue, you'll describe some of the scenery, there will be passages full of actions, you'll take the reader into the thoughts of the character(s), and sometimes you will simply explain what is happening. This will happen most of the time in a natural way. So why is it important for us to be able to identify which method is being used?

I've mentioned before that your opening is the most important and when you start writing, you will be using predominantly one of the above five modes. But, which one really works the best to get the attention of the reader? That will vary from story to story. You might need to try writing an opening using each of the five modes to see which one works best for your story.

How would that work? Let's take Misfit McCabe as an example. In the actual book, I used dialogue as the predominant narrative mode to get the story started.

     "You know I'll swear it was all my idea."

     "But, Katie, it was all your idea." Tim reached behind his back and pulled out a flask.

"Except for this."

     "Are you getting sly on me, Timmy Lawrence?" He never tried anything without
checking it out with me first. "What's in it?" Other than something to get us both
into trouble.
     He shrugged one shoulder and leaned back against the side of the shed. "Oh, nothing
much.  Just a little rum to go with the cokes I brought." He cracked open a can and
handed it to me.  "Drink some out, so I can spice it up for you."

     Swallowing as much as I could in a mouthful, I passed the can back to him. "What made

you think of this?" A new Timmy was emerging, and I didn't know exactly how to handle him.

     He grinned as he concentrated on pouring the rum into the coke. "I

just figured that if we were going to start smoking, we might as well

mark the occasion with a drink of celebration." He doctored his drink

and set the flask on the ground. "Anyway, you're always saying that I

never come up with my own ideas. So I did."
     "I'll say. And what an idea."  I could see the faint flush of pride

on Tim's cheeks.

While the above passage has dialogue, Katie's thoughts, and things that describe what Katie and Tim are both doing (action), the bulk of the opening is dialogue. This helps to draw the reader in and jump start the action of the story.

What if we were to start Misfit McCabe with the description mode rather than dialogue? The first beginning that I had for the book did open with a descriptive passage.

     The bus rattled and bumped its way down the road, the seats creaked, and the sides
seemed to groan more with every mile. The windows didn't stay shut, so my mouth felt
as dry as cotton from the dust that poured in, and the heat of the day made the bus feel
like the inside of an oven.  I felt cranky from lack of sleep, and my eyes felt gritty and
burned from the dust.
     At least I had the seat to myself, and could sit through the long ride without someone

interrupting my thoughts. What a sight I must be for the other passengers, my arms folded

across my chest, a scowl for an expression, and my long, blonde hair hanging in my face. I

crouched down low in the seat and thrust my knees against the back of the seat in front of
me.  I didn't want to make this trip, and didn't care what anyone else thought about me
either.  How could Daddy send me away from him, especially when he was sick? What if
he didn't get better?  I had to push that thought out of my mind. I didn't even want to
think about that possibility.  He had to get better, he just had to. The motion of the bus,
along with my sleepless night, soon lulled me to sleep.

What this accomplishes is to establish Katie on a bus leaving home as well as some of her features and attitudes. How does this compare to the actual beginning of the book? Let's look at how a descriptive beginning would look starting it in the shed.

     Although the afternoon sun shone brightly, the inside of the shed remained dark.  The
only light filtered through the cracks in the walls. We kept the light off in order to keep
from attracting any attention, not that we would. Even with the lights on and the door
open, the shed was hidden from the house and people were used to seeing me on the
property because I helped Mr. Pickford with the care of his animals. In the dim interior
of the shed, I could see Timmy's skinny silhouette sitting on a bale of hay waiting for
me to join him. It was definitely cooler inside than out in the dry heat of the afternoon.
As I sat down, Tim reached behind his back and pulled out a flask, a sly smile crossing
his face. He cracked open a can of soda and I could hear the fizzing bubbles as he handed
it to me.  Brushing my blonde hair away from my face, I tipped my head back and
swallowed as much as I could in one mouthful and handed back the can for him to spice
it up for me.  Tim doctored his own drink and set the flask down on the ground.
     Timmy grinned at me. "I figured if we were going to start smoking, we might as well
mark the occasion with a drink of celebration."  Excellent.  At least we would have tried
a few things by the time we started high school next week.

This essentially covers the same part of the story line of the opening paragraphs of Misfit McCabe but does it through description of the scene rather than dialogue. If we wanted to start the book with the narrative mode being predominantly action, then we need to start a little farther into the story in order to help make the story start more dramatically.

     I heard a crackling sound behind me.  As Tim turned to look at me his eyes got big and
all of a sudden I could smell smoke overpowering the smell of the cigarettes.  The dry hay
had caught fire.  It must have started from the match I thought had gone out, and the
flames were starting to rage.  Grabbing Timmy's hand, I followed my instincts and ran.
     Running as fast as I could, I wanted to get as far away as possible. I noticed that
somehow I lost Tim.  Turning around, I saw him looking back at the shed.  "Timmy!
Come on! We have got to get out of here."  Tim refused to run away because if we
didn't try to put it out, the fire could spread rapidly.
     Sending Timmy for help, I turned around and faced the burning shed once more trying to
determine if there was anything I could do while waiting for help to come.  At least I
couldn't see the flames outside yet.  Running over to a young tree, I broke off a long, leafy
branch.  I placed my hands on the outside of the shed door to feel for heat. It was still cool.
Stepping to one side of the door, I balanced on one foot and kicked the door in.  I jumped
back.  No flames came shooting out.  That was a good sign. I looked inside. Almost the
entire floor was engulfed in flames.  I started beating those closest to me.
     Sweating from the intense heat, I kept beating the flames in a losing battle.  My eyes and
throat stung from the smoke and I felt like help would never come.  After I singed the first
branch completely, I ran back and got another branch and continued beating the flames
the best I could.

Notice that with the action beginning, you spend less time describing the scenery or characters and more focus is spent describing the events that are occurring. How would you start Misfit McCabe using the thought mode? In this case, because the story is written in first person, it is not possible to shift from one person's thoughts to another, so it will all be from Katie's point of view. Plus, when writing, you want to make sure that you have clear, concise changes in view point. Unless your aim is to cause your reader some confusion, you want to make sure it is clear which characters' thoughts you are following.

    As I walked into the shed to join Timmy, it came over me all of a sudden how much he
meant to me.  He was always there for me.  Skinny, tousled hair, and clothes that had
always seen better days.  I'd known him my whole life, or as long as I could remember,
and he was as close to a brother as I would ever have. We had both grown up in this small
town and were both restless and aching to try something new, something that we had not
experienced before.  Our bond was formed early because neither one of us had a mother,
mine because she had been killed in a car accident and his just up and left.
   Timmy wanted things to change between us, for us to be boyfriend and girlfriend, and I
wasn't sure that I wanted things to change. I loved him more than myself, but he was too
familiar, too close to me. As I sat down next to him, he surprised me by pulling a flask from
behind his back. A new Timmy was definitely emerging. Tim, I had to remember to call
him Tim. It was hard because I'd always called him Timmy. He wanted to start high school
as Tim Lawrence, and while I understood, my tongue slipped on the name all the time. I
used to be able to read his thoughts like an open book, but that was changing too.

Now let's take a look at what the beginning would look like using the narrative mode of exposition. You may recognize the style as similar to the fairy tales that were read to you as you were young.

     Once upon a time, in a small, isolated town, lived a fourteen year old girl named, Katie
McCabe.  Katie lived with her father, who was the county sheriff. She lost her mother
when she was a small child when her mother was hit by a car.  Katie's best friend in the
whole town was a boy her own age, named Tim Lawrence. Katie and Timmy did
everything together.  It seemed to her Daddy that the thing that they did the most
together was get into trouble.  Katie was getting restless with life in a small town and
was wanting to go out and experience more of life.  Unbeknownst to her, her Daddy
was beginning to think that he should send her to live with his older brother.  He was not
well and Katie was getting to be too much of a handful.

Exposition is where you, as the author, take the time to set up the story by explaining things to the reader up front.

Now that we have explored all five of the narrative mode types, you should be able to try writing a story, or the opening to a story using one of the five methods. Sometimes, the best way to find out which type of narrative mode should be used to help you create a strong beginning is to try writing the beginning in each of the five styles and see which one works the best for you and your story.

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