ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

Narrative
Writing
developing effective
creative writing skills
YEAR 11 AND 12
 Learning Objectives
The focus of this lesson is to develop students creative writing skills in order to construct effective
narratives about real or imagined experiences using effective language techniques and well-chosen details.
The lesson will focus on four key skills. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

01 02 03 04
Use direct and
Carefully select
Write an engaging indirect Use sensory detail
specific verbs to
opening to a story characterisation to to create mood and
create movement
that hooks the write a detailed atmosphere when
during a scene that
reader's interest. passage describing describing a setting.
includes action.
a character.
to begin
Practicing different creative writing skills is a valuable experience for
anyone looking to write effective narratives. With the right tools and
techniques, you can craft compelling stories that capture the reader's
attention, explore important themes and leave a lasting impression.

Showing creativity in your writing will allow you to engage readers with
unique storylines, vivid descriptions, excitement and drama and
memorable characters that come to life.

No matter the type or style of narrative you're writing, creative writing

skills can help you communicate your ideas in a more engaging and
memorable way. The following lesson will guide you in practicing four key
skills for writing an effective narrative.
creative writing skill

writing an
engaging
exposition
the skill:
The first few sentences, paragraphs or pages of a a thought-provoking question or comment
story are the reader's entry point into a new world. 01 about your central theme
Often, a reader will decide whether or not to
continue reading based purely off a story's
a powerful piece of dialogue or
exposition! 02 conversation to set the scene

The exposition is an opportunity to introduce your

a surprising, strange or unexpected
writing style, set the scene and establish your central 03 statement or detail to intrigue the reader
characters and conflict. It's extremely important that
we practice the skill of grabbing a reader's attention
straight away through an interesting and engaging 04 jumping right into the action to create
tension or suspense
introduction.

Try to avoid boring cliche openings and instead

consider the following:
05 a foreshadowing clue about the character's
potential fate to make the reader wonder
the activity:
library scavenger hunt 1. Title and Author:

One way of learning how to create interesting 2. Opening passage:

story openings is to observe the methods used by
other writers. 3. Analysis notes:
specific stylistic features or
If you have the opportunity, book a library session choices made by the writer
and conduct a scavenger hunt for some engaging why they were effective
opening lines and/or passages! You might work ideas you could mirror or
individually or with a partner. adapt in your own writing.

Aim to find five successful expositions that you

found particularly effective. For each passage you
find, record the following details in your notebook.
the practice:
Choose one of the following story prompts and practice drafting an engaging exposition. You might draw
inspiration from the suggestions on the skill slide or from the examples you saved during your library scavenger
hunt. If you have time, use the same prompt and complete another practice experimenting with a completely
different style of opening.

An elderly woman
A shoplifter who In walks the new A 3:00 am
peering through her
was spotted company director phone call
window

A strange neighbour A woman who has A student waiting to

An ambulance races
who does the same been hiding something enter the principal's
through the streets
thing every day from her partner office
to conclude
Writing an effective narrative requires you to juggle a number of skills
and techniques depending on the style of story you are aiming for.

The most important things to remember are to use lots of descriptive

detail, create imagery for your reader and make the story interesting and
engaging for them to read.

Hopefully you can utilise some of these skills the next time you write a
narrative.

Good luck and happy writing!