1) Narrative structure can be found everywhere
Narrative structure can be found everywhere: in jokes, lab reports, historical accounts, personal essays, songs and ballads, news coverage, comic books, movies, sitcoms, and ballets such as the Nutcracker that tell a story through dance. Some television commercials are mini-narratives lasting only a few seconds without dialogue or commentary. Even photographers find ways to work with sequential storytelling methods as Nora Ephron dramatically shows in her essay “The Boston Photographs.”
—Robert Atwan, “What is Narrative, Anyway?” Poynter, September 29, 2003
2) Structure is the deliberate sequence of the reader’s experience
High-quality articles, essays, books, and documentaries put words and scenes to work systematically. They present events, ideas, and characters in an order that clarifies them, carefully guiding the reader’s reactions. Structure is the deliberate and purposeful sequence of the reader’s experience. The strength and tone of your voice determine how enjoyable that experience will be — even in the most conventional news story. The most mundane tale, imparted by an inspired storyteller, captivates.
—Mark Kramer and Wendy Call, Telling True Stories
3) A strict framework produces the richest ideas
When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination is taxed to its utmost — and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom the work is likely to sprawl.
—T.S. Eliot
4) Deciding how to tell a story forms the basis of narrative art
Although narrative and story are commonly used interchangeably, we can best consider narrative as the overall construction of a story. As we know, the same story can be told any number of ways. Deciding how to tell a story forms the basis of narrative art: should we begin at the beginning or start at the end and proceed backward? Which events should we select and how should they be arranged? Should we establish a strict time period or not worry about gaps in time? Should we report multiple points of view or focus on a single perspective? Anyone who undertakes a screenplay, a novel, or cartoon confronts these decisions, whether consciously or not. “All my films have a beginning, a middle, and an end,” said the French director Jean-Luc Godard, “but not necessarily in that order.
—Robert Atwan, “What is Narrative, Anyway?” Poynter, September 29, 2003
5) Narrative is a thread that keeps the reader reading
Narrative — whether we’re talking about an intricately, creatively structured story or the oft-damned inverted pyramid — is merely a thread that combines words and facts in a way that keeps the reader reading. A good narrative is a fast read because each sentence is a transition sentence. This creates flow which, combined with fact, makes a story absorbing until the end.
—Mark Fritz, “What is Narrative, Anyway?” Poynter, September 29, 2003
6) Know the rules of structure so you can break them well
There are rules of structure, and you have to know that, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick with those rules. Learn all the rules that are out there, so you know them and can reference them, but don’t feel like you have to stick to them because this town’s always going to be changed by people who break the rules.
—Paul Feig, Creative Screenwriting, Nov/Dec 2000
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