Skip to main content
Humanities LibreTexts

1.2.1: Section Introduction- Telling a Story

  • Page ID
    70801
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Section Introduction- Telling a Story

    “We’re all stories, in the end.” – Steven Moffat, Doctor Who27 Whether or not you’ve seen a single episode of Doctor Who, you can appreciate this quote. I love it for its ambiguities.28 As I can tell, we can interpret it in at least four ways:

    we are stories image

    But perhaps that’s enough abstraction: narration is a rhetorical mode that you likely engage on a daily basis, and one that has held significance in every culture in human history. Even when we’re not deliberately telling stories, storytelling often underlies our writing and thinking:

    • Historians synthesize and interpret events of the past; a history book is one of many narratives of our cultures and civilizations.
    • Chemists analyze observable data to determine cause-and-effect behaviors of natural and synthetic materials; a lab report is a sort of narrative about elements (characters) and reactions (plot).
    • Musical composers evoke the emotional experience of story through instrumentation, motion, motifs, resolutions, and so on; a song is a narrative that may not even need words.

    What makes for an interesting, well-told story in writing? In addition to description, your deliberate choices in narration can create impactful, beautiful, and entertaining stories.

    clipboard_e7bd968b7d5f002f19682a16fc75d9596.png

    "Story" by rossyyume is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

    Chapter Vocabulary

    Vocabulary Definition
    characterization the process by which an author builds characters; can be accomplished directly or indirectly.
    dialogue a communication between two or more people. Can include any mode of communication, including speech, texting, e-mail, Facebook post, body language, etc.
    dynamic character a character who noticeably changes within the scope of a narrative, typically as a result of the plot events and/or other characters. Contrast with static character.
    epiphany a character’s sudden realization of a personal or universal truth. See dynamic character.
    Flat character a character who is minimally detailed, only briefly sketched or named. Generally less central to the events and relationships portrayed in a narrative. Contrast with round character.
    mood the emotional dimension which a reader experiences while encountering a text. Compare with tone.
    multimedia / multigenre a term describing a text that combines more than one media and/or more than one genre (e.g., an essay with embedded images; a portfolio with essays, poetry, and comic strips; a mixtape with song reviews).
    narration a rhetorical mode involving the construction and relation of stories. Typically integrates description as a technique.
    narrative pacing the speed with which a story progresses through plot events. Can be influenced by reflective and descriptive writing.
    narrative scope the boundaries of a narrative in time, space, perspective, and focus.
    narrative sequence the order of events included in a narrative.
    plot the events included within the scope of a narrative.
    point-of-view the perspective from which a story is told, determining both grammar (pronouns) and perspective (speaker’s awareness of events, thoughts, and circumstances).
    round character a character who is thoroughly characterized and dimensional, detailed with attentive description of their traits and behaviors. Contrast with flat character.
    static character a character who remains the same throughout the narrative. Contrast with dynamic character.
    tone the emotional register of the text. Compare with mood.

    1.2.1: Section Introduction- Telling a Story is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

    • Was this article helpful?