Narrative Writing
Show me. Don’t tell me.
Based on Gretchen Bernabei’s Reviving the Essay
Step I: Mining for Essay Topics
 Moment writing not era writing
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Era: My high school years.
Moments: The Fourth of July I went to see my
grandmother. Prom night. The day I got my
first car. The moment the doctor told me I
needed more tests.
Moments:
 Daily we all have countless “moments” but
only a few stand out as important enough to
remember.
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What are your important moments?
What stands out for you?
Twenty Life Moments:
 List a moment when you were proud of someone else
 List a moment when you were proud of yourself
 List a glorious moment
 List three tough moments
 List three moments worth rewatching on video
 List a money moment
 List a sabotage moment
 List a bad romance moment
More Life Moments
 List the moment you knew love
 List the moment you felt grace
 List the moment you learned/gave/received
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forgiveness
List the moment you learned your most valued lesson
List an animal moment
List the moment your pet died
List the moment you stopped trusting someone close
to you
List a moment when you fought and won
List a moment when you fought and lost
Narrating Life’s Moments
 Circle the three moments that stand out the
most to you.
Kernel Essay: Five Questions
 Pick one idea from your list and answer the
next five questions in five complete sentences
after reviewing the sample kernel essay that
follows.
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Where were you?
What was the first thing that happened?
What was the next thing that happened?
What was the last thing that happened?
What did you think at that moment?
Sample kernal essay: Question One
 Where were you?
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Inside my grandmother’s antiseptic nursing
room, I stepped behind a flimsy pale curtain
that divided her bed from Mrs. Landers’.
Question two:
 What do you see?
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My grandmother’s pale blue eyes peered
through her skull; her translucent, crinkled skin
draped her bones.
Question three:
 What was the first thing that happened?
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I slipped out of my scuffed leather boots and
crawled in the bed next to her.
Question four:
 What’s the last thing that happened?
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My eyes filled with tears.
Question 5:
 What did you think at that moment?
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I knew I was home, at least for a moment.
Blessings come in fleeting moments. Life’s
preciousness exists even while waiting for
death.
Now you try it:
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Where were you?
What was the first thing that happened?
What was the next thing that happened?
What was the last thing that happened?
What did you think at that moment?
Pick two more essay ideas and
complete two more kernel essays:
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Where were you?
What was the first thing that happened?
What was the next thing that happened?
What was the last thing that happened?
What did you think at that moment?
Elaborate on the kernel essay:
 The kernel essay still lacks all the details.
Now we’re going to add the butter and salt.
Add one to three more sentences to each of
your five sentences.
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Before starting look at the example that
follows.
Expanding the kernel essay:
Question One
 Where were you?
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Inside my grandmother’s antiseptic nursing
room, I stepped behind a flimsy pale curtain
that divided her bed from Mrs. Landers’. From
the ill-fitted window, I felt a draft.
Question two:
 What did you see?
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My grandmother’s pale blue eyes peered
through her skull; her translucent, crinkled skin
draped her bones.
Question three:
 What was the first thing that happened?
 I slipped out of my scuffed leather boots,
crawled in next to her, and tucked the blanket
around both of us. For about three years,
grandmother hasn’t had the strength to sit up
or even lift her head or roll on her side. She
suffers from dementia and Alzheimer. Months
have gone by since she last knew my name or
told me she loved me. Her failing eyesight and
hearing makes communication impossible
unless my lips are a couple inches from her
ear.
Question four:
What happened next?
Her eyes looked at me, and for the first time in
years she knew me. “Are you still teaching?”
she asked. I couldn’t believe the words she
spoke. Only a few months before had I begun
teaching. Day after day I had lain next to her
telling her about my new job, never once
considering that she might respond.
Question four:
 What’s the last thing that happened?
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My eyes filled with tears. No gift could have
been sweeter than to have my grandmother
know me, even for just a moment.
Question 5:
 What did you think at that moment?
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I knew I was home, at least for a moment.
Blessings come in fleeting moments. Life’s
preciousness exists even while waiting for
death. Minutes later grandmother’s eyes went
blank, but the memory lived on.
Now you try it:
 Add the needed sentences to complete one
of your essays.
Next:
 Circle each noun and add at least one
descriptive word to every three nouns.
The Ending:
 The ending is just as important as the
beginning.
 Place your hand on your kernal essay and
close your eyes. In nearly two decades of
living, this one experience stands out above
all others. Why? What deeper meaning does
it have for you? What universal life meaning
does it hold?
 For this particular assignment we’re going to
end with a truism.
Truisms:
 Examples:
 In life’s struggles, perseverance is the key.
 Treat others with the same respect you
expect.
 The actions of the past become the hands that
mold the future.
 People create their own punishments.
 We learn more when we fail than succeed.
 Life is a never-ending series of changes.
Embrace the new.
If you haven’t already, write five
truisms you believe or live by:
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 2.
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 4.
 5.
What truism fits your personal narrative
essay? Add that truism to the end.
Editing:
 Mark this paper as “First Draft.”
 Re-read your essay at least three times.
 Make needed changes to improve sentence
and paragraph flow.
Grammar Check:
 Highlight words that need spelling verification. Look
up at least 10 words in your essay.
 Make sure the correct version of except/accept (I
accept the job position; I like all flavors of ice cream
except lemon.); it’s/its (it’s = it is; Its = possessive);
your/you’re (your = possessive; you’re = you are);
their/there/they’re.
 Check for run-on sentences and fragments.
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For more grammar help, click on Mrs. Stewart’s
webpage titled One-Stop Grammar.