DIALOGUE
Dialogue
should be brief.
It should show the relationships among people
How
you talk to one another, helps the listener
(reader) understand your relationship
It should not repeat what the paragraph is saying
EX of what NOT to DO: It was a hot rainy day. “It’s
hot!” said Kelley.
It should keep the story moving forward.
format
“You have created a monster!” cried Sheila.
“ Yes, but I have awoken science!”
OR
“You have created a monster!” cried Sheila. Ronald
muttered in response, “Yes, but I have awoken
science.”
Freytag’s Pyramid
Freytags Pyramid
1. Exposition: setting the scene.
The writer introduces the characters
and setting, providing description and
background.
2. Inciting Incident: something happens to begin the
action. A single event usually signals the beginning of
the main conflict.
3. Rising Action: the story builds and gets more
exciting.
4. Climax: the moment of greatest tension in a story.
This is often the most exciting event.
Continued…Freytag’s
Pyrmaid
5. Falling Action: events happen
as a result of the climax and we know
that the story will soon end.
6. Resolution: the character solves the main
problem/conflict or someone solves it for him or her.
7. Dénouement: the ending. At this point, any remaining
secrets, questions or mysteries which remain after the
resolution are solved by the characters or explained by
the author.
Narrative Leads
The Narrative Hook- The reader is
driven to keep reading because the writer
begins with an unexpected part of the story
(the complication instead of the exposition).
adds curiousity and makes him want to keep reading.
Ex: There was blood everywhere when he awoke.
Ex: It was the year 2081, and everyone was finally equal,
or almost equal.
Narrative Leads
Scene Setting:
The writer uses vivid descriptive detail that appeals
to multiple senses and begins with the setting
It was unusually bright that night outside of Monique’s
small bedroom window in Choisi-le Roi, just outside of
Paris. The moon was so radiant, it seemed almost
festive. As Monique gazed up at it, she thought that the
moon must not know that her village was occupied by
Nazi troops. From The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco
Leads
Telling Detail…
The writer begins with detail (a fact)
that reveals a writer’s focus or attitude.
Ex: There on the pavement was a small
child’s tennis shoe.
Leads
Character Throwing:
The writer jumps right into describing a
major or minor character to call attention to
that character.
Ex: Teddy Howland was the skinniest,
ugliest kid in Eureka.
… Leads
Walking:
The writer seems to
“beat around the bush” instead
of getting right to the point; the subject of the paper
isn’t apparent at first.
Ex: Giving credit where credit is due, if it hadn’t been for
my mother, I would have never gotten him in the first
place, mainly because my father doesn’t like dogs. (this
will be about getting a dog)
…Leads
Anecdote/Analogy:
The writer begins with a brief story that will
be the focus of the narrative. This is a “story
within a story.”
Narrative Closings
Circle:
End where you begin by connecting the
beginning with the end. The end states
or hints to something stated or suggested at the
beginning and often uses the same key words.
Example of story beginning- Sometimes in life, a person
will realize that the grass is not always greener, and that
getting everything you think you always wanted may not
be as great as you had once thought.
Example of same story ending: Even though she married
the man she had hoped, all that she had once believed
to be true about him was not as it had once seemed.
She realized that the grass had not been greener.
Narrative Closing
Ah ha! - This is a theme or message that the writer
shares with readers. Sadder but wiser, or “gee, look
what I learned.”
Ex: I look at the dark sky closing in, sky getting more and
more purple, and I’m thinking how nothing is as simple
as you guess—not right or wrong, not Judd Travers, not
even me or this dog I got here. But the good part is I
saved Shiloh and opened my eyes some. Now that ain’t
bad for eleven. From Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Narrative Closing
Surprise:
The strange twist at the end. The twist must
tie to the plot and characters, something that
might happen or that could happen.
Ex: But Richards was too late. When the
doctors came they said she had died of heart
disease --of the joy that kills. From “The Story of an
Hour” by Kate Chopin
show don’t teLL
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“Telling Sentences”:
Do not leave a sensory image
Do leave questions in the reader’s mind
Tend to contain be verbs (am, is, are, was, were,
be, being, been)
“Showing Sentences”:
Do leave a sensory image
Do appeal to multiple senses
Do not leave unanswered questions
Contain strong verbs
show don’t teLL
Chugging on the unleaded coffee in
my travel cup, I stare at the road
through tired eyes, thinking about the long
line at the copy machine that I will face because of the
turtle in front of me who apparently doesn’t need to worry
about deadlines and schedules. My headlights illuminate
the neon orange traffic cones lining the side of this
bumper to bumper two-lane road, but the blanket of fog
makes the dark road even darker. Suddenly the taillights
of the turtle in front of me glare right in front of my eyes.
My tires squeal and I smell burning rubber as I slam my
foot on the brake pedal, but it is too late; the combination
of the slick film of oil and water covering the asphalt and
my tendency to ride the back bumper
show don’t teLL
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Who? I was shocked and scared; my hands were shaking as I
clenched the steering wheel; my mouth dropped open in
astonishment and surprise
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What? The impact—tired squealed and a heavy thump reverberated
from my front bumper, along the hood of the car, into my hands as
they clutched the steering wheel, and into my chest

Where? Crowded, busy 2-lane road, heavy construction, orange
traffic cones line the side of the road
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When? Dark, foggy, damp morning, slick film of oil and water
covering asphalt
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How? Riding the back bumper of the car in front of me, trying to
keep anyone from sneaking in line and hoping that I could push the
slow car in front of me faster
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Why? Chugging on unleaded coffee in my travel cup hadn’t
awakened me yet; I need to get in line to make copies