When writing a narrative essay, there are certain things you want to avoid doing so that your story remains engaging, believable and easily understood by readers. As you craft your narrative, keep in mind these common pitfalls.
Not Having a Clear Sense of Purpose
One of the biggest mistakes writers make is diving into a story without a clear sense of purpose or central message they want to convey. Narratives are not just recounts of events – they should have meaning beyond simple entertainment. Before you start writing, think deeply about what you want your readers to understand or feel after finishing your essay. Having a guiding purpose will help focus the narrative and ensure it is contributing something worthwhile. Without purpose, narratives can ramble aimlessly.
Lack of Structure and Pacing
Another thing to avoid is having an essay that lacks proper structure and pacing. Narratives need an intro, body and conclusion like any other essay, but they also require careful scene-setting, character development and a sense of progression. Drags or lulls in pacing can bore readers. Make sure each new section or scene moves the story meaningfully forward towards the resolution. Structure your story artfully with rising action, climax and denouement. Smooth transitions between sections are also important for readability.
One-Dimensional Characters
Dull, cardboard characters will sink any narrative. Avoid flat, simplistic portrayals and instead strive to flesh out dynamic characters your readers can relate to and care about. Use concrete details and scenes to let the audience get to know your characters beyond surface descriptions, see inside their minds, notice their flaws as well as strengths. Show, don’t tell, about their personalities through their words, actions, interactions and inner thoughts revealed at pivotal moments. Complex, believable characters will draw readers into the story world.
Overuse of Exposition
Excessive exposition where writers just directly explain things to readers should similarly be avoided. “Showing” through vivid details, imagery and scenes allows readers to discover and understand key elements themselves rather than being explicitly told. Too much exposition interrupts narrative flow and kills suspense, mystery or intimacy the story may build when the writer respects the reader’s ability to follow what is happening in the story world and fill in necessary gaps on their own. Lean exposition reveals information organically versus cramming of facts.
Implausible Storylines
While creative liberties can certainly be taken, readers will check out of narratives that seem completely unrealistic, contrived or defy common sense. Events, dialogue, character motivations and resolutions all need a ring of believability to them. Unless writing magical realism or alternate universes, avoid plotlines, scenarios or scenarios that strain credulity. Know your genre and write within realistic conventions. Plausible, grounded narratives hold reader investment better than flights of pure fancy.
Focusing on the Wrong Elements
Some writers get distracted telling every minute detail or irrelevant backstory that does not serve directly advancing the central plotline. Sift out unnecessary information and focus tightly on your actual narrative elements like the main characters, dramatic through-line, climactic events and lessons learned. Excise anything superfluous that does not directly impact your narrative purpose and forward momentum. Precision and focus yield a tighter, more cohesive final product versus broad brushstrokes.
Overuse of Adjectives and Adverbs
While description enriches any narrative, writers must be careful not to over-rely on adjectives and adverbs at the expense of stronger concrete nouns and verbs. Sentences loaded down with too many modifying words sound flabby, unfocused and less vivid or sensory than letting your objects and actions simply speak. Economize on manner-driven words like “very,” “really” and excessive prepositional phrases. Choose specific nouns and powerful verbs for more natural sounding, visual language. Quality usually trumps quantity here.
Present Tense Issues
Narratives are generally written in the past tense as a standard convention unless you have a clear reason for using present. Sticking to consistent verb tense throughout avoids unnecessary tense shifts that confuse or disrupt readers following the timeline of events. Similarly, consistent point-of-view like third person limited adheres best to showing a single story perspective. Mixed tenses and POVs fragment narratives into incoherence versus tight coherence readers seek. Narrative cohesion depends on these technical aspects being thoughtfully employed.
Forced Symbolism
While deeper metaphorical themes often naturally emerge in quality narratives, writers should be wary of artificially imposing symbolic interpretations that do not organically stem from the storyline itself. Avoid writing stories merely as vehicles to teach canned lessons. Symbols bolted on after the fact versus organically arising from your characters and plot will seem heavy-handed and didactic versus enriching reader experience on an intrinsic level. True symbolic resonance flows logically from your narrative, not vice versa.
Moralizing or Preaching
Along these same lines, using narratives as soapboxes to hammer home overt political or issue-based messages tends to undermine their merit as art. Soapbox agendas rarely make for compelling fiction. Stories best challenge and change readers through emotionally impacting their humanity rather than bludgeoning them over the head with correctness of specific viewpoints. Focus more on your characters’ humanity and depth than leaning hard on didacticism to sway audience views, unless those views somehow truly emerge organically from deep exploration of your characters and their experiences.
Lack of Revision
No first draft is ever perfect. Writers should know that extensive revision is necessary to refine their narratives, improving flow, tightening plot points, pruning excess and polishing language. Going back with a critical editor’s eye allows catching lingering issues detracting from overall quality and impact. Review your narrative at different intervals with fresh perspective between drafts, accepting changes you formerly missed and inviting thoughtful feedback from others to identify weaknesses still needing work. Stories evolve significantly from early versions through diligent self-editing and outside critique.
Conclusion
With practice and an eye towards avoiding these common pitfalls, any writer can craft compelling, engaging narratives for readers. The key is to thoughtfully plan your narrative’s central purpose, build strong characters, focus your plot through careful structuring and pacing, employ effective techniques like showing versus telling, and submit your work to revision until its quality shines through. Narratives offer a special creative outlet for sharing meaningful lived experiences – so take care to avoid hindrances that might distract from your story’s true essence and message.
Andrew Stroud