narrative writing part of speech

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Narrative Definition

What is narrative? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

A narrative is an account of connected events. Two writers describing the same set of events might craft very different narratives, depending on how they use different narrative elements, such as tone or  point of view . For example, an account of the American Civil War written from the perspective of a white slaveowner would make for a very different narrative than if it were written from the perspective of a historian, or a former slave.

Some additional key details about narrative:

• The words "narrative" and "story" are often used interchangeably, and with the casual meanings of the two terms that's fine. However, technically speaking, the two terms have related but different meanings.
• The word "narrative" is also frequently used as an adjective to describe something that tells a story, such as narrative poetry.

How to Pronounce Narrative

Here's how to pronounce narrative: nar -uh-tiv

Narrative vs. Story vs. Plot

In everyday speech, people often use the terms "narrative," "story," and "plot" interchangeably. However, when speaking more technically about literature these terms are not in fact identical. 

• A story refers to a sequence of events. It can be thought of as the raw material out of which a narrative is crafted.
• A plot refers to the sequence of events, but with their causes and effects included. As the writer E.M. Forster put it, while "The King died and the Queen died" is a story (i.e., a sequence of events), "The King died, and then the Queen died of grief" is a plot.
• A narrative , by contrast, has a more broad-reaching definition: it includes not just the sequence of events and their cause and effect relationships, but also  all of the decisions and techniques that impact how a story is told. A narrative is  how a given sequence of events is recounted.

In order to fully understand narrative, it's important to keep in mind that most sequences of events can be recounted in many different ways. Each different account is a separate narrative. When deciding how to relay a set of facts or describe a sequence of events, a writer must ask themselves, among other things:

• Which events are most important?
• Where should I begin and end my narrative?
• Should I tell the events of the narrative in the order they occurred, or should I use flashbacks or other techniques to present the events in another order?
• Should I hold certain pieces of information back from the reader?
• What point of view  should I use to tell the narrative?

The answers to these questions determine how the narrative is constructed, so they have a huge influence on the way a reader sees or understands what they're reading about. The same series of events might be read as happy or sad, boring or exciting—all depending on how the narrative is constructed. Analyzing a narrative just means examining how it is constructed and why it is constructed that way.

Narrative Elements

Narrative elements   are the tools writers use to craft narratives. A great way to approach analyzing a narrative is to break it down into its different narrative elements, and then examine how the writer employs each one. The following is a summary of the main elements that a writer might use to build his or her narrative.

• For example, a story about a crime told from the perspective of the victim might be very different when told from the perspective of the criminal.
• For instance, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway were friends, and they wrote during the same era, but their writing is very different from one another because they have markedly different  voices.
• For example, Jonathan Swift's essay " A Modest Proposal " satirizes the British government's callous indifference toward the famine in Ireland by sarcastically suggesting that cannibalism could solve the problem—but the essay would have a completely different meaning if it didn't have a sarcastic tone. 
• For example, the first half of Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield tells the story of the narrator David Copperfield's early childhood over the course of many chapters; about halfway through the novel, David quickly glosses over some embarrassing episodes from his teenage years (unfortunate fashion choices and foolish crushes); the second half of the novel tells the story of his adult life. The pacing give readers the sense that David's teen years weren't really that important. Instead, his childhood traumas, the challenges he faced as a young man, and the relationships he formed during both childhood and adulthood make up the most important elements of the novel.
• For example, Mary Shelley's novel   Frankenstein  uses three different "frames" to tell the story of Dr. Frankenstein and the creature he creates: the novel takes the form of letters written by Walton, an arctic explorer; Walton is recounting a story that Dr. Frankenstein told him; and as part of his story, Dr. Frankenstein recounts a story told to him by the creature. 
• Linear vs. Nonlinear Narration:  You may also hear the word narrative used to describe the order in which a sequence of events is recounted. In a linear narrative, the events of a story are described  chronologically , in the order that they occurred. In a nonlinear narrative, events are described out of order, using flashbacks or flash-forwards, and then returning to the present. In some nonlinear narratives, like Ken Kesey's  Sometimes a Great Notion , there is a clear sense of when the "present" is: the novel begins and ends with the character Viv sitting in a bar, looking at a photograph. The rest of the novel recounts (out of order) events that have happened in the distant and recent past. In other nonlinear narratives, it may be difficult to tell when the "present" is. For example, in Kurt Vonnegut's novel  Slaughterhouse-Five , the character Billy Pilgrim, seems to move forward and backward in time as a result of post-traumatic stress. Billy is not always certain if he is experiencing memories, flashbacks, hallucinations, or actual time travel, and there are inconsistencies in the dates he gives throughout the book—all of which of course has a huge impact on how  his stories are relayed to the reader.

Narrative as an Adjective

It's worth noting that the word "narrative" is also frequently used as an adjective to describe something that tells a story.

• Narrative Poetry: While some poetry describes an image, experience, or emotion without necessarily telling a story, narrative poetry is poetry that does tell a story. Narrative poems include epic poems like The Iliad , The Epic of Gilgamesh , and Beowulf .  Other, shorter examples of narrative poetry include "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carrol, "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Lord Tennyson, "The Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti, and "The Glass Essay," by Anne Carson.
• Narrative Art: Similarly, the term "narrative art" refers to visual art that tells a story, either by capturing one scene in a longer story, or by presenting a series of images that tell a longer story when put together. Often, but not always, narrative art tells stories that are likely to be familiar to the viewer, such as stories from history, mythology, or religious teachings. Examples of narrative art include Michelangelo's painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the  Pietà ; Paul Revere's engraving entitled  The Bloody Massacre ; and Artemisia Gentileschi's painting  Judith Slaying Holofernes .

Narrative Examples

Narrative in  the book thief  by markus zusak.

Zusak's novel,  The Book Thief , is narrated by the figure of Death, who tells the story of Liesel, a girl growing up in Nazi Germany who loves books and befriends a Jewish man her family is hiding in their home. In the novel's prologue, Death says of Liesel:

Yes, often, I am reminded of her, and in one of my vast array of pockets, I have kept her story to retell. It is one of the small legion I carry, each one extraordinary in its own right. Each one an attempt—an immense leap of an attempt—to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.

Narrators do not always announce themselves, but Death introduces himself and explains that he sees himself as a storyteller and a repository of the stories of human lives. Choosing Death (rather than Leisel) as the novel's narrator allows Zusak to use Liesel's story to reflect on the power of stories and storytelling more generally.

Narrative in  A Visit From the Goon Squad   by Jennifer Egan

In A Visit From the Good Squad ,  Egan structures the narrative of her novel in an unconventional way: each chapter stands as a self-contained story, but as a whole, the individual episodes are interconnected in such a way that all the stories form a single cohesive narrative. For example, in Chapter 2, "The Gold Cure," we meet the character Bennie, a middle-aged music producer, and his assistant Sasha:

"It's incredible," Sasha said, "how there's just nothing there." Astounded, Bennie turned to her…Sasha was looking downtown, and he followed her eyes to the empty space where the Twin Towers had been. 

Because there is an empty space where the Twin Towers had been, the reader knows that this dialogue is taking place some time after the September 11th, 2001 attack in which the World Trade Center was destroyed. Bennie appears again later in the novel, in Chapter 6, "X's and O's," which is set ten years prior to "The Gold Cure." "X's and O's" is narrated by Bennie's old friend, Scotty, who goes to visit Bennie at his office in Manhattan:

I looked down at the city. Its extravagance felt wasteful, like gushing oil or some other precious thing Bennie was hoarding for himself, using it up so no one else could get any. I thought: If I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the world. The trouble is, when you most need such a view, no one gives it to you.

Just as Sasha did in Chapter 2, Scotty stands with Bennie and looks out over Manhattan, and in both passages, there is a sense that Bennie fails to notice, appreciate, or find meaning in the view. But the reader wouldn't have the same experience if the story had been told in chronological order.

Narrative in Atonement by Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan's novel Atonement tells the story of Briony, a writer who, as a girl, sees something she doesn't understand and, based on this faulty understanding, makes a choice that ruins the lives of Celia, her sister, and Robbie, the man her sister loves. The first part of the novel appears to be told from the perspective of a third-person omniscient narrator; but once we reach the end of the book, we realize that we've read Briony's novel, which she has written as an act of atonement for her terrible mistake. Near the end of  Atonement , Briony tells us:

I like to think that it isn’t weakness or evasion, but a final act of kindness, a stand against oblivion and despair, to let my lovers live and to unite them at the end. I gave them happiness, but I was not so self-serving as to let them forgive me. Not quite, not yet. If I had the power to conjure them at my birthday celebration…Robbie and Cecilia, still alive, sitting side by side in the library…

In Briony's novel, Celia and Robbie are eventually able to live together, and Briony visits them in an attempt to apologize; but in real life, we learn, Celia and Robbie died during World War II before they could see one another again, and before Briony could reconcile with them. By inviting the reader to imagine a happy ending, Briony effectively heightens the tragedy of the events that actually occurred. By choosing Briony as his narrator, and by framing the novel Briony wrote with her discussion of her own novel, McEwan is able to create multiple interlacing narratives, telling and retelling what happened and what might have been.

Narrative in Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five tells the story of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran who survived the bombing of Dresden, and has since “come unstuck in time.” The novel uses flashbacks and flash-forwards, and is narrated by an unreliable narrator who implies to the reader that the narrative he is telling may not be entirely true:

All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true. One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn’t his. Another guy I knew really did threaten to have his personal enemies killed by hired gunmen after the war. And so on. I’ve changed all the names.

The narrator’s equivocation in this passage suggests that even though the story he is telling may not be entirely factually accurate, he has attempted to create a narrative that captures important truths about the war and the bombing of Dresden. Or, maybe he just doesn’t remember all of the details of the events he is describing. In any case, the inconsistencies in dates and details in Slaughterhouse-Five  give the reader the impression that crafting a single cohesive narrative out of the horrific experience of war may be too difficult a task—which in turn says something about the toll war takes on those who live through it.

What's the Function of Narrative in Literature?

When we use the word "narrative," we're pointing out that who tells a story and how that person tells the story influence how the reader understands the story's meaning. The question of what purpose narratives serve in literature is inseparable from the question of why people tell stories in general, and why writers use different narrative elements to shape their stories into compelling narratives. Narratives make it possible for writers to capture some of the nuances and complexities of human experience in the retelling of a sequence of events.

In literature and in life, narratives are everywhere, which is part of why they can be very challenging to discuss and analyze. Narrative reminds us that stories do not only exist; they are also made by someone, often for very specific reasons. And when you analyze narrative in literature, you take the time to ask yourself why a work of literature has been constructed in a certain way.

Other Helpful Narrative Resources

• Etymology: Merriam-Webster describes the origins and history of usage of the term "narrative."
• Narrative Theory: Ohio State University's "Project Narrative" offers an overview of narrative theory.
• History and Narrative:  Read more about the similarities between historical and literary narratives in Hayden White's  Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in 19th-Century Europe.
• Narrative Art: This article from Widewalls explores narrative art and discusses what kind of art doesn't  tell stories. 

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Last updated on Jan 02, 2024

Narrative Structure: Definition, Examples, and Writing Tips

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Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.

About Martin Cavannagh

Head of Content at Reedsy, Martin has spent over eight years helping writers turn their ambitions into reality. As a voice in the indie publishing space, he has written for a number of outlets and spoken at conferences, including the 2024 Writers Summit at the London Book Fair.

As you plot out your novel, story structure will likely be at the top of your mind. But there’s something else you’ll need to consider in addition to that: narrative structure. While story structure is the overall flow of the story , from the exposition to the rising and falling action, narrative structure is the framing that supports it. Let’s take a deeper dive into what that means.

What is narrative structure?

A narrative structure is the order in which a story’s events are presented. It is the framework from which a writer can hang individual scenes and plot points with the aim of maximizing tension, interest, excitement, or mystery.

Traditionally, most stories start at the chronological beginning ("once upon a time") and finish at the end ("and they lived happily ever after"). However, a story can technically be told in any order. Writers can arrange their plot points in a way that creates suspense — by omitting certain details or revealing information out of order, for example. 

Sometimes, storytellers will begin in the middle and literally 'cut to the chase' before revealing the backstory later on. In short, narrative structure is a powerful tool that writers can wield to great effect if handled with care and consideration. 

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Types of narrative structure

There’s a whole branch of literary criticism dedicated to studying narrative structure: narratology. We won’t quite go into academic depth, but it’s important to know the main types of structure available for your narrative so you can best choose the one that serves your story’s purpose. Here are four of the most common types of narrative structure used in books and movies. 

Linear narrative structure is exactly what it sounds like — when a story is told chronologically from beginning to end. Events follow each other logically and you can easily link the causality of one event to another. At no point does the narrative hop into the past or the future. The story is focused purely on what is happening now. It’s one of the most common types of narrative structures seen in most books, movies, or TV shows.

Example: Pride and Prejudice

A great example of a linear narrative is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice . We follow Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy's love story from their first disastrous meeting to when they fall in love and admit their feelings for each other. All of the events are presented in the order that they occur, and we can easily see how one misunderstanding led to another right until the very end. 

2. Nonlinear

On the flip side, a nonlinear narrative is when a story is told out of order — where scenes from the beginning, middle, and end are mixed up, or in some cases, the chronology may be unclear. With this freedom to jump around in time, new information or perspectives can be introduced at the point in the story where they can have maximum impact. A common feature of this type of narrative is the use of extended flashbacks. 

These types of stories tend to be character-centric. Hopping through time allows the author to focus on the characters' emotional states as they process different events and contrast them against  their previous or future selves .

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But why would you choose to tell a whole story in such a confusing way? One thing nonlinear structures allow a writer to do is heighten suspense. Since events don’t necessarily logically follow each other, you never know what will happen next . They can also disorient the audience and leave them feeling off-kilter, which is incredibly useful if you’re writing horror or suspense, though this structure certainly isn’t limited to these genres.

Example: Amores perros

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2000 film Amores Perros is a prime example of how a nonlinear narrative can heighten suspense and create a character-centric story. The film is a triptych, three stories following different characters in Mexico City whose lives intersect with a car crash shown in the opening scene. 

The first third of the movie flashes back to tell the story of Octavio, a young man involved in underground dog fights who is in love with his brother’s wife. Most of the second story takes place after the crash and centers on Valeria, a Spanish model injured in that wreck, while the final storyline takes place in both timelines and focuses on a hitman, El Chivo, who we first meet in Octavio’s story.

The nonlinear nature of the film allows the director to explore and juxtapose the nuances of each character's struggles. Every character’s story is anchored by the opening. As Octavio, Valeria, and El Chivo move closer to the time of the car crash that will upend their lives, there’s a mounting tension as the audience knows what’s going to happen, but has no idea how it will affect them. 

This is a general type of nonlinear narrative. However, some subtypes are more commonly seen in fiction, such as the parallel narrative. 

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3. Parallel

A parallel narrative is where two or more stories are told concurrently, though they may not always be happening at the same time. This is common in stories with multiple lead characters and viewpoints . They tend to be interconnected, though how they relate may not be immediately obvious. 

Eventually, the story threads in a parallel structure will dovetail, resulting in some kind of plot twist or revelation. As a result, parallel structures are often used in thrillers or historical fiction novels.

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Example: Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn’s best-selling domestic thriller is a masterclass in parallel narratives. The story of suburban teacher Nick’s reaction to his wife’s mysterious disappearance is interspersed with flashbacks taken from Amy’s diary, revealing the shaky state of Nick and Amy's relationship.

The reader is presented with two unreliable narrators: the idealized life Nick presents to the media following Amy’s disappearance stands in stark contrast to the diary entries that reveal Nick's affair and the difficulties of their personal lives. The back and forth of the narrative only increases the tension as the readers try to figure out what’s real, what’s a lie, and what will happen next. 

4. Episodic

You can think of episodic narratives as interconnected short stories that contribute to a larger story arc. Each individual story has a beginning, middle, and end, but the larger arc unites them in some way . Usually, this type of structure follows the same set of characters in a specific setting or situation. You’ll recognize this type of narrative in TV programs like sitcoms and medical dramas, where episodes can, broadly speaking, be watched in any order. 

Example: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The popular 90’s TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is something of a pioneering show, balancing its monster-of-the-week format (“the gang must stop a vampire cheerleader!”) with a slow unraveling of a season-long plot that culminates in a fight against a larger enemy (“the town’s mayor is a demon!”).

While many other episodic TV shows prioritized maintaining the status quo at the end of each episode, one of Buffy’s strengths was its willingness to tell grander stories within the framework of episodic storytelling. With these narrative seeds being planted across 20-plus episodes, its season finales were often more impactful than those of its contemporaries.  

Choosing a structure to fit your story

Now that you have an understanding of some of the most popular narrative structures, you need to decide which one to use for your story. It’s important that the structure you choose works with the kind of story you want to tell and adds something to the overall experience, but that doesn’t mean you need to reinvent the wheel. 

Experimenting with non-traditional structure can be a great way to improve your writing and challenge yourself but if you’re finding it difficult or more confusing than helpful, there’s nothing wrong with using a linear structure. After all, it’s popular for a reason — it works, and many famous and well-regarded stories have been written that way. 

If you do want to try your hand at non-linear structure, consider these tips. 

Identify your beginning, middle, and end

Every story has a beginning, middle, and end, even if you’re telling it out of order. In some cases, the story you’re telling narratively might rely a lot on events outside the plot's main focus. Often, that also means the inciting incident and the height of the story happen in a compressed amount of time.

In that case, a nonlinear structure might be helpful. It will introduce the exposition that’s needed for the “beginning” throughout the story without derailing your plot and pacing. In cases like this, figuring out your chronology is incredibly important — and we recommend mapping it out on paper to avoid confusion.

Find the right place to reveal information

Many stories rely on the careful reveal of information to keep the plot moving and the tension high. In a typical linear narrative, this timing is fairly straightforward — the reader finds out new things at the same time the characters do. However, when using a nonlinear or parallel structure, you’ll need to be even more judicious with how you feed readers this information.

When the reader knows something the character doesn’t, it creates suspense. When the character knows something the reader doesn’t, it creates intrigue. Both of these are great tools for a writer, but they can’t be maintained over a full narrative — that would be tedious and confusing for a reader.

Rather, suspense and intrigue should be created and dissipated throughout the story. And if you aren’t sure you’ve done this successfully, you’ll know it’s time to consult your  test audience or a professional editor .

Whatever narrative structure you choose, remember that it should work for you and for your story. If you’re not having fun or it’s proving too difficult, changing course and trying another one is alright. Experimentation is all a part of the process. Happy writing!

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