Writing Narrative History

Contents

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What is Narrative?

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How to write a narrative?

I highly recommend the following steps:

  1. Just sit down and put the story on paper. Let it flow. You give accounts all the time. Don't worry about sophistication or scholarlyness. Just tell the story.
  2. Go back over your notes and knowledge of the events. See what you have left out that you think needs to be part of the story. Rewrite your narrative to include these things. Notice that there is a sequence between 1 and 2. Don't let your need to include the right things and everything muck up your narrative flow in 1. Do it in 2.
  3. Work to achieve artistic quality in your narrative. Now it is time to use the advice below. Rewrite your narrative to the specifications below.

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Locating the Narrator

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The Plot

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Moments of Action

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Characters

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Narrative and Proof

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A final checklist of key qualities in good narrative

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Burke's Pentad

The five terms of the pentad are:

The pentad is a way of thinking through the shape of your account. Burke urges at least two uses:

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