You are going to begin writing your own Descriptive Narrative story. More than

You are going to begin writing your own Descriptive Narrative story. More than any other type of essay, Descriptive Narratives strive to create a deeply involved and vivid experience for the reader. Great descriptive essays achieve this effect by telling an engaging story while employing creativity and detailed observations and descriptions.
Your assignment this week is to create or recreate a 3 to 4 page formal story with a descriptive focus based on one of the following prompts. Remember: you want to describe with sensory details and vivid images. Include dialogue. Show, don’t tell, your readers what you “see” so that they can develop a clear and vivid image in their own minds.
This is due Sunday.
Prompts:
Length: 3 to 4 pages
Format: Use your correct heading with the identifier “Paper 1;” double-space; 10, 11, or 12 point font; 1 inch margins
1. Annie Dillard, in “The Chase” and in “Lenses,” shows how events of childhood might have a profound impact on those grown-up children. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t remember them enough to think about them or even write about them. This week, you are going to write a descriptive narrative essay in which you identify an influential event from your childhood. Recreate it and, as you tell the story, analyze how and why it made a lasting impact on you.
Remember that you are telling a story – you want it to be engaging, energetic and descriptive!
2. Much like Annie Dillard, we often discover something we didn’t know about ourselves (or others) when we are forced to handle an unexpected or perilous situation. Tell the story of and describe in detail a time when you were faced with something unexpected and what you learned in the process. Be sure to describe how you got into the situation and how you survived it.
Don’t just tell the story – show us: bring us with you into it.
3. As Annie Dillard has, write about a time when an adult did something entirely unexpected during your childhood, an action that seemed dangerous or threatening to you, or something humorous, kind or generous. Be sure that your story has a point: consider what you want your audience to learn about you from reading about this particular event.
Recreate the details using description, including thoughts, feelings and dialogue.
1. Brainstorm before you begin writing. Please see HERE for the prewriting guidelines. Following the prompts exactly as shown, write down all of the ideas that come to mind about your chosen subject. This will help you get a handle on what you want to say AND help you to not forget details. Please submit this WITH your paper.
2. While narrative stories do not typcially have the kind of thesis an analytical paper might have, your story should include some kind of specific overview that introduces your story or the significant idea that you wish to convey.
3. Be sure that each supporting paragraph details each point clearly and independently with explanation and illustration that carries on the message of your subject
a. Use “sensory details” to show, not just tell your story: hearing, sight, taste, touch and smell are great descriptors to make a descriptive narrative vivid and clear
c. Include dialogue – let your readers “hear” what happens
d. Be sure each paragraph is well-explained and detailed.
4. Don’t be afraid to take risks – be creative! Be reflective, be bold, and include lots of yourself. Be honest with how this person has affected you.
5. Be sure that you have a separate paragraph at the end that is your conclusion. Restate your ideas. Leave your readers with a “final thought” about person that wraps up all of the details you just wrote about.
6. When you are finished, proofread and spell-check carefully – spelling grammar, and proper sentence structure count from now on. Do not write like you are writing an email or a text.