What are we doing today? 1. Analyze what successful writers effectively do when they write

2. Discuss strengths of essays

3. Imitate what successful writers do in our writing

4. Follow steps in effective writing

What makes an effective narrative essay?

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Writing Tips (not in any particular order)


1. Prewrite.

2. Be specific in your writing. The more specific the detail, the more real the story will seem to the reader.


3. The best fiction can come from the preposterous imaginations of writers who are good storytellers.

4. Revision is important. A writer can always do one more revision.

5. Show, don't tell. This can be done by describing how things/people/events etc. look like, sound like, feel like, taste like etc.


6. Avoid starting a story with dialogue.


7. The more detail in the story, the more interesting the story.


8. Revise, revise, revise, revise, . . .


9. Avoid author intrusion.


10. Write what you like to read.


11. Use surprise and irony.


12. The shorter the story, the more important each word becomes.


13. Descriptions and technical details must be authentic; when the reader suddenly realizes that the writer made a mistake, the reader is jarred out his or her temporary acceptance of the story as reality, i.e., author intrusion.


14. Avoid overused words or baby words like good, bad etc.

15. Don't tell what happened; recreate what happened.


16. The beginning of a story must be interesting. Readers can easily lose their interest.