Telling a Story

    • Telling a Story

      Story telling is very important to English language learners. There are many reasons for this. I in this case want to look at it from a student point of view. In English based exams writing a story is usually something that is expected. Sometimes you get to choose a topic to write about from a number of topics. If you get such choice I would advise you not to choose the story as it’s the hardest topic you can choose. However, this is not always the case as you don’t always get to choose. Also, it can be useful to learn how to approach such a question;)

      One of the standard types of composition is a narrative. The question often asks you to write a story that begins or ends with a particular sentence. Below is an example of how you can tackle the narrative composition following a number of clearly defined steps. However, I will only post one step each time, as posting the whole topic at once is time consuming|a. The question on which the example is based is

      Write a story that ends[COLOR='00BFFF'] [/COLOR][COLOR='02BCFE']‘[/COLOR][COLOR='04BAFD']…[/COLOR][COLOR='06B7FC']i[/COLOR][COLOR='08B5FB']t[/COLOR][COLOR='0AB2FA'] [/COLOR][COLOR='0CAFFA']w[/COLOR][COLOR='0EADF9']a[/COLOR][COLOR='10AAF8']s[/COLOR][COLOR='12A8F7'] [/COLOR][COLOR='14A5F6']o[/COLOR][COLOR='16A2F5']n[/COLOR][COLOR='18A0F4']l[/COLOR][COLOR='1A9DF3']y[/COLOR][COLOR='1C9BF2'] [/COLOR][COLOR='1E98F1']t[/COLOR][COLOR='2095F0']h[/COLOR][COLOR='2193F0']e[/COLOR][COLOR='2390EF']n[/COLOR][COLOR='258DEE'] [/COLOR][COLOR='278BED']t[/COLOR][COLOR='2988EC']h[/COLOR][COLOR='2B86EB']a[/COLOR][COLOR='2D83EA']t[/COLOR][COLOR='2F80E9'] [/COLOR][COLOR='317EE8']i[/COLOR][COLOR='337BE7']t[/COLOR][COLOR='3579E6'] [/COLOR][COLOR='3776E6']d[/COLOR][COLOR='3973E5']o[/COLOR][COLOR='3B71E4']w[/COLOR][COLOR='3D6EE3']n[/COLOR][COLOR='3F6CE2']e[/COLOR][COLOR='4169E1']d[/COLOR][COLOR='3F66E2'] [/COLOR][COLOR='3D63E3']o[/COLOR][COLOR='3B5FE4']n[/COLOR][COLOR='395CE5'] [/COLOR][COLOR='3759E6']h[/COLOR][COLOR='3556E6']i[/COLOR][COLOR='3353E7']m[/COLOR][COLOR='3150E8'] [/COLOR][COLOR='2F4CE9']h[/COLOR][COLOR='2D49EA']o[/COLOR][COLOR='2B46EB']w[/COLOR][COLOR='2943EC'] [/COLOR][COLOR='2740ED']l[/COLOR][COLOR='253CEE']u[/COLOR][COLOR='2339EF']c[/COLOR][COLOR='2136F0']k[/COLOR][COLOR='2033F0']y[/COLOR][COLOR='1E30F1'] [/COLOR][COLOR='1C2DF2']h[/COLOR][COLOR='1A29F3']e[/COLOR][COLOR='1826F4'] [/COLOR][COLOR='1623F5']w[/COLOR][COLOR='1420F6']a[/COLOR][COLOR='121DF7']s[/COLOR][COLOR='1019F8'] [/COLOR][COLOR='0E16F9']t[/COLOR][COLOR='0C13FA']o[/COLOR][COLOR='0A10FA'] [/COLOR][COLOR='080DFB']b[/COLOR][COLOR='060AFC']e[/COLOR][COLOR='0406FD'] [/COLOR][COLOR='0203FE']a[/COLOR][COLOR='0000FF']l[/COLOR]ive

    • Stage 1

      General approach. Work out a basic plot that answers the question. A basic plot might look as follows



      The central character, walking through the mountains at night, finds a cave. In the cave is a malicious fairy, a Duergar. During the night they sit by the fire. The fairy asks him to get some wood from the other side of the cave, but the man is suspicious and stays where he is. In the morning he wakes to find that the cave has vanished and that he is on the very edge of a high cliff, and would have died if had gone to fetch the logs for the fire. Then comes the final sentence




      Note: A Duergar is the correct technical name for this kind of fairy; in your own composition you should not invent nouns, though you are free to invent surnames
      :D

    • Stage 2

      [COLOR='00BFFF']A[/COLOR][COLOR='0000FF'])[/COLOR] Work out more details and think of a few choice expressions. To help with this step, ask yourself lots of questions about the basic plot that you have thought of. For example

      Where did this all take place and when? Who was this traveller? Where was he going and why? What time of the day was it when the story began? What was the weather like? Who are the Duergars? How did he find the cave? What did he see when he went into the cave? How big was the cave? What did the Duergar look like? How did he feel when he saw the Duergar



      [COLOR='00BFFF']B[/COLOR][COLOR='4169E1'])[/COLOR][COLOR='0000FF'] [/COLOR]Think of another five questions that you might ask about the story



      [COLOR='00BFFF']C[/COLOR][COLOR='0000FF'])[/COLOR] Words and images. As you are asking and answering these questions, note down important points of the story in any order. In addition, as words and images come to you, jot down the most powerful and most descriptive ones so that they can be incorporated later in the finished story. The kind of words and images that might come to mind are


      Evil, towering pine trees, a rocky stream, menacing face, a vast,
      Empty cavern, gnarled hand, flickering shadows, black thunderclouds heavy with rain, slanting green eyes

    • Good Effort mate which should return good results from the other side thx heaps and keep it up


      ¨°o.O ( على كف القدر نمشي ولا ندري عن المكتوب ) O.o°¨
      ---
      أتمنى لكم إقامة طيبة في الساحة العمانية
      وأدعوكم للإستفادة بمقالات متقدمة في مجال التقنية والأمن الإلكتروني
       رابط مباشر للمقالات هنا. ومن لديه الرغبة بتعلم البرمجة بلغات مختلفة أعرض لكم بعض
       المشاريع التي برمجتها مفتوحة المصدر ومجانا للجميع من هنا. تجدون أيضا بعض البرامج المجانية التي قمت بتطويرها بذات الموقع ..
       والكثير من أسرار التقنية في عالمي الثاني       Eagle Eye Digital Solutions

    • Stage 4

      Stage 3. Organisation. Arrange the ideas into a clear paragraph structure. For example

      a)Introduction—time, place—information about Duergars

      b)The night and weather—need for shelter—discovery of the cave—goes towards it

      c)Description of the cave—size—the fire

      d)The sight of the Duergar—description of the creature

      e)The Duergar’s trick—across the cave—the traveller does not fall for the trick

      f)The morning—wakes at cliff top—explanation of the Duergar’s trick


      Look carefully at the words and images in stage 2 above. Think to yourself which paragraphs would they most properly appear in

    • Stage 4

      Stage 4. Writing. Here is an example of what the finished composition might look like|a



      Many Years ago, a young man was travelling one night through a forest inhabited by Duergars, an evil race of fairies, who like nothing better than to lure unsuspecting humans to their death

      As he was making his way down the narrow path, he looked up at the towering pine trees. Black thunderclouds heavy with rain were racing across the sky, and he knew that he would soon have to find a shelter. Presently he saw the glow of a fire on the hillside and left the path to clamber up the steep slope that led to the entrance of the cave

      He stood at the entrance and looked in. It was a vast, empty cavern whose sides rose up to a vaulted ceiling. On the ground in the centre a space had been cleared and a warm fire was throwing flickering shadows across the floor. He went cautiously towards the fire and sat down

      As his eyes slowly grew used to the dim light, the menacing face of a Duergar began to emerge. The creature was sitting motionless on the opposite side of the fire; it stared at him through its slanting green eyes but said nothing

      An hour passed, then two. The fire was dying down, so the Duergar picked up a log from the other side of the cave and threw it onto the flames. When the fire began to die down again, the Duergar waved its gnarled hand frantically at the traveler to indicate that it was his turn to collect more wood. Suspecting some devious trick, he stayed where he was, ignoring the glowering looks of the furious Duergar

      The next morning, woken by the sound of mountain songbirds, the traveler was suddenly filled with terror and shock. Both the cave and the Duergar had vanished, and he found himself perched at the very edge of a massive cliff-he could just make out a rocky stream in the valley thousands of feet below. He realized that if he had walked across the cave to get more wood for the fire, as the Duergar had wanted, he would have plunged to his death. It was only then that it dawned on him how lucky he was to be alive

    • What a remarkable topic you have brought master.. you are really
      A good writer and I like the way you go through your story,,

      But master did you get the idea of this story by yourself or somebody help
      You and then you develop it?

      Also I'm really impressed about your writing style but your imagination
      Was totally germinal in describing every thing in the story as you really
      Live the events…

      One of my wishes is to be good writer in future and you really encourage me
      Master through your topic and I hope that Allah will bless me to achieve my
      Dream,,,


      See u all      $$e$$e$$e

    • Dear Miss Spoon, am glad that you enjoyed reading the story:D. As for your question, well to be honest, i dont have full credit for the story|a. As for your wish of becoming a writer. All what i can say is that you can do it!! If you put enough time and dedication into it, am quite sure that nothing can stop you from achieving your goal. I guess in the end, this is why we have dreams. So that we get attached to them and work hard to fullfil them. Best wishes to you and to everyone. |eMy regards