A Closer Look at Narratives

Use sensory details, specific verbs, and dialogue to bring the action to life.

Sensory details are sights, sounds, smells, flavors, textures, and temperatures. Sara used hearing and vision to make her ghost story feel real:

Knock . . . Knock . . . Knock!

Floorboard jumped. A gray flash rushed up. We shrieked and bolted.

Specific verbs capture the action. Specific verbs are words like bolted instead of ran or waddled instead of walked. Sara used verbs like fished, explored, and flung.

We fished the gurgling creek and explored the hot hayloft. But when we flung back the shed door, I heard breathing.