Structure & narrative

Who tells the story and how much they can see.

A character telling the story using ‘I’.

A narrator outside the story using ‘she / he / they’.

Close and personal, but only one character's view.

Follow one person, or know everyone's thoughts.

A teller we can't fully trust — they hide or misread things.

The choice controls what the reader is allowed to know.

The personality and style of the one telling the story.

Name it + what it lets us see + what that does.

Naming ‘first person’ with no effect on the reader.

How a writer builds a person on the page.

The words characters speak to each other.

Reveal character through action, not a flat label.

What they say and how they say it shows who they are.

Their real nature — often more than any description.

The clash reveals the truth a character hides.

Distance, reluctance or hidden feeling.

Quote a detail + say what it shows about the person.

Direct tells us (‘she was kind’); indirect shows it through action.

Labelling a character without the detail that shows it.

The order things are put in — start, middle, end.

It hooks the reader and sets up the whole text.

A jump back to a scene from before the main action.

Events told out of time order, on purpose.

Where a text speeds up or slows down.

Creates rush, panic or excitement.

Makes a moment linger and feel weighty.

A text that ends where it began, echoing its start.

Name the order or shape + what it does to the reader.

Saying ‘it's a flashback’ without the effect.

Ways writers use the sound of words for effect.

The same consonant sound repeated in nearby words.

Repeated consonant sounds within or ending words.

Repeated vowel sounds inside words — ‘lone road home’.

Make a line feel gentle, calm or hushed.

Make a line feel harsh, sharp or violent.

Slow a line down — often sad or grand.

The beat of a line — steady, bouncy or heavy.

Name it + quote the sound + say what feeling it creates.

Naming ‘alliteration’ without saying what the sound does.