Writing a great story is about more than just a good plot; it is about using the right grammatical tools to bring your memories to life. Today, I will show you how to use narrative tenses, vivid descriptions, and discourse markers using a story from June 1937.
1. Master Your Narrative Tenses
To create flow, you must use three main tenses:
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Past Continuous: Use this for background actions that were in progress.
Example: “The sun was shining and I was walking home from church.”
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Simple Past: Use this for the main actions or the next events in the story.
Example: “I saw a girl and I introduced myself.”
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Past Perfect: Use this for actions that happened before the main story started.
Example: “She told me she had seen me in town before.”
2. Use Adjectives and Adverbs
Don’t just say “it was a hot day.” Use adjectives to describe nouns and adverbs to describe actions. This makes the scene “pop.”
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Adjectives: “It was the hottest day in decades. She was the most beautiful girl.”
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Adverbs: “She shyly looked down. We talked happily all morning.”
3. Bring Characters to Life with Direct Speech
Use reporting verbs (said, replied, whispered) and correct punctuation to show exactly what was said.
“My name is Jenny,” she replied softly.
4. Organize with Discourse Markers
To help your reader follow the timeline, use markers to show the sequence of events.
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First, I saw her reading a book.
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Then, our eyes met and she smiled.
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After that, I decided to go and talk to her.
A.
It was June, 1937. The hottest day in decades. I was walking home from church when I saw the most beautiful girl in the world. She was sitting on a bench in the park and she was reading some book. Suddenly, she looked up and our eyes met. She smiled at me and then shyly looked back down into her book. I decided to go and talk to her. I just had to meet her. I walked up to her and introduced myself. Her name was Jenny. She told me that she had seen me before in town, but she was too shy to meet me. We were talking all morning and the time just flew by. That was the beginning of our story. I loved her until the day she died.
B.
It was June, 1937, one of the hottest, most sweltering days in decades. I was slowly walking home from the quiet old church, the sun beating mercilessly down on the dusty streets, when I suddenly saw the most breathtakingly beautiful girl I had ever seen. She was sitting gracefully on a worn wooden bench in the peaceful park, completely absorbed in a thick, well-loved book.
All at once, she gently lifted her eyes, and our gazes unexpectedly met. She smiled warmly at me, a soft, shy smile, and then quickly lowered her eyes back to the pages of her book. In that very moment, I felt an irresistible urge to approach her. I simply had to meet her.
With a racing heart, I nervously walked toward her and politely introduced myself. Her name was Jenny. In a quiet, hesitant voice, she told me that she had often noticed me around town, but she had always been far too shy to speak to me. We talked happily and endlessly all morning, and the hours passed incredibly fast, as if time itself had decided to rush by.
That unforgettable morning marked the true beginning of our beautiful story. I loved her deeply, faithfully, and unconditionally until the very day she peacefully passed away.
C
It was June, 1937—in fact, one of the hottest, most unbearably sweltering days in decades. That morning, I was slowly walking home from the quiet old church, the sun beating mercilessly down on the dusty streets, when suddenly I saw the most breathtakingly beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. She was sitting gracefully on a worn wooden bench in the peaceful park, completely absorbed in a thick, well-loved book.
At that moment, she gently lifted her eyes, and to my surprise, our gazes met. She smiled warmly at me and said softly, “Good morning,” before shyly lowering her eyes back to the pages of her book. Immediately, I felt an irresistible urge to approach her. “I have to meet her,” I thought to myself.
So, with a racing heart, I nervously walked toward her and politely said, “Hello, my name is Thomas.” She looked up again and replied in a quiet, hesitant voice, “I’m Jenny.” Then, after a brief pause, she added, “I’ve seen you around town before, but I was always too shy to talk to you.”
From that point on, we talked happily and endlessly all morning. We laughed, shared stories, and slowly forgot about the passing time. Before we knew it, the hours had flown by, as if time itself had decided to rush forward.
In the end, that unforgettable morning marked the true beginning of our beautiful story. I loved her deeply, faithfully, and unconditionally until, sadly, the very day she peacefully passed away.
AI tools used: ChatGpt, Gemini, ElevenLabs
