A narrative composition is a story with a point: someone wants something, meets a difficulty, acts, and ends somewhere that follows from what happened. This section teaches the four parts that make that line work, and then how to revise a draft.
It sits inside the SPM Chinese learning guide, and the examples are in Chinese with English explanation.
How do the four parts depend on each other?
Think of a story as a single line: want, obstacle, action, change.
- Conflict is the obstacle. Without it, nothing needs to be solved.
- Meaningful detail shows the character’s want and obstacle through objects and actions.
- Time sequence puts the events in an order the reader can follow.
- Ending shows the change, and it must connect to the theme.
| If your story feels… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Flat, a list of events | Planning conflict, development and resolution |
| Full of adjectives but empty | Meaningful detail, not adjective lists |
| Confusing about when things happen | Controlling time sequence |
| Finishing with a sudden lesson | Connecting an ending to the theme |
One short example of the skeleton
Suppose the topic is “一次难忘的经历”. A list-style draft says: “我早上去学校，下午去补习，晚上回家睡觉，真是难忘的一天。”
A skeleton draft fixes one moment: “我想在美术比赛画外婆，颜料却在比赛前一晚被弟弟打翻。我只好用铅笔一笔一笔画，外婆的皱纹反而更清楚。” The want is to paint grandmother, the obstacle is the spilled paint, the action is drawing in pencil, and the change is a better result. Every sentence now does a job.
Who should start where?
- Students who finish stories in a hurry: begin with conflict, then the ending lesson.
- Students with strong vocabulary: begin with detail, because adjectives can hide the lack of action.
- Students who revise after a first draft: go to revising an original Chinese narrative.
Test the four parts together on the narrative composition practice set, and plan your next story with the Chinese composition structure planner.
For a teacher to read your drafts with you, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.