Another key component of effective narrative that is often underused in student writing is “blocking,” which essentially is the stage directions for the characters in the narrative. Blocking describes what the characters are doing while they are talking, Like dialogue, it helps to put the reader right into the action of your story. If a character in your narrative is “leaning against the wall” as she speaks, this might reveal something about her easygoing nature; if he constantly brushes his hair back from his face, he might be nervous about something.

Look at this example from The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, a nonfiction book about social cliques in high school. Notice how the details of blocking—especially the body language, gestures, and movements—establish and reinforce the exclusionary nature of the popular clique.

As the halls filled up, crowds parted for the preps. Some students said hello, but Whitney and her friends gave them the “what’s-up-but-I-won’t-really-acknowledge-you” head nod.

When Whitney walked into advertising class with Peyton, she spotted Dirk. “Hey, Whitney!” he yelled across the room.

“I’m not sitting with Dirk,” Peyton whispered to Whitney. “I don’t see why you like those people. They scare me.”

Whitney shrugged and grinned at Dirk as she sat next to him anyway.

At lunch, the preps cut to the front of the line, as usual, and sat at “their” lunch table in the center of the cafeteria. Whitney hadn’t waited in the lunch line since she was a freshman. In the past, when students told the preps to stop cutting, Whitney’s group either ignored them or shot nasty glares.

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“That’s Shay,” Chelsea answered.

“Dude, I didn’t even recognize her,” Peyton said. Did she gain like fifteen pounds over the summer? Why did her hair get so big and frizzy?” This led to a discussion about how there were too many skanks and trailer trash kids at Riverland.