Four Basics of Good Narration

1 Last year, a writing assignment that I hated produced the best writing I have done. 2 When my English teacher told us that our assignment would be to do a few hours of community service and write about it, I was furious. 3 I am a single mother, I work full-time, and I am going to school: Isn’t that enough? 2 The next day, I spoke to my teacher during her office hours and told her that I was already so busy that I could hardly make time for homework, never mind housework. My own life was too full to help with anyone else’s life. 3 She said that she understood perfectly and that the majority of her students had lives as full as mine. Then, she explained that the service assignment was just for four hours and that other students had enjoyed both doing the assignment and writing about their experiences. She said they were all surprised and that I would be, too. 2 After talking with her, I decided to accept my fate. The next week, I went to the Community Service Club, and was set up to spend a few hours at an adult day-care center near where I live. A few weeks later, I went to the Creative Care Center in Cocoa Beach, not knowing what to expect. 3 I found friendly, approachable people who had so many stories to tell about their long, full lives. 2 The next thing I knew, I was taking notes because I was interested in these people: 3 their marriages, life during the Depression, the wars they fought in, their children, their joys and sorrows. I felt as if I was experiencing everything they lived while they shared their history with me. 2 When it came time to write about my experience, I had more than enough to write about: 3 I wrote the stories of the many wonderful elderly people I had talked with. 2 I got an A on the paper, and beyond that accomplishment, I made friends whom I will visit on my own, not because of an assignment, but because I value them.