narratives
Stories being told
Narratives is the plural of narrative—stories or accounts of events, whether factual or fictional.
The word often implies a particular angle or interpretation: competing narratives about what happened, the official narrative.
In contemporary usage, narrative frequently describes the storyline someone wants others to accept: They're trying to control the narrative.
Body of traditional tales
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- legendsTraditional stories or icons
- fablesDidactic animal stories
- parablesDidactic allegorical tales
allegories · creation story · cosmogony · pantheon · deities · trickster · origin story · oral tradition
Extended heroic narrative
- odysseyExtended adventurous journey
- questSeeking journey for something
- heroicExceptionally brave and noble
- legendaryFamous beyond ordinary measure
monomyth · trilogy · grandeur · sweeping · archetype · hero's journey · mythology · ancient
New and unusual
- novellaShort fictional book
- proseUnversified language
- short storyBrief prose fiction
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
science-fiction · romance · thriller · mystery · dystopia · literary · genre · manuscript
Written personal recollection
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
- life storyAccount of someone's existence
- profileSide-facing outline
- chronicleOrdered historical record
legacy · testament · journey · recollection · diary · confession · documentary · account
Structural or contextual shaping
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- rhetoricArt of persuasive language
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- dominantHaving superior influence
competing · cultural · political · media · public · official · alternative · false
Storyline or land parcel
- arcCurved line segment
- conflictOpposition between parties
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
exposition · rising action · falling action · denouement · twist · subplot · foreshadowing · backstory
mythology
Body of traditional tales
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- legendsTraditional stories or icons
- fablesDidactic animal stories
parables · allegories · creation story · cosmogony · pantheon · deities · trickster · origin story · oral tradition · cultural
saga
Extended heroic narrative
- odysseyExtended adventurous journey
- questSeeking journey for something
- heroicExceptionally brave and noble
legendary · monomyth · trilogy · grandeur · sweeping · archetype · hero's journey · mythology · ancient · oral tradition
novel
New and unusual
- novellaShort fictional book
- proseUnversified language
- short storyBrief prose fiction
fantasy · science-fiction · romance · thriller · mystery · dystopia · literary · genre · manuscript · storytelling
memoir
Written personal recollection
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
- life storyAccount of someone's existence
- profileSide-facing outline
chronicle · legacy · testament · journey · recollection · diary · confession · documentary · account · portrayal
framing
Structural or contextual shaping
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- rhetoricArt of persuasive language
- propagandaBiased information for influence
dominant · competing · cultural · political · media · public · official · alternative · false · grand
plot
Storyline or land parcel
- arcCurved line segment
- conflictOpposition between parties
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
climax · exposition · rising action · falling action · denouement · twist · subplot · foreshadowing · backstory · cliffhanger
- literary studiescriticism, literary history, modernism, literary movements, literary themes
- prose writingshort stories, essays, prose, fiction, nonfiction
- Norse literaturesagas, Icelandic sagas, Norse sagas, kennings, Old Norse
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- readingfluency, read, comprehension, readers, books
- literary workspoems, novels, poetry, fiction, plays
narrativesraw data
Unanalyzed collected information
data points · statistics · facts · figures · datasets
narrativesarguments
Disputes or reasoning chains
analyses · bullet points · analysis · expositions · treatises
- narrative poemStory told in verse
- personal narrativeSelf-told life account
- first-person narrativesStories told as "I"
- change the narrative
- narrative arcStory's overall shape
- narrative voiceWho speaks the story