You could relate something that happened to someone else, even a fictional person.

The exception would be if you were switching between the current discussion of the story’s meaning (in present tense) and the narrative of the story’s events (past tense).

A good first-person topic sentence might be, “I’ll never forget the time I picked out my new puppy. ” If you were using third person, the same topic sentence would be written, “He would never forget the time he picked out his new puppy. ”

For the first-person example about picking out a new puppy, you might continue, “My mom drove me to the breeder, which was 45 minutes away. ”

You might say: “I was 11, so the car ride seemed like an eternity. We lived in Wisconsin at the time, and the breeder was in Chicago. ” All background information after the topic sentence, such as other characters and where the story takes place, should be approximately 1-4 sentences long.

While the length of your paragraph will vary based on the content, a standard 5-sentence paragraph likely will not provide enough detail to tell a complete narrative.

You could say, ”When we arrived at the breeder, I felt dismayed. I didn’t see any puppies at all. ”

You might continue, ”The breeder whistled. I was relieved when the puppies bounded around a corner and into the entryway. I saw a puppy in my favorite color—white—with two black spots. ‘Mom, can we keep him?’ I asked hopefully. She paused for a minute, seeming to reconsider getting a puppy at all. ”

You could end, “Then, mom smiled. ‘Only if we can name him Oreo. ’ I hugged her, and Oreo gave me a lick of approval. ” Resolution could be as brief as 1 sentence or as many as 3.

Regarding the puppy story, you might say, ”It was the happiest day of my life. ” The nature of your conclusion will depend greatly on the tone and content of your story as well as the perspective the story is told from.

Reading your story out loud is a great way to listen for grammar problems and other spots that don’t quite flow. Don’t rely on spell-check, as it won’t catch everything! Once you’ve finished proofreading, consider asking someone you trust to read over the paragraph again. They can help you find anything you may have missed![10] X Expert Source Grant Faulkner, MAProfessional Writer Expert Interview. 8 January 2019.