To avoid confusing your reader or audience, a story needs five parts. You need to make sure you answer what, who, when, where, and why.

What

What happened? What is the sequence or order of events? "This happened, and then this happened, and then this happened."

Who

Who was involved? Who did the action? Who or what makes things happen?

Important!!! Identifying the person as "a little boy," "a friend of mine," or even "Bob" isn't good enough. You need to be more specific. Who is this little boy? What's your friend's name? And who is Bob?

When

When did the events happen? Five years ago? Yesterday? A few minutes ago?

Important!!! Telling us that the event happened "a long time ago" or "a while ago" or "when I was living in Indiana" isn't good enough. Root your reader in a specific time and place, not a generic time and place.

Where

Where did the action take place? At Fruita Monument High School? On Elm Street? Under a tree in your Aurora backyard?

Important!!! Again, don't be generic. Don't say "at school, back home, in the woods, etc."

Why

"Why" has to do with the purpose, reason, or motive.

Keep in mind that it's usually best when telling a story to provide the setting or context first, the who, when, and where, then describe what happened and why it happened.