Before a child can produce narratives, which skill must they first possess?

To effectively produce narratives, a child must first be able to generate multiple utterances about a single topic. This foundational skill is crucial because narratives rely on the ability to elaborate and expand on a main idea or storyline. By producing several utterances, a child begins to develop the coherence and organization necessary for storytelling.

The other skills listed, while important in the overall development of narrative abilities, come into play after the child has established the ability to talk about a topic at length. Using past and future tenses contributes to the complexity of narratives but is not strictly necessary before beginning to narrate. Expressing a sequence using "then" or "next" is valuable for structuring a narrative's flow or timeline, but without the ability to first generate multiple statements on a topic, the narrative will lack depth. Similarly, using compound sentences with "and" enhances sentence complexity but does not address the core need for topic development that precedes narrative creation. Therefore, the ability to produce several utterances about the same topic is essential and lays the groundwork for more sophisticated narrative skills.