Quell any pressure to produce anything of substance at this point. This is a brainstorming and planning exercise that will pay huge dividends by the time you are actually ready to write.
Get a pen and a piece of paper and write down three or four behind-the-scenes events that you found either amusing, shocking, educational or otherwise "worth" telling others about. Remember, too, that you were behind the scenes; others were not, so try focusing on the contrast between what you saw and what others could not. Is this story so interesting that you are tempted to pick up the phone and share it with a trusted friend?
Develop only those stories that happened to you as opposed to someone else; you will need your sharpest descriptive insights and skills to write the paper. Think of your job. Do you work at a restaurant that is calm and quiet where patrons enjoy dinner while, behind the scenes, cooks bark commands and waitresses shriek over late orders in the kitchen? Think of your social life. Did you recently attend a wedding in which the guests at the church were waiting patiently for the service to begin while, behind the scenes, the bride was half-dressed and in tears over her torn wedding gown? These are the kind of behind-the-scenes events that naturally lend themselves to a good narrative paper.
Think in the reverse, too. In other words, if you decide that you have a "boring" behind-the-scenes topic that will not hold anybody's attention in verbal form, you will probably produce an equally "boring" paper. Choosing a weak topic undermines many students' writing efforts from the start.
Remember that while narrative writing consists of a beginning, a middle and an end, the middle usually focuses on some type of conflict or struggle between two forces. Such conflict is internal --- "Should I tell everyone what's going on here?" --- or external --- "I've got to tell the groom that his runaway bride just ran from the church, and I know he's going to belt me." The conflict and its resolution are the crux of a narrative paper.
Note that most narrative essays follow a time line, so a chronological organization is natural. You may wish to consider a "teaser" introduction in which you hint at the impending conflict.
Select an incident or event to use as the subject for your narrative paper.
Write down specific details and examples to recreate the scene, along with dialogue. Taking some creative license is to be expected, but do not embellish the story for dramatic effect. If you have chosen the "right" story to write about, it will be dramatic enough.
Sketch out the story line in terms of the beginning, middle and end. Where is the best place to pick up the story line? How involved or complicated is the middle --- the part where the conflict inevitably lies? What information is relevant to advancing the story? What information is extraneous (such as the color of the groom's socks) and could be deleted without impugning the quality of the story?
Think of the conflict in the situation. Was it internal? External? How was it resolved? This is the focus of your narrative paper and where you should explain and develop the story with focus and relevance and energy and verve.
Follow the edicts of sound paragraph development: Begin each paragraph with a concrete topic sentence and then amplify the main idea with descriptive details. Resist the urge to bloat your paper with adjectives. Choose your words carefully and at the same time demonstrate a sense of unity and cohesion, as well as a steady progression of ideas within each paragraph.