Narrative structure involves a sequential or non-sequential order of events, and omitting what's insignificant and emphasizing selected events. Authors can re-order time and space, but still need to keep it comprehensible to the audience. The "frame narration" technique, is the telling of a story within another story. Narratives that use flashbacks are examples of "non-linear" storytelling, as are detective mysteries that open with a crime, and backtrack events to reveal the culprit.
When the story is told from the point of view of a character, this is a "first-person" narrative. A "third-person" narrative is told through an outsider watching events unfold; often this is the author or a narrator. Narratives are not limited to a single viewpoint. The author can reveal events through multiple characters, can blend "first person" and "third person," or use more than one "third person" viewpoint to make the storytelling more riveting.
Perspective, in regard to storytelling, is best described as a three-dimensional intellectual ability to see around, through or beyond events of the moment. It's an understanding of how circumstances work together and bring about the end result. Perspective and point of view are intertwined, but not the same. In real life, everybody has a "limited" perspective of circumstances around them; the same is true for characters. However the "third person" can have an "unlimited" or "omniscient" all-knowing perspective of current and future events. A "first person" or "third person" may have a "limited omniscience" when the telling of the story deals with past events, or be fully "omniscient."
Character development is critical. Giving characters individual quirks and styles makes them memorable, and distinguishes them from other characters. Every story needs a protagonist, which is "the hero," and an antagonist, whether it is a hard-core villain, person or thing that interferes with the hero's mission. Heroes and other main characters need an "arc" to show personal growth or a strengthened resolve to core beliefs. Melanie Anne Philips, a creator of narrative-writing software, notes that characters may not always be aware that they're flirting with change. However, it's the author's duty to show the changes to the audience. In addition, characters have motivations, regardless of how small the role and whether or not it's revealed in the story. Motivations are revealed through what they say and do.
The conflict that arises in events, between and within individuals -- particularly the protagonist -- is what makes the story interesting. Writers should introduce problems that require difficult choices and force characters to stretch beyond their known abilities. Without conflict, there's no tension or consequences. The story is boring. The boy gets girl, but the audience misses out. Conflict is the central force that both captivates an audience and propels the story forward.