Story Writing 1. Plot = what happens 1. Plot = what happens a. Don’t be too childish and unrealistic. b. Poor ending: “Chris, Chris, wake up. It’s time to go to school,” called my mother. It had all been a dream.” is boring and shows a lack of imagination. c.(this happened, then this, that and this, and…) will kill the most exciting story.

2. Narrator a. who is telling the story : b. the first person = I/We (a character in the story/a witness) c. the third person, (i.e. impersonally;) It was Christmas Day. John was feeling happy.

3. Opening Choose an interesting opening sentence to attract your readers. Choose an interesting opening sentence to attract your readers. a. Speech, “Shut up!” / ”No, I won’t.” “Shut up!” / ”No, I won’t.” b. Description, The boat moved slowly along the broad river. The heat of the afternoon made everyone sleepy. The boat moved slowly along the broad river. The heat of the afternoon made everyone sleepy.

c. Drama/middle of the action She fell dead. A green sphere was just outside the window. d. Question/direct address Do you like strawberries? I do, and that’ s why…. e. Introduction as story teller I’m 15, quite tall, and interested in computers.

4. Time sequence a. Don’t tell the story simply from past to present. b. Often stories begin at the end, and then go earlier in time to explain how and when the end happened.

5. Description Add adjectives and adverbs to make a story more personal and interesting. Add adjectives and adverbs to make a story more personal and interesting. E.g. A girl came in. A long-haired girl in red came in. A long-haired girl in red came in. E.g. I ran. I ran in terror. I ran in terror.

6. Mood a. Give the story a mood: funny, sad, serious, romantic, frightening or whatever appropriate, and keep to that mood. b. Use a special style if you can. Try to use good vocabulary, comparisons (e.g. as black as the devil’s heart), questions (e.g. Would she ever love me?), a mixture of long and short sentences (he ran as fast as he could down the long, narrow street. Suddenly he fell.), and so on.

7. Dialogue a. Include dialogue to break up long chunks of story-telling. b. Note how to punctuate dialogue: e.g. Simon shouted, “Go now!” “Go now!” shouted Simon. ‘I can’t see anything,’ whispered Simon. Simon whispered, ‘I can’t see anything.’

8. Ending a. Make a comment. And I think that is what he deserved. And I think that is what he deserved. I don’t think he’ll ever do that again. I don’t think he’ll ever do that again. I won’t make that mistake again! I won’t make that mistake again! b. Ask the reader a question Will we never learn? Will we never learn? That was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? That was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?

c. Use a proverb As they say, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” As they say, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” “Prevention is better than cure.” “Prevention is better than cure.” d. Leave the reader in suspense suggesting there may be more. - And that was just the beginning…… - He fired the gun……

You can use anything else as long as it makes a reader feel satisfied and not looking for a missing ending. You can use anything else as long as it makes a reader feel satisfied and not looking for a missing ending.END

Assignment One day after school, you went to the staffroom to see your teacher, but there was nobody there. Just as you were about to leave, you noticed a piece of paper on the staffroom floor. You picked it up, and saw the words ‘END OF TERM EXAMINATION’ at the top of the page. One day after school, you went to the staffroom to see your teacher, but there was nobody there. Just as you were about to leave, you noticed a piece of paper on the staffroom floor. You picked it up, and saw the words ‘END OF TERM EXAMINATION’ at the top of the page. Describe what happened next. Describe what happened next.