The Writing Company · with the Mayor

Write a Story

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Write a Story

You know some moves. Now you get to tell a whole story, all your own.

Every story you love has the same parts inside. Here they are.

A who

Somebody is in this story. Sometimes two of you are! Tell the reader who is there.
A where or a when

Tell the reader where you were, or when it was. "At the fish tank" puts the reader right there.
Something that happens

Something happens in the middle. Maybe too much food clumps on the water! That part is the story.
An end

The story stops at a good spot, not in the middle.
A feeling

How did it feel? Tell the reader, or better, show them.

Spend your tools

You have craft moves too. Here they are, small and mighty.

Nelson · Specific nouns

A noun names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. "Pet" and "food" stay vague. "Fish" and "flakes" are the exact things. Name the exact one.

I gave the pet some food. I shook flakes into the fish tank.

Vinny · Strong verbs

Some writers add an adverb to a weak verb, like "came up quickly." One strong verb does it better. The fish darted. Pick the one strong verb.

The fish came up quickly. The fish darted up.

Jake · Show, do not tell

Could we be more specific? Do not tell me it was exciting. Show me one thing you saw, and I will feel the excitement myself.

It was exciting. The fish flashed orange when the flakes hit the water.

Connie · Join two sentences

Two short sentences can become one. Use and, but, or so to join them. "He poured, and they came up" reads smooth.

My brother poured the food. The fish came up. My brother poured the food, and the fish came up.

The Mayor · Voice

You talk one way to a friend and another way to a principal. I talk one way, and my friend Slang talks another. Match your words to your reader.

Greetings. I shall describe the feeding of the fish. Guess who fed the fish today. Me and my brother!

The Mayor · The three parts of a paragraph

A paragraph is like a tiny story. It starts by telling what it is about, fills the middle with more, and ends. Three parts, every time.

A bunch of sentences, all in a heap. First tell what it is about. Then add the middle sentences. Then finish it.

The Story Plan

In the Writing Company, we plan before we write. Watch me plan a story.

The Mayor's Power Plan

Pick it. Choose the idea you like best.
Plan it. Answer the questions before you write.
Pour it on. Write, and add what only you know.

The Seven Story Questions

Answer all seven. Little answers are fine.

Who is the main character?
When does the story take place?
Where does the story take place?
What does the main character do or want to do?
What happens when they try to do it?
How does the story end?
How does the main character feel?

Say them out loud with a grown-up. Who, when, where. What, what happens. How it ends, how it feels.

Watch the Mayor plan it

Watch me plan a story with a writer your age. The story: the afternoon they taught their little brother to feed the fish.

Pick it. The brainstorm found lots of shared afternoons. I pick the fish afternoon. Something clumped on the water, and it ended proud. Stories live in moments like that.

Plan it.

Who? Me and my little brother.
When? In the afternoon, after school.
Where? By the fish tank.
What do I want to do? Teach my brother to feed the fish.
What happens when I try? He shakes in too much food, and the flakes clump on top.
How does it end? We scoop a little back out with the net, and the fish eat.
How do I feel? So proud, and my brother is too.

Pour it on. Seven little answers, and the story is packed. Now I write a beginning, a middle, and an end. A beginning that tells who. A middle where something happens. An end that tells the feeling. Question five is the best part. A story needs a little trouble.

Eight ways to prewrite

Writers use planning tools. Here are three, used on the fish afternoon. Open a card.

Brainstorm If you think it, write it down.

Taught my brother to feed the fish. Walked the dog together. Built a fort. Shared my snack. Read him a book.

What it gave us. A brainstorm finds lots of ideas fast. This writer found five shared afternoons, not just one.

Series of Events What happened, in order. The story tool.

First I showed him the food. Then he shook in too much. The flakes clumped on top. We scooped some out with the net. The fish ate.

What it gave us. The events go in order, first to last. Order is the bones of a story.

Five Senses See, hear, taste, smell, touch. The tool for details.

See: orange flakes on the water. Hear: the tank bubbling. Smell: the fishy food. Touch: the cool net handle. Taste: not this time!

What it gave us. The senses find the real details, like the bubbling tank and the cool net.

Pick the tool that helps you. Even one tool can crack a story open.

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