Discover How YOU Can Write a Story, Part 1

Have you always wanted to write a story?  Have you wanted to teach your child how to write a story?  Over the next few blog posts, I will give you basic instructions to get your story going.  Happy Writing! Part One: Ideas   People often wonder where writers get their ideas for stories. It takes so many ideas to make a story or a novel! Here's a secret: writers don't think of all those ideas. They steal them! Not really, but they find ideas from many sources and combine them to make an original story. Look for ideas in real life, such as funny quotes, interesting people, or occurrences at school. Consider your favorite stories. You can use elements of them to make a new story. Brainstorm! Combine several ideas to form the basis of a new story.  Go on a nature walk.  Find interesting rocks, sticks, flowers, grasses or bugs.  Maybe the rock you find reminds your of a diamond.  A stick could look like a snake.  A  leaf might resemble a floppy elephant ear.

Part Two: Sketch the "basics" of your story These are the basics of all stories: 1. Sympathetic character 2. Who faces a problem 3. Character solves problem Don't get into details, but have an idea of your main character and the conflict. Part Three: Fill in the details: Character and Conflict Character First, build your main character. Here are important traits of a main character: Has a problem or need. Has the ability to solve the problem, whether or not he knows it (there's usually more suspense if he doesn't). Often has a flaw to overcome to solve the problem or win the reward. Then, think about your secondary characters: the main character's friends and enemies. To get you started, I've listed some types of secondary characters, along with famous examples of each. Conflict -- what makes your story exciting The stronger the story problem, the stronger the story. Don't be nice to your character! Create obstacles to the goal. The story is more exciting that way, the character learns more, and the reward is more valuable since the character worked so hard for it. Think about the worst thing that could happen to your character   Use the questions below to get started writing your story: Sketch out your story: Who is your main character? What problem does he get into? How does he solve the problem? Character: What do they look like?  What do they like to do?  How old are they?  What he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams What he/she does or does not do What others say about him/her and how others react to him/her ________________________________________________________________________ Conflict: Think about the worst thing that could happen to your character