7 Steps Teacher Manual

© Jen McVeity 2008 Licensed for single school or campus use only.

SEVEN STEPS TO WRITING SUCCESS

Step 1: Plan for Success • Step 2: Sizzling StartsStep 3: Tightening Tension • Step 4: Dynamic DialogueStep 5: Show, Don’t Tell • Step 6: Ban the Boring Bits • Step 7: Exciting Endings

Copyright Jen McVeity 2008All rights reserved.ISBN: 9-781921-052019

Material in this manual may be copied or reproducedfor staff and students in the purchasing institution only.Please respect the author's intellectual property.

Illustrations byIan Forss, Azoo Design (03) 5942 7584

Designed and formatted byFirefly Designs 0412 265 665

Highlighting Writing Pty LtdPO Box 194Sandringham VIC 3191Tel: (03) 9521 8439Fax: (03) 9521 8437Email: [email protected]




Welcome to the Seven Steps to Writing Success

The Seven Steps is a highly effective program which breaks down writing

into the seven main skills. 'Chunking' makes writing easier to teach - and

quicker to learn.

The program was inspired by the way we teach sport. e.g, in tennis a coach

teaches forehand, backhand, serve, volley and smash. Yet in writing, we

ask kids to do the 'whole tennis match'. 'Write me a story,' we say - and

wonder why students struggle.

The Seven Steps program includes:-

1. Seven Steps - Top TechniquesThe ‘Top Technique’ sheets are designed to be photocopied for the whole class. There is one page

for each step, plus of course the extremely popular Story Graph.

2. Activity Sheets - Five Minute FixesAs always, practise is vital to consolidate new skills. These activity sheets are a springboard of

quick and successful ways to help students practise each of the Seven Steps. Many are designed

for repeated use just by changing the topics. e.g. You can do the 'Five Minute Fast Starts' every

week for a whole term.

3. Activity Sheets - Without Writing a WordWriting is firstly about creativity and originality. Many of the activities here do NOT involve

actually writing. These are excellent for boys and the more kinesthetic learners. They are also

highly useful for ESL students and kids with learning difficulties - as often their ideas are blocked

by the physical labour of writing.

Jen McVeity




Just in case you don't know, we do have companion Seven Steps workbooks for students. Based

on the best of the activities above, they are fun, effective and really do make the system simple to

use. Plus students love them! Contact us for samples: [email protected]

Finally, don't forget our free Seven Steps newsletter, created to keep your ideas and inspiration

flowing. Once a month it is delivered by email to you anywhere in the world. You get a Top

Technique tip and a great activity to use in the classroom right away. Just go to the website

www.highlightingwriting.com to subscribe. We're happy to stay in touch.

I hope you and your students enjoy the program and that it really does help you on the fast - and

fun - track to writing success.

Jen McVeity


WHAT ARE THE SEVEN STEPS?

Step 1: Plan for SuccessTopTip: A joke, a movie, aTV sitcom, a book and a greatstory - what do they all have in common? They all followthe same 'story graph'. Start with a bang, slowly buildup the tension and end on a real high point.

Step 2: Sizzling StartsTop Tip: Start where the action is. Not at the beginning of the day where nothing is happening.Begin when the volcano starts oozing lava or as you walk in the door to the big disco competition.

Step 3: Tightening TensionTopTip: You must believe the hero (male or female) will fail. The tornado is too strong, the villainis too evil or the black forces of depression are too overwhelming. Yet, through strength, talent anddetermination, somehow our hero wins.

Step 4: Dynamic DialogueTopTip: Think of dialogue as a mini play in the story. Let your characters walk, talk or even stalk -that's how we get to know them.

Step 5: Show, Don't TellTopTip: If I tell you I am generous, do you believe me??? No way. But if I buy all 20 raffle ticketsto help cancer research, are you more convinced? Actions really do speak louder than words.

Step 6: Ban the Boring BitsTopTip: Everyone gets up, gets dressed, travels to school…it's not exciting. So why write aboutit? Ban all mention of the 'boring B' words - beds, breakfast and bus trips. Think like the movies,the heroes never travel, they just arrive…

Step 7: Exciting EndingsTop Tip: Would you tell a joke without knowing the punch line? Know your ending before youstart writing.



TOP TECHNIQUES

Step 1: Plan for Success

You wouldn't go on a holiday without planning where to go or how to get there.It's the same with stories. Save yourself time and wasted words - figure out what will happenBEFORE you start to write.

StartStart where the action is. Not at the beginning of the day, but at the 'Moment of Change' whenthings start to get interesting. e.g. 'Don't look now, but there’s a bull breathing down your back…'

Backfill - Who, What and WhyFill in the reader VERY briefly about the main characters and why they are there. e.g. 'TheHeavenly Holiday Farm was right in the middle of nowhere and I swear only the flies and myparents knew it existed.'

Plot DevelopmentThe problem is explained, the bad guys are set up, and other characters are brought into the story.

Gradual BuildupThe plot is expanded. The cowboy hero discovers the evil villain is planning to take over the ranchor the gifted girl musician fights against terrible poverty.

Huge Tension SceneThis is the scene of the massive gun fight in the warehouse or the heroine with ten minutes tostop the bomb exploding. The bad guys must seem even stronger than the good. The reader hasto think: ‘The hero/heroine will never make it!’

Action ClimaxThe hero wins the gun battle against 200 men, the kick-butt girl stops the bomb with threeseconds to spare and the football team wins the grand final by one point.

Character and Emotions Wrap-upThe climax scene is usually all action. However, sometimesthere's a final scene, where the characters resolve the emotionalpart of the story. Here the hero gets the girl (think James Bond),or the star of the netball match finally thanks the coach who hashelped her.



TheStory

Graph

©JenMcVeity2008

Licensedforsingleschoolorcampususeonly.

SEVEN

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WRITING

SUCCESS

TOP TECHNIQUES

Step 2: Sizzling Starts

A story has about 60 seconds to grab the reader and make them want to keepturning the pages. So your story has to start with action.

Yet why does so much writing start at the beginning of the day - when nothing reallyhappens?

This is how a girl began her story about an exciting disco competition.

BeforeI woke up that morning really nervous. Today was the day of the big disco competition.Sam and I had been practising for months. This year we would do it. We would beat thatPenelope and her partner once and for all. I leapt out of bed...

The writer now has the problem of how to get through the slow morning, the long lunch and theboring afternoon - until at last the disco begins.

See how her next draft jumps right into the action at the disco. We call this the 'Moment of Change'.

AfterI opened the door to the disco and the music hit me like a blast. Lights flashed, peoplemoved in a swirl of colour and it was suddenly hard to breathe. Nerves, I guess. It was thebig dance competition tonight. Sam and I had been practising for months. This year wewould do it. We would win. We must!'Hi there.' It was Penelope. Yeah, it would be. 'Bet you think you're going to win tonight.'

TOP TIPStart your story with actionto hook your readers.You'll write a lot betterwhen you have

something excitingto write about.



TOP TECHNIQUES

Step 3: Tightening Tension

How can you create nail-biting tension in your writing? It's simple. Fill yourscene with detail to make the reader feel as if they were really there. Use the fivesenses as a guide.

Imagine a volcano erupting. Close your eyes and think what you would:

• See (Smoke, people running, fire spurting, ash floating in the air…)• Hear (Rumblings, people crying out, animals squealing, sirens blasting…)• Touch (Hot air, ash, scratches and bruises, people pushing you…)• Taste (Sweat, blood, thirst, and the taste of fear…)• Smell (Smoke, heat, sweat, burning…)

Here is a draft of a ski race story. The plot? This was the biggest race of the season andTim's friendssaid he would never win it. But Tim was going to show them.

BeforeTim stood ready at the top of the run. His friends had already had their turn. Now it wasTim's go. He had to beat a time of two minutes.He went through the starting gates and down the slopes as fast as he could. It was all over.He had finished. He looked back to see the clock.One minute and 58 seconds. Tim had won!

AfterTim took a deep breath, dug hispoles firmly into the snow andlooked at the starter.'Racer ready,' said the man.Tim gulped and tried to nod.'Three. Two. One. Go.'With a heave, Tim hurled himself downhill. He skated hard, heading for the first gate,working for speed. Past the gate, moving fast now, aiming for the second gate. He clippedit with his shoulder, taking it tight. The next gate coming fast - too fast. He felt his kneesshudder, trying to keep the edge. Through somehow. He was nearly at the icy patch wherepeople had spun out earlier in the day. Careful now. Careful.Past and clear! The finish line loomed ahead. He tucked.'Go hard,' he could hear his own voice say. 'Go!'A cheer from the crowd. A pause. He shuddered to a halt and looked back to see the clock.One minute and 58 seconds.Tim had won!

TOP TIPVisualize the scene in yourmind, then list the details.Use the five senses. Whatdid you see, hear, touch,taste and smell? Add inyour feelings. Now the

tension scene iseasy to write.



TOP TECHNIQUES

Step 4: Dynamic Dialogue

A scene from a story really comes alive when dialogue is used. Here's a storyabout a really strange day at school. However, in the first example the writer has summarizedwhat people say, instead of using the words themselves.

BeforeI walked to school and got there late. Everyone was in class. I opened the door and there

were kids everywhere. Boys were climbing out the window and there were paper planes all

over the place. My best friend Anna was holding one of the rats from the science lab and

the rest were running all over the room. Anna told me there were no teachers, none at all.

Now see how this can be improved by using the real words of the people. We find out just as muchinformation, but the characters really come alive.

AfterLate to school again, everyone was in class. I opened the door to the classroom at full speed.

'Duck!' yelled Matt, and a huge paper aeroplane came diving right at my head.

'Come on.' Jack was halfway out the window, two boys were right behind him.

My best friend Anna was holding one of the rats from the science lab – the rest were running

everywhere.

'What's happening?' I asked her.

'There's no teachers,' she cried. 'None at all!'

TOP TIPAct out the scene withfriends. Do it several timesto get rid of the boringbits. Then just write itdown – that's dynamicdialogue.



TOP TECHNIQUES

Step 5: Show, Don’t Tell

Words don't convince, actions do. If I tell you I am generous, do you believe me?No. However, if I buy 20 raffle tickets to help your basketball club, now are you convinced?

TELL: He hated dogs.SHOW: 'Get out of my way mutt!' he shouted, and aimed a huge kick right at our dog's face.

This is how one girl described her grandmother, whom she obviously loves a lot.

BeforeMy Grandma is really special to me. She gives me lots of confidence and love and she has a

great sense of humour.

As readers, we are not convinced. Something is saying in our brain: 'Oh yeah? Prove it.'

BetterGrandma is special. She listens when I have a problem. She teaches me things like cookingcakes and tennis and she does crazy things like juggling that make me laugh all the time.

This is better as the writer has told us specific things, so there is someproof.

However, the best way is to create a scene where the grandmotherand the girl do something together to show their great relationship.

AfterGrandma and I often baked cakes. I didn't know how to

cook. The first time I tried I broke an egg all over the bench.

Yolk ran everywhere. I was really sorry. But Grandma just

laughed, and picked up another two eggs.

'Watch this,' she said and she started to juggle them. She

was a terrible juggler. I reckon I was better at cooking than

she was at juggling eggs.

Crack, splat. Now there were three eggs, gooey and broken

on the bench.

TOP TIPFor important information,apply the 'seeing-is-believing' test. Do I have tobelieve it just because thewriter told me so? Orhave the actions of the

characters convincedme totally?



TOP TECHNIQUES

Step6: Ban theBoringBits

Writing about all the things you do every day is safe and easy - and BORING.Do any of these look familiar?

• Food Fetishes: The thunder scared her. She quickly ran inside and hid. Her mum came in andgave her some hot milk and biscuits. She drank all the milk and ate five biscuits…

• Bedroom antics (the er… boring kind): I woke up that morning and leapt out of bed. I hurriedto get dressed, cleaned my teeth and put on my shoes…

• Trapped in travel: We all piled into the bus and drove for hours around the town. The traffic wasreally bad and I was really bored and it took ages to get to the cinema…

We call it warm-up writing. Professional writers cheat and leave out all the boring bits. Why?Because it's really hard to write interesting things about basic stuff.

BeforeI got up that morning and got dressed quickly, ate my

breakfast and ran to school. The bus for camp was leaving

at 8.00. Myra and I sat together and we ate lots of chips

and lollies in the back seat. It was a really boring trip.

We stopped at a place for lunch, and everyone ordered

hamburgers which were yuck. We finally got to the camp

and everyone was really tired and went to bed.

The next day we went on a bush-walk and Myra fell in a

hole and it took two hours to get her out. Camp was

really good.

AfterCamp was really boring until Myra fell into a hole. We were walking along this dusty

track pretending to look for birds and suddenly her foot slipped. She gave a sort of grunt

and the bottom half of her body slid right down a hole while the top half stuck out on the

track, looking stunned.

'Help,' she cried. 'My foot's caught!'

TOP TIPBan all mention of the three 'B's'in your writing. That means Bustrips (or car trips), Breakfast (orlunch and dinner) and Beds (Igot up… or I went home tobed). Unless of course you

want to kill someonehaving breakfast in

bed on a bus!



TOP TECHNIQUES

Step 7: Exciting Endings

It's a really exciting story - four crooks plan to steal ten million dollars indiamonds. They have captured the brave kids investigating them and tied them up. Theparents search frantically, but the crooks have set a fire which is raging closer and closer tothe terrified kids.

Now as the writer, you have to figure out how to stop the thieves and rescue the kids. (Oh, andquickly too as The Simpsons is starting onTV.)

Easy! Here's the most common ending by children under the age of 11.

• And then I woke up, it was all a dream.

It's called the 'quick-fix' ending. A quick way out for the writer - but really annoying for the reader.

Fixing the 'and then I woke up' ending is tricky sometimes. This is because the cure comes in theplanning stages, NOT the editing stage. Go back to the story graph. Do you know where you areheading BEFORE you start writing?

For the diamond thieves story the ending should come from the kids being brave or smart - not fromthe police or the parents rushing in to rescue them. Some ideas could be:-

• One of the kids is a gymnast, strong and supple. She wriggles out of the ropes tying them up

and sets them all free.

• Even with hands tied behind him, one kid manages to press ‘000’ on his mobile phone and

leaves the line open so the police can overhear everything and locate them.

• The kids con the crooks into believing their

parents are fabulously wealthy and would

pay a huge ransom. The crooks 'force' them

to talk to their parents by phone, but the

kids cleverly drop hints about their location

and their parents track them down.

TOP TIPRemember the ‘Story Graph’,don't start writing until youknow the ending.



WITHOUT WRITING A WORD


TV TuitionSet the class on a hunt for TV ads which tell a mini story. Have

students tape the ads and then share them with the class while

you discuss how well they follow the basic story structure. (See

story graph here.) It's amazing how even 30 second ads can start

with action, build great tension and end with a bang.

Crossing Creative GenresMany other creative genres follow a similar shape to the story

graph. This exercise helps students look critically at creative

structures all around them.

Ask students to find examples of:-

• Backfill technique (e.g. most action movies.)

• Character emotional wrap-up (e.g. end of James Bond movies.)

• Anticlimax (music is often a good example.)

Some suggestions for searching:-

Movies TV series Newspapers Novels

Magazines Music Plays Ads

Have You Heard the One About…?This is a real favourite! Jokes often follow the same structure as a good story. (Do you remember the

embarrassment of telling a joke that falls really flat? Often it's because we didn't get the structure and

timing right.)

A great homework task is to set students to find jokes - friends, parents and email are good sources. Warning,

puns and knock knock jokes don't have a story structure, plus all jokes should be clean. Every morning, several

students get to tell their joke to the rest of the class. The most successful jokes will usually be the ones

which clearly follow the story graph.

ACTI

VITIES





The Hunt for Boring BeginningsTechniques and tastes in writing change. Help students analyze the starting techniques of creators now andin the past, across a wide range of genres. Get them to bring in examples of the most boring beginningsthey can find. Here's one example:-

There are not many people – and as it is desirable that a story-teller and a story-reader should establish amutual understanding as soon as possible, I beg it to be noticed that I confine this observation neither toyoung people nor to little people, but extend it to all conditions of people: little and big, young and old: yetgrowing up, or already growing down again – there are not, I say, many people who would care to sleep in achurch. (Charles Dickens, First Quarter)

Places to look:-Movies TV series Newspapers Books (Old classics especially)Magazines Music Plays Student's old writing

Marilee has Strong White TeethIn real life we get to know people slowly through their words and actions. However, writers often think theyhave to tell absolutely everything about their characters at the start of a story. We call this an informationdump. Here's a great example from the Bulwer-Lytton (worst story start) competition.

With a curvaceous figure that Venus would have envied, a tanned unblemished oval face framed with lustrousthick brown hair, deep azure-blue eyes fringed with long black lashes, perfect teeth that vied for competition,and a small straight nose, Marilee had a beauty that defied description. (Alice A. Hall, Fort Wayne, Indiana).

Challenge students to write their own 'information dump'. It's a lot of fun - and a good way to learn howNOT to do it next time they write.

Start With a BangAsk students to tape the exciting start of a movie. Spend a few minutes a day watching the beginnings anddiscussing why they work so well. Action movies like Star Wars and the Indiana Jones series often start withhigh level drama. The quieter 'backfill' scenes which fill in the details usually come second.

ACTI

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Scene Send-upsIn any good tension scene you have to believe the hero/heroine could fail. That's why Superman has beenmade allergic to kryptonite so that he is vulnerable.

If the hero/heroine can win easily there is little tension. The Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Arktakes off this idea in a very entertaining scene. A swordsman approaches Indie, swirling and swishing hissword, challenging him to a duel. As the man advances Indie hesitates, sighs, shrugs – and then pulls outhis gun and just goes ‘bang!’

Students can have a great time acting out send-ups of typical tension scenes in movies. They'll also learna whole lot about what makes good tension writing along the way. Some suggestions are:-

• A gang is pressuring a kid to do something extreme – jump off the ten metre diving tower, walk overhot coals, give a speech to the whole school. The pressure builds, the kid….

• Someone is facing a huge, frightening monster, it rears up, teeth gnashing, and then….• The hero/heroine is fighting against an all-powerful wizard who can shapeshift and create fire – but is

allergic to water…

Psychic SecretsOK, here's a secret. Magicians often make their tricks possible by weaving a great story, while their handsslyly deceive you.

Cut a rubber band to make one long piece and then place a paperclip on it. Grasp the rubber band halfwayup its length with your left hand – but with your right hand hold the far right end of the rubber band andstretch tightly. The paperclip should restat the far left hand side.

Now comes the 'tension' part. Createsome deep and mysterious talk aboutthe psychic powers you inherited from your grandmother. Ask for silence as all students must help you tomove the paperclip. Spin it out, frown, breathe hard, concentrate… fill the room with expectation.

Then slowly, let the extra bit of rubber band in your left hand slip through your fingers. The paperclip staysin its original position on the rubber band, but because you are releasing more of the band, it looks exactlylike the paperclip is moving to the right. Hear the gasps at your power!

Over the next week or two, swear a few students to secrecy and have them create their own story andperform the trick. They won't forget how creating tension in a story (and releasing tension in a rubber band)can really make writing powerful.

ACTI

VITIES





Act First, Write SecondThe best way to write dialogue is to act it. Try this. Get students to pair up and act out a fight scene. (Ban

actual physical fighting for obvious reasons.) After a few rehearsals, students then perform the scene.

Afterwards, talk about how easy it would be to write that same scene. They don't have to write it to get

the point. Try these topics:-

• A sister has borrowed a favourite shirt to wear to a party and ruined it.

• A teacher confronts a student about five pieces of homework not handed in.

• Two kids are playing basketball after school, but then the school bully shows up.

• A child wants a later bedtime or more TV, but the parents won't allow it.

Behind the ScenesFilm scripts make surprisingly interesting reading. Plus, they are terrific for showing how to write sparse,

strong dialogue. You can purchase scripts from a number of companies - try searching theWeb under the

key words 'buy Hollywood scripts'. There are also some scripts available for free for educational purposes

on the web. These are excellent for kids - especially gifted writers - to read and study.

Train TalksGet students to write an outrageous sentence on a piece

of paper. For instance:-

• I have a bee on my backside.

• There is a grub in your chocolate.

• My goldfish bit me.

The papers go into a box. Two people each pull out one

sentence at random. They must pretend to be on a train

together and have to work the conversation around to fit

in their sentence and make it sound natural.

This is great practice for learning how to drop clues for

mystery stories and how to reveal character flaws.

ACTI

VITIES





TV Show and TellSome TV ads 'tell' you about a product: 'This telephone company has cheap calling cards for overseas.'Other ads 'show' you. They film a rainy day, a woman looking sad at the window. She sighs, and glancesat a photo of her daughter, it is obvious she misses her badly. The scene changes to show the daughter inParis, walking down the street. She passes a phone box - and then suddenly she stops, goes in and dials.The scene cuts back to the mother. The phone rings, the mother answers. Her face comes alive as sherecognises her daughter's voice and instantly she is talking excitedly and laughing on the phone. The scenefades as the name of the telephone company comes up.

Ask students to find and tape both styles of ads and bring them to class to compare.

Show me a SecretBrainstorm with students a list of emotions. (e.g. happy, sad, love, hate, jealous, angry, frightened.)Students form groups and pick one emotion. They then have to act out a scene which shows this - theonly trick is they CANNOT name the emotion. Other members of the class have to guess what emotionthe scene is portraying.

Show me a SettingBrainstorm settings in the same way. (e.g. the beach, a cubby house, kitchen, under a bed.) Now studentshave to role play an emotion plus a setting. They are NOT allowed to mention either by name. It has to bedone through dialogue and actions.

Here's an example: Selfish in a desert.'It's so hot. I just…can't go on.''You were the one who got us lost.''Water. I need water…''Sorry.' (Takes out water bottle, turns and sneaks the last mouthful.) 'There's none left…'

Actions Speak Louderthan WordsEvery morning for a week, each student picks one ofthe following. They have to think up THREE thingsthey could do to show they are:-

• Generous• Terrible at music• Scared of dogs• Great at basketball• Allergic to peanuts.

ACTI

VITIES




Step 6: Ban the Boring Bits

Betting on Bad HabitsFund raise for charity AND get kids tuned in to the boring bits in their writing. Pick a 'bad' habit you want

to cure. For instance saying 'exactly' every second sentence, fiddling with whiteboard markers or having a

messy desk. Then make a deal with your class. Every time you forget and revert to your habit, you put five

cents in the charity box. Naturally, kids will love catching you out.

But wait - here's the catch. Every time a student writes a 'beds, breakfast and bus trip' boring passage,

THEY have to put in five cents too. A win/win for everyone.

Boring Beds, Breakfasts and Bus TripsI woke up that morning and got out of bed and raced downstairs. I stuffed my face full of cereal and then

had three bits of toast and jam. Mum had two cups of coffee and more toast. Then we got into the car and

drove through five traffic lights to….

Yawn. Everyone eats, sleeps, goes to the bathroom and spends lots of time traveling. It's boring.

Movie producers know this well. Sohere's a fun challenge. Get students tofind scenes in movies where travel,eating or sleeping are shown – andnothing else happens. Better yet, askthem to name ten movies wheresomeone is going to the toilet.

(NOTE: Often these are humour scenes.)

The Cutting Room FloorMany movies on DVD have scenes which were filmed, often at great expense, but were then cut. Bring in

a film that most students have seen. Show just the deleted scenes and discuss why they were edited out.

Some possible reasons could be:-

1. The scene did not advance the plot.

2. We did not learn anything important about the characters.

3. It slowed the action down.

ACTI

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Endless PossibilitiesEndings come from the characters and the plot of the story – they shouldn't be tacked on at the finish line.Most professional writers know their ending BEFORE they start writing.

Ask the class to come up with three possible endings for these plots:-

• A skateboard champion has won five championships. She's not the nicest person, she's really selfishand arrogant. But then she gets injured…

• There is a tiny glitch in time. For a few minutes two doctors from 2044 are in your living room. Theyhave discovered a way to make people run faster…

• A boy discovers he can read thoughts – but only when everyone in the room is silent. He uses this factto cheat in tests, get himself onto the football team and see what his parents really think of him.However, then…

Pity the Poor Script WriterShow a TV sitcom and just before the end, (when everything is at its worst and most complicated for thecharacters), stop the tape. Ignore all howls of protest. Now, in teams of 3-4, students have to come upwith a happy ending. That's what script writers are paid to do week after week after week.

The Ripple Effect GameNamed after a book by Tony Ryan, this is based on the idea that one small act of kindness can often have

long reaching effects. Here's the game. In groups of 6, one student thinks of one small thing they could

do that's 'nice'. (e.g. Student 1: I let my sister borrow my music CD.) Student 2 plays the sister and sayshow this affected them. (I took it to a friend's party. Everyone got up and danced and had a great time.)Student 3 adds on to the story. (I was at the party, we were late leaving as we were dancing. On the way

home we saw an accident. If we had been on time we would have been hit by the truck.)

The game goes around the whole group – only there is a deadline. The last person in the ring has to make

their act of kindness return some good to the first person. (That is, the story comes a 'full circle.') It's a

great way to practice endings - and random acts of kindness.

ACTI

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FIVE MINUTE FIXES


Tell Me a StoryYou don't have to write a story to practice using the basic story structure. Telling a story is a far more

effective way of knowing if you have got the planning right. Have students form a small 'storytelling' group

of 3-5 people. Every morning, one person has the job of telling a great story to their group. Students should

make notes (in point form) and rehearse their piece for homework. The stories don't have to be true – but

they DO have to follow the story graph structure. The 'best' story, (as judged by the group), gets told to the

whole class on the last day.

Try these topics for inspiration:-

• The worst, most embarrassing moment in my life.

• How I met a famous person and the dumb/clever/funny things I said.

• Whenever the wind blows I feel…

• My greatest sporting/musical/academic achievement.

• You can bet I'll never do that again.

Never Ending Ideas ListPut up six large sheets of coloured poster paper onto the wall with the

following headings:-

1. Heroine/Hero (e.g. burnt out athlete, computer nerd girl, ant-sized

superhero)

2. Villain (e.g. girl bully, rabid dog, mean coach, weird witch)

3. Problem (e.g. too shy, something stolen, a bully, money needed,

bad haircut)

4. Setting (e.g. the beach, the year 2240, planet Mica, a bee's hive)

5. Sidekick (e.g. bratty younger brother, faithful friend, talking rabbit)

6. Animal (e.g. farting dog, claustrophobic goldfish, intelligent

alien mouse).

Each student adds one thing to every list. Using mix and match combinations you now have idea

possibilities for thousands of stories. (e.g. Suffering from a bad haircut and a know-it-all brother, a computer

genius, with the help of his farting dog, finds out who has been sending email viruses to all the students.)

The lists stay on the wall to provide inspiration any time students need a story idea. Keep adding to the

lists, or make new ones, to keep the ideas fresh and dynamic.

ACTI

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FIVE MINUTE FIXES


Top (Not) Starts!Here's a terrific challenge for students – ask them to write the WORST opening sentence to a novel. TheBulwer-Lytton Award challenges writers from all over the world to do just that and the results are hilarious!www.bulwer-lytton.com

Here are some great examples of past 'winners'.

The surface of the strange, forbidden planet was roughly textured and green, much like cottage cheese gets

way after the date on the lid says it is all right to buy it. (Scott Davis Jones, California)

Mike Hardware was the kind of private eye who didn't know the meaning of the word 'fear', a man who could

laugh in the face of danger and spit in the eye of death - in short, a moron with suicidal tendencies. (EddieLawhorn, Alabama)

Five Minute Fast StartsA great way to get the brain buzzing and the ideas flowing. Challenge students to write five starts in five

minutes. (Yes, it is possible, and fun too!) Here are some story ideas which never fail:-

• Write a ghost story – starring a three legged dog.

• A man dies, wearing purple – but he hates purple.

• All the kids are at school – but not one teacher.

• Lucy, who never listens, gets trapped in a lion's cage.

• The wedding that didn't work.

Random InspirationsGet students to write words completely at random on separate pieces of paper and then place them into a

box. Each morning pull out three bits of paper (e.g. mouse, garbage, sky). Their five minute mission –

everyone has to write the opening sentence of a story using those three words.

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Being Brave and Being ThereTo write convincingly, you have to make your reader feel they are actually there - racing the volcano lava, in the

raging river, scorched in the desert. They must see, touch and feel everything the main character does. This is

another two day challenge. It helps to do this once a week for a term.

Pin up 6 pieces of butcher's paper on the wall. Head each sheet with one of the five senses: SEE, TOUCH,

HEAR,TASTE, SMELL. Title the 6th sheet FEELINGS.

Then set a topic of a tension scene. Some examples:-

• An important ski race.

• A small boat in a storm at sea.

• Caught in a bush fire.

Day 1: The five minute challenge is for students to crowd around the sheets and write as many words aspossible on them. After five minutes you should have six sheets with lots of trigger words. For instance a ski

race might include this:-

• Sight = crowd, bright parkas, ski gates, snow on trees, starting gate, ice patches• Touch = tight boots, shoulders hitting ski gates, prickly wool cap, tight goggles• Feelings = shaky, breathing fast, talking too quickly, anxious, tightness in chest

That's it for Day 1 - except for this. Tell students they are going to

write the tension scene the next day. NOTE: It is important to give

them warning, so the subconscious can go to work, pre-thinking

what to write. Also, students will read the sheets during the day to

get ideas.

Day 2: Students get five minutes to write the tension scene. Bythen they should have lots of ideas and even more thinking time, so it

should be easy.

Turning on the TensionChallenge students to finish the following scenes:-

• She was screaming, falling helplessly through the air…

• Cold, cold, the shivering was getting worse and it was only the start…

• I looked up, right into the eyes of my opponent, who smiled viciously…

• The audience muttered impatiently, waiting for me to begin, but I was frozen…

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Cheat SheetsWhen creating dialogue, writers 'cheat' all the time. They cut out all the 'uhms' and 'ers' and they sure don'tput in the boring bits! Real life conversations go like this:-'Hi.''Hi. How are you?''Good.''That's good. I was thinking about going to the movies. Want to come too?''That would be great!'

However, in books, plays and movies, we cut right to the important bits.'Want to go to the movies?''That would be great!'

Get students to find examples from TV, movies or books to show how writers often start in the middle of aconversation.

'Stop That at Once!'Dialogue is a great way to start a story. Remember the FiveMinute Fast Starts? Try a variation on that. Start the followingstories with dialogue. Five starts in five minutes is the rule.

• Every time you swear, the phone rings.• A large plant in the lounge room eats ants, then mice, and

then the cat gets jittery!• When your socks start to smell, they turn bright orange.• There's a kindergarten kid who follows you everywhere,

including to the toilets.• Your new glasses make you see all the colours wrong - eg.

blue apples and purple lemons.

The Three Tasks of DialogueDialogue is one of the most powerful tools available to a writer. It can:-

• Reveal characters ('I…er… didn't take that chocolate Sir!')• Move the plot forward ('There's no way out except through that weird door.')• Make a scene far more dramatic. ('I really hate you!')

A play is dialogue of course. Visit the Jen McVeity website www.jenmcveity.com and download the ‘short play’from the book Dreamcatcher. This was created as a play just by taking all the dialogue lines from the book. Askfour students to rehearse the scene and act it out for the rest of the class. Then discuss exactly what the classnow knows about each of the characters and the plot – just from what was said.

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Don't Just Talk About ItTry this every morning for a week. Put the following topics on the board to allow students time to think. Each

morning, give students just five minutes to write a scene in which something happens to show the reader:-

• My Mum/Dad loves me.• I find school difficult.• I hate stupid sports.• My sister/brother always gets angry at me.• Being alone makes me scared.

Thinking VisuallyWhen creating a picture book, the words tell, but

the illustrations show. Ask students to imagine

they are a picture book illustrator. How would

they portray these words? (Note: If kids aren't

visually artistic, stick figures and arrows describing

actions are just fine.)

• She was afraid. It just wasn't fair...• Maybe the web was magic…• Everyone knew my secret. I was sure of it…• She was mean, really horrible…• It was dark and scary on the beach …• I wanted to be friends. Really I did…

Show Me a YantyChallenge students to create a paragraph and invent their own meanings for the following words. If they

have 'shown' it right, their readers should know exactly what each thing is!

• I always wanted a neatsis.• Mum picked up the yanty and just looked at it.• The cat spat out the nimun in a real hurry.• I thought my brother would never give me a plancet.

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Step 6: Ban the Boring Bits

Edit the ExpertsOld style writing often had incredibly tedious passages in them. (One explanation is that often writers were

paid by the word!) In books a hundred years ago, you often had to wade through three paragraphs about

rivers running, fog floating and wind whistling through the misty moors. In some books it even took about

twenty sentences for the guest to be escorted from the front door to the sitting room.

Writing styles change. Have fun seeing that even the experts didn't always get it right.

Ask students to find examples of some 'classic' writers who would be heavily edited by today's writing

standards. Then set everyone to work with the red editing pen – they get to rewrite the passages the

modern way.

The Badly Boring ChallengeRemember the Top (Not) Starts exercise? Try this one.

Ask students to write the most BORING paragraph

about a very exciting event. Deliberately trying to write

boring bits often shows up how you do it in real life too!

Try these topics:-

• An interview with Kylie.

• Getting lost in a chocolate factory on a school

excursion.

• How I won a million dollars in Tatts.

Rewrite Old WritingGet students to bring in some of their writing from Grade 1 or 2. Kids at this age often write about

eating, sleeping and traveling in great detail.

Challenge everyone to rewrite their work now, using all the skills they have learnt. They'll love seeing how

much they have improved!

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Working BackwardsSometimes writers pick up a line or a phrase that haunts them. Often it 'feels' like the last line of a story. Some writerseven work backwards from that one line to create a whole novel.

Here are some last line endings. Get students to create and tell a story to match them.

• They put his picture on a stamp. He would have laughed like crazy at that.• I'm not going to say sorry. Well, maybe not.• I waded through puddles and felt the mud squish through my toes. Lucky me.• I walk to school now, it's safer that way.

Sticky SituationsThis is a great way to encourage lateral thinking and also to find solutions to tricky story plots. Every morning for a week,organize students to form small groups. They will be thrown (in their imaginations) into 'trapped' situations. These arethe situations which often occur in stories and the writer has to find a way out. Students have to brainstorm togetherto figure a solution. Here are some situation starters:-

• One team member has broken a leg on a mountainside in thick fog.• The group is trapped in a cellar with a locked door and no windows.• One person has been bitten by a snake – the team is in the middle of the outback.• The group is tied up in a warehouse just about to be demolished.

The A-Z of StoriesBrainstorm a setting. (e.g. a shipwreck, freezing in the snow, a tropical jungle.) In groups of 3 - 5, the students tell astory, each person contributing one sentence as they go around the group. The hard part? The first word of eachsentence has to start with the next letter of the alphabet. (i.e. Student 1 starts their sentence with the letter 'A', Student2 uses 'B' and so on.) The story has to follow the story graph and build to a climax. A rough guide might be this: Theletters A, B, C are the action start, letters D, E are backfill if needed. Letters F - M fill in the plot, at N - R things are reallytight, by S the tension scene should be unfolding, and – most of all - the ending has to be created by the letter Z.


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7 Steps Teacher Manual

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Transcript of 7 Steps Teacher Manual