How to write a story: tips & tricks http://kotn.ntu.ac.uk/create/index.cfm

Get lots of advice from children's authors and illustrators

Your story should always be complete before you send it to Kids on the Net. We don't publish unfinished stories, because too many people have given up before sending the whole story!

Finish your story and check it over, and make it as good as can be. Work on it on paper, or in a word-processor. When it is finished and you have edited it, then type or paste it into the forms on the website.

Stories written straight into the form are not usually good enough to be published.

Getting Ideas

• Write about something that you at least know something about. If you don't know some of the facts - and research the information you need carefully.

• Be inspired by what's around you. Don't overlook your school as a source of inspiration. • Keep a diary every day — of things that happens to the people in your class and family

— and you'll have enough to write about for a dozen novels.

Getting started - from author Philip Ardagh

Often, one of hardest things about writing is actually getting started. A blank page, or computer screen, stares at you as if to say: 'You think you're soooo clever. What are you going to write on me then, huh?' Once you've written down a sentence or idea - however simple or straightforward - then you've got something to work on.

Remember, writing a story isn't just about saying what happens. The way you tell something can be as important (and FUN) as the actual events you're describing. Take falling out of a tree, for example. It's an ordinary event, but there are so many different ways you can write it up.

Suspense: Will he, won't he fall?

Emotion: The fear, the fall, the pain...

Humour: Ooops! Aaaaaargh! THUD! (or, if it's a taller tree: Ooops! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! SPLAT!)

And how did that person get to be up in a tree in the first place? And what happened after the fall? From the simplest of ideas, other ideas are already beginning to take shape. Maybe it wasn't a person up the tree at all, but a penguin... and how, on Earth, did a penguin get to be up a tree? Did it parachute from a helicopter? Maybe it wasn't a tree, either. Maybe it was an ICEBERG.

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Now lots of ideas are fizzing around the brain, down the arms and into the pen or keyboard. Hey presto! No more smug blank page or computer screen trying to stare you out. You're in charge. The writing is beginning to take shape...

Get lots of advice from children's authors and illustrators

Creating a sound poem

Write a poem about an event - a carnival, festival, a party, a school fair, or a parade. Think about the last time you were at a big enjoyable event with lots going on.

What are people saying? You might hear people cheering, laughing or gasping in amazement. What other sounds might they be making? What other sounds can you hear? Natural sounds like wind or water: or manmade sounds, like music. What about background sounds like cars going past or glasses chinking.

Now you can use some of your ideas and turn them into a poem that tells your reader what it was like at the event by describing the sounds that you heard there.

• Make sure that you use some onomatopoeia in your poem - words that sound like what they are.

• Find some words that make a good rhythm when you put them together. (Can you make up a line that sounds like the beat of a festival band as they pass on a float in the parade?)

• Try to use alliteration: look for words that have similar sounds • Decide if you want to include some noisy sounds and some quieter ones, for a poem of

contrasts, or if you just want a REALLY NOISY poem.

Download our worksheets on writing poems

These links are to PDF documents. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to read these. This is a free program. However, you should always ask your teacher or parent if you do not have it installed on your computer.

Write a poem about the Tournament (see Kids' Castle) and

Write a Scary Poem with personification.

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Creative Writing Exercises These exercises are designed for use by students and teachers, but anyone can of course use them. As they stand, the exercises are designed for students in junior and higher grades (4 and up), but many of them can also be easily adapted for use with younger children.

Both Sides Now

Write on an issue or argument you feel strongly about. Approach the topic from two sides; write a piece not only based on your own feelings and thoughts, but from the other side of the issue. For example, if you are writing about Canadian involvement in the War on Iraq, and you are against the war, write a page detailing your anti-war feelings. Then write a page detailing an argument for involving Canadian troops in Iraq. This can be a hard exercise, as it asks you to explore feelings that you don't personally have or may actually be opposite to what you have. But as a writer, you sometimes have to consider other points of view.

Colour Me Red

Come up with twenty-five synonyms/images for the color red. (e.g., apple, bullfighter's cape, fingernails, rose-coloured glasses, ketchup). Although this is kind of a cool exercise in itself, don't stop there. Try to use all, or most of, the words in a piece of writing, whether poetry or prose.

Another Voice

Take a popular piece of prose - perhaps some fiction you have read recently. Rewrite a section of the prose from the point of view of a different character. For instance, if you are reading one of the Harry Potter novels, rewrite a section of the novel from the point of view of, say, Hermione. Now for an added twist, reveal some secrets about this character that you didn't know before. (e.g., perhaps Hermione doesn't really like Harry Potter at all?)

Characters? Setting? Genre?

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This exercise needs to be done with a group of people. Each person comes up with an idea for a piece of fiction, and lists main characters, a setting, and the genre of the idea on three separate cards. All the cards are then collected and grouped together as characters, setting, and genre, and are then mixed up. Each person in the group draws a card detailing characters, setting and genre, and must write a piece of prose using these cards as guidelines. You see where this is going. People may have some wild guidelines (e.g., Characters - Long John Silver and his motley crew of pirates; Setting - the New York Stock Exchange in 1929; Genre - Romance).

The Whole Picture

For this exercise to work, you should be using a photograph that someone else has cut from a newspaper; you should not know the story behind the photograph beforehand. Examine the photo. What story does the photograph tell you? Think of the 5 W questions (who, what, where, when, why). Now what events do you think preceded the photograph (occurred before the photo was taken). What events do you think followed the photograph (happened after the photo was taken).

Comic Bubbles

Use some white-out (or just cut out) the words enclosed in the bubbles of some comic strips found in a newspaper. Photocopy the comic strips so that you have several clean copies to work with. Rewrite the comic strips with new dialogue and new punch-lines. As with many exercises, this one may work best if you use comic strips prepared by a friend (so that you don't know what the original lines were).

He Said / She Said

This is a variation on an old party game. Every person in a group gets a sheet of paper and writes two lines of a story. These are lines - not sentences - so that the person may wind up finishing two lines without completing a particular sentence. The papers are then passed to a neighbour who reads what has been written and adds two lines of his or her own to the story, trying to be consistent and true to what the person before has written. The papers continue to be passed along until everyone has written on every paper. On the last round, people should try and wrap up loose ends and end the story as best as possible. After the last round, people take turns reading the stories out loud.

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Fairy Tale Confusion

Write a story populated by characters from a number of different fairy tales. For example, after their house of sticks gets blown down, the three little pigs choose to hide, not in the house made of bricks, but in the candy house found by Hansel and Gretel. Although the wolf is not able to blow the house down, another nasty shock awaits the pigs!

Alliteration

Warm waves washed white caps while Walter walked warily with his wife.

Contrary to popular belief, alliteration is not just the repetition of initial consonant sounds, as in the above example, but can include the repetition of other sounds (note the repetition of 'st' and 's' and 'l' sounds in the following lines).

I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, - from Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley Write a piece of silly prose or poetry that employs a heavy dose of alliteration. Write four paragraphs or stanzas. The first and third paragraphs should share the same form of alliteration (e.g., the letters g and l), as should the second and fourth paragraphs (e.g., s and t).

Word Bank

You may have played with those magnetic poetry kits that provide you with a set number of words that you can rearrange to your heart's content. This exercise demands that you rearrange words as well, but into prose. Examine a short magazine or newspaper article (perhaps only a hundred words in length). Now, write away on any topic you wish, but using only words found in the article. You may repeat the use of individual words, and you may choose not to use all of the words in the article. You may not use words not included in the article. Reference the article carefully as you write.

A Treasure Chest Of Story Starters

When you're absolutely stuck for an idea, simple story starters can give you a little kick. For some additional fun create a treasure chest filled with simple story starters. Pick a

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story starter at random, reaching into the box without peeking. Still another thought - have different people contribute to the treasure chest. Whenever someone has an idea for a starter, they can pop it into the chest. See the link below for some ready to use story starters.

Story Starters - a pile of them, ready to go!

You won two return trip air-line tickets to anywhere in the world. Now you've come back. Tell us where you went, what you did, and who you brought with you.

What is your favourite sport? Nobody excels in everything; what do you do best in (e.g., if your favourite sport is hockey, are you a quick skater, a solid defenceman, a sharp shooter?). What is your weakest area? What do you feel like while you play? How do you feel after you finish?

What is a favourite movie of yours? Place yourself in the role of a character in that movie. This may take some imagination. Imagine that your favourite movie is Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. You can opt to put yourself in the character of one of the humans in the movie, but a more interesting character might be one of the horses. Now place yourself in a specific place within that movie. Imagine that you are tied up to the post in the fort. In the movie, Spirit does not give voice to all of his thoughts and emotions, but you can. Do this with any movie; choose one character and a specific point in the movie that excites you or gets you thinking.

You are part of a "reality-based" T.V. show called "Solitary Confinement". You will be staying alone in a house for one year, and not be allowed outside for any length of time. You have one day to prepare for your ordeal, and to stock the house with what you need to last a year without going crazy. Except for furniture and appliances, the house is empty. The only things that will be delivered to your house (and that you do not have to stock yourself) is food and drink, and other necessities such as medicine and toilet paper. What else will you bring along with you?

It is the future, and you are 30 years old. The alarm rings, waking you up. Describe the morning of a typical day, as you might really experience it.

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There is no electric power on Earth (it's not important how or why this has happened, it just has). How is your life changing as a result?

Happy 100th Birthday! Your grandchildren want you to talk about your life. Keep in mind that kids these days are bored easily, so you'll have to keep it moving along, chop chop. You can pretend it is the future, and you are writing a story about yourself. Or you can write from the perspective of someone else's 100th birthday.

Say goodbye to someone. Write about a teacher, someone who works at the school, or a student who is leaving the classroom soon. What is this person like? What do you like best about him or her? What are your favourite memories of him or her? What will you miss most when he or she leaves? Students can incorporate this writing into cards that can be given to the staff member before he or she leaves.

Newspaper reporters are about to interview you about your amazing new invention. People are saying that it may just change the world. What will you say? Can you provide a picture of your invention?

Kidnapped by aliens! (that's all you need to know).

You can choose to be penpals with a child living anywhere in the world. What nationality will your penpal be. Why? Write a letter to your imaginary pal.

You're 16 years old, and you've flunked your driver's test. Flunked is an understatement. You were probably the worst driver the examiner has ever seen! What happened? Describe your day. Have fun and treat this as a funny story. Make sure noone or nothing gets hurt, except your pride.

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HATCHING NEW

IDEAS!

SOURCES OF INSPIRATION - How do I get ideas in the first place?

• magazines/newspapers/periodicals/CD-ROM • conduct an interview based on your topic • media - radio, tv, internet • experiences • film - movies and documentaries • music • visual art - observing or creating • dreams • memories • discussion and brainstorming • responding to literature • role playing • research • imagination • personal interest inventories • class interest inventory • other

TIPS - What ways can I prewrite?

• free writing • journalling • image streaming (transplant yourself

to another place or time and describe from a first person point of view)

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• lists • visualization • brainstorming - individually or as a group • webbing/mapping/clustering • graphic organizers • topic or word chart

PRINT AND USE PREWRITING STRATEGIES

Graphic Organizers are brainstorming webs, mind maps and other charts that allow you to organize your thoughts and ideas. There are many different types to choose from. Pick the one that is best suited to your topic.

http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/specificgos.html

Come Aboard a R.A.F.T. - Role, Audience, Format, Topic, Strong Verb, a prewriting strategy

http://www.geocities.com/writingprocess/rafts.htm

Descriptive Word Prompters - to help with description

http://www.angelfire.com/ab/westmounthaiku/describe.html

Five Senses Chart - brainstorm the five senses in a chart like this

http://www.angelfire.com/ab/westmounthaiku/fivesenses.html

Ten Prewriting Exercises for Personal Narratives http://www.daedalus.com/teach/tens/08_22_98.html

More Prewriting Ideas http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/fiss/pre-writ.htm

The P.O.W.E.R.S. of Writing: A Student's Guide to the Writing Process - More prewriting suggestions http://www.people.virginia.edu/~cay2f/powers/#Process

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TIME TO

WRITE!

NOW THAT IT'S TIME TO WRITE . . . What do I do?

WRITING. . . ROUGH DRAFT . . . ROUGH COPY Whatever you call it, it is still the same thing.

Get a working copy of your paragraph or paper so that you have something to work with.

OUR ROUGH COPY SUGGESTIONS

* Name, class and date on top right hand corner of all pages * Number all your pages * One staple in the top left hand corner * Double space * Margin to margin * Single sided * Pencil or pen (depending on teacher preference) * Line space at end of page

TIPS WHEN GOING FROM PREWRITING TO WRITING

1. Be selective in the ideas that you include. You don't have to include everything that was in your prewriting! Pick your best ideas. Make sure they relate to each other and your topic.

2. WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! Don't stop once you start writing. Revising and editing come later. Just let the ideas flow.

3. Don't count words, ask your teacher how long it should be or when it is done. When YOU feel that you have completed your ideas, you are then ready to go to the next stage.

4. HOLD IT! Before going to the next stage, make sure you have enough content to work with. If you feel that you are lacking content, go back to your prewriting for more ideas and details

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SEARCHING FOR THINGS TO FIX!

WHAT IS REVISING?

Revising is . . .

• making decisions about how you want to improve your writing

• looking at your writing from a different point of view

• picking places where your writing could be clearer, more interesting, more informative and more convincing.

METHODS

A.R.R.R. - This method allows you to make four types of changes.

Adding What else does the reader need to know?

Rearranging Is the information in the most logical and most effective order?

Removing What extra details or unnecessary bits of information are in this piece of writing?

Replacing What words or details could be replaced by clearer or stronger expressions?

R.A.G. - Read Around Group

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~ General Rules for Read Around Groups ~

1. 3-5 writers per group in varying ability 2. Make sure there are no names on the pieces of writing.

Student work is to remain anonymous. Photocopies work well. 3. In each group, everyone reads each paper once. Nothing is written

on the papers. This is the first read. It is written to get a general idea about what has been written.

4. During the first read, on a separate piece of paper, each person puts them on a scale of 1-4. (4 - outstanding, 3 - above average, 2 - acceptable, 1 - insufficient) Students also write comments about each piece for later discussion with the group.

5. Students discuss why they assigned the score that they did. 6. Staying in the same group, students then revise the anonymous work

during a second reading. Students can a) read each paper and mark suggestions on it or b) read the piece as a group and mark the group's suggestions on each paper.

A.R.M.S. - Add, Remove, Move Around, Substitute

REVISING TIPS - Ask yourself these questions . . .

• Can you read it outloud without stumbling? • Does every word and action count? There should be a reason why a

character acts or speaks in a certain way. • Is the series of events logical? Do they relate? • Is it clear what your goal or your main character's goal is

throughout the piece of writing? • Are vivid/descriptive words used to describe characters and/or

events?

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• Is there a strong hook, thesis and lead-in? • Is proper format followed throughout? • Are all sentences complete or are there sentence fragments? • Is a vivid mental picture created in the reader's mind? • Have you completed sentence expansion where necessary? (NO "HE

RAN!") • Did you use a thesaurus?

GET OUT YOUR

FINE TOOTHEDCOMB!

WHAT IS EDITING?

Editing is . . .

• spelling • capitalization • punctuation • grammar • sentence structure • subject/verb agreement • consistent verb tense • word usage

METHODS

Self EditRead your own work backwards.

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Do you see or hear any errors in the sentence?

Peer Edit A very useful checklist for students to use for a peer and self edit is available at

http://206.218.128.2/laintech/peer.htm

TIPS

• Be sure that every sentence has two parts : subject (who or what) predicate (what's happening)

• Use sentence combining words: and, but, or, yet, so who, whom, which, that, whose because, although, when, if, where and others

• Use periods and commas where necessary but do not overuse.

• Do not overuse the exclamation mark! • Use a dictionary to check spelling. • Other tips are available here

http://karn.ohiolink.edu/~sg-ysu/proofed.html • Beware of the word processing spellchecker!

DO THEDONE

DANCE!

SUGGESTIONS FOR PUBLISHING/GOOD COPY

1. Blue or black ink pen or word processed 2. Centre title on top line with a line space that follows

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3. Name, class and date in top right hand corner 4. Margin to margin 5. Indent and/or leave a line space for paragraphs

(depending on teacher preference) 6. Leave a line space at the bottom of the page 7. Single sided 8. Single spaced 9. Neat - no scribbles or overuse of liquid paper! 10. Number the pages 11. Staple in top left hand corner 12. If asked for all stages of the writing process, hand in

in this order: * good copy * rough copy with evidence of revision and editing * prewriting

13. Include marks sheet or rubric if one was given

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