Planning a story
- Decide who, where, when and what happens: a problem that builds to a climax and is then resolved.
- Keep it focused: a few characters and one main event work better than lots of events.
- Try different structures: a flashback, a circular structure (ending where you began), or starting in the middle of the action.
Openings and description
- Hook the reader: start with action, dialogue, a question or a striking description.
- Show, don't tell: "Her hands trembled as she reached for the handle" is better than "She was scared".
- Use the five senses, precise verbs ("sprinted" rather than "went") and imagery such as similes, metaphors and personification.
- Pathetic fallacy can set the mood: a storm for a tense scene.
Sentences and paragraphs
- Vary sentence lengths: short sentences build tension; longer sentences suit description.
- Vary sentence openings: start with a verb, an adverb, a preposition or a subordinate clause.
- Start a new paragraph for a change of time, place, topic or person (TiPToP).
- In dialogue, start a new line each time a different person speaks.
Checking your work
- Leave time to proofread spelling, punctuation and paragraphs.
- Check that your ending is satisfying and links back to your opening.
Key terms
- Narrative
- A story.
- Hook
- An opening that grabs the reader's attention.
- Show, don't tell
- Letting the reader work out feelings from actions and details.
- Imagery
- Language that creates a picture in the reader's mind.
- Personification
- Giving human qualities to something that isn't human.
- Resolution
- The part of a story where the problem is solved.
- Circular structure
- A story that ends where it began.
- Flashback
- A scene that jumps back to an earlier time.
- Dialogue
- Speech between characters.
- TiPToP
- New paragraph for a change of time, place, topic or person.