Fictional Writing

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 1

Lesson aim: study the structure of a story

It is important to structure your work carefully so that a reader can follow your ideas. 

An engaging opening

In a fictional story, the first paragraph should a good start to your story the reader and grab their attention

How could you start a story to grab the readers attenton?

HOW TO START YOUR STORY

Use dialogue to hook the reader

Example: "Everything is going to be ok sweetie," my mother whispered in a comforting voice as she rubbed my back. Somehow mum can make everything seem better.

by dropping your reader directly into action.    

For example, Suzanne Collins opens The Hunger Games with:

 

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.

A timeline of events

One way to plot a narrative is to follow a story arc. This structure uses an opening that hooks the reader and sets the scene, followed by an introduction to the character’s thoughts and feelings, a development of the storyline, a turning point and finally a resolution.

This is called a five-stage story and can be applied to most stories. Take a look at Romeo and Juliet- where were the five points to the story?

Using the same tense

Present tense	Past tense
I walk	I walked
She laughs	She laughed
He is thinking	He was thinking
Dafydd goes to the window	Dafydd went to the window

It is easiest to write in past tense, describing events as if they happened a few days, weeks or years ago. 

Romeo and Juliet is a Shakespearean tragedy.

Read the summary of the story.

Story Arc

Draw a plot diagram of Romeo and Juliet. What part of the story belongs where on the plot diagram

development of the story

Writing a setting- time and place of the story

re-write this setting by using at least two of the senses below to make the setting more descriptive.

Here is a description of a forest:

The trees were tall and an owl sat on a low branch above me. The green leaves were dark, even by the light of the moon.

Write a fantasy story of your own where a girl or a boy meets a dragon.

- You will need to consider:

Character: who is the main character and are there any other characters?

Setting: where do the dragon and the girl/boy meet? Will the story end in the same place?

Plot: How does the girl/boy meet the dragon? What happens.

How could you end a story?

Conclusions to wrap up your story:

ADVICE ENDING- Tells the reader what to do or not to do

LESSON ENDING – Tells the reader an important lesson learnt.

CLIFFHANGER – Leaves the reader hanging with another problem.

QUESTION ENDING – Ask the reader a question to leave them thinking

Ending of your story

Conclusion to wrap it up.

Cliffhanger ending ( leaves the reader hanging with another problem)

Example: Just as I thought everything was settled, that's when it happened. Billy, the school's bully, approached me and told me to meet him at the back of the school.

Question ending

asks the reader a question to leave them thinking.

Example: I survived the spelling bee! I got up in front of all those people! I was so proud of myself! "When is the next spelling bee?"I asked grinning from ear to ear!

Write the ending of your story

Write or re-write the ending by finishing it off :

- the conflict has been solved

- a cliffhanger

- ask a question