Short Stories – Predictive Texts
Title / The beginning / Your prediction: Write three sentences that explore what happens next.The Teapot / The old woman running the roadside antique stand spoke with a heavy eastern accent. She skirted the table with two limping legs, hidden by loose, draping leather pants and no shoes. John couldn't help staring at the woman's black toes, as if she had once suffered frostbite. Everything about her seemed to have once suffered an awful cold.
Alice and John were on their way home from visiting their oldest daughter in college. They had only stopped so John could stretch his sore back. The old woman approached John's wife. With her long fingers she pushed a brass teapot into Alice's hands. The transparent skin on her arms swung with the momentum of her tiny motions. "Thank you," Alice responded politely, not knowing what else to say…
The Soldiers / It was late morning when the soldiers came knocking on the door. Such a polite knock. A bit like Mr Marsden from the supermarket used to do when he came to collect his money every month. The soldiers knocked again. A firm knock but not one designed to alarm. Knock, knock, knock, as if by a gloved hand, which was the case.
Jimmy knew it was the soldiers. He had seen them walking along the road, past the troop carriers, six of them in uniform, carrying guns."Dad," Jimmy had shouted up the stairs, "they're outside our gate. They've stopped. They're looking at our door. I think they're going to come here, to our house. Dad!"…
Smelly Melly / Melanie Rose sat huddled in the far corner of the playground. Again.She sat so still that she looked more like a rock or a fossil than a twelve year old girl. Petrified. She needn’t have worried. The boys and girls racing past her, whooping and shouting over their wild games, no longer saw her.
‘Don’t worry about those kids’, a voice beside her said. Melly had been so busy watching the loud kids play that she didn’t see the other girl sit down beside her…
In a class of her own / The first time I saw her was on a tennis court. I was immediately jealous. Wow, she could play! Later, I found out she was here alone and her family lived far away in the country….
Left Alone / Until Phillip went to school he didn’t know he was different. Not special. Different. But by the time he was in Year 3, he dreaded school. He woke up every morning with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach…
The Shadow / Jessica Gray was riding on the crest of a wave. The surf was just about the right size, about a metre and a half. Perched on her board, she allowed herself a quick glance to the right. There she saw a large dark shadow just under the surface of the water….
An Awkward Fall / I can see the Principal deep in conversation with the House Leader. Over in the corner of the room, Tony is lying down with a blanket covering his body. His face is white and he is moaning. The school nurse is talking softly to him….
Discussion Questions:
Which genre do you think is best suited to this story?
What other characters do you think would probably enter into the story?
What is the most suitable setting for this story?
Who do you think is the intended audience for this story and why?