Creative Stories

Simple Plan –

There are people in a place doing some activity and a problem occurs.

Creative Story Common Elements –

Characters, Setting, Plot (Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution, Theme)

Story Structures:

The Initiation / A person has to overcome a challenge
Ex: Sarah struggles to adjust to a new school.
The Surprise / A main character and the reader misunderstand what is happening around them.
Ex: Emmanuel thinks he did bad on this test but he really got 100%.
The Union / Two main characters that are attracted like each other. They have to overcome obstacles to be with each other
Ex: Chris likes a girl at school but her father is in the way.
The Quest / The main character goes on a suspense filling trip or adventure to search for something or someone.
Ex: I was going to find Gabby no matter what it took.
The Mystery / The main character has to follow rules to discover a secret.
Ex: He found the thief after finding the footprints and the fingerprints of the thief.

Drafting Tips:

  1. Begin in the middle of the action.

Instead of…..I always wanted to climb Mount Everest.

Write….I opened my eyes and stared up at the orange roof of my tent.

Instead of…I always wanted to go to a Wild hockey game.

Write….The crowd roared at the goal and my ears were ringing afterwards.

“Yes!” the buzzer sound as the goal was scored, and the Wild took a 1-0 lead.

  1. Use dialogue to move the story along.

Instead of….I said I would be fine, but it was hard to talk.

Write….”I’ll be fine,” I gasped.

Instead of…I said I was okay, but I was really mad.

Write….”I’ll be okay”, I said trembling.

  1. Show what happens instead of just telling about it.

Instead of ….I couldn’t go on because of the asthma attack.

Write…I stopped walking and dropped to my knees. I couldn’t breathe.

Instead of….I was really mad at the teacher.

Write…. I was fuming with anger, the teacher had singled me out for something I didn’t even do.

She wanted to talk to me, but I ignored her, clenching my fists.

Sensory Details/Imagery:

Setting: School dance in a gymnasium

See / Hear / Smell / Taste / Touch/Feel
Punch bowl
Khaki pants
Shaved hair / Hip-hop
Advice
Awkward silence / Cologne
Cookies / Punch
Pretzels / Cold ice
Pounding beat
Dizzy
shaky

Setting: Camping trip in the woods.

See / Hear / Smell / Taste / Touch/Feel

Using Dialogue in Writing: Page 126