Story writing

For this creative writing challenge we would like you to write the next part of the story from the video below! What happens to the lamb after it's parents start to accept that it is a little bit different? 

In your books you will need to plan, write, edit and improve your story. 

Planning 

To plan your story it is best to either use a template or create a 'story map' like a comic strip. There are some story mappers below.

Things to think about:

- What are your character names? 

- Where is this set?

- Will something bad happen or will your character need to overcome a challenge?

- How does the story end - happily? On a cliff hanger?

It is important that you have planned your story carefully and thoroughly, otherwise it can be tricky when it comes to writing and you may get stuck or veer away from the storyline and your story won't make sense!

Write

When writing your story remember to stick to your plan, this is important to remember otherwise you can get stuck or make your story too complicated. 

When writing your first draft it's okay to 'go with the flow' - don't worry too much about keeping it very neat (obviously you need to be able to read it!) You will be able to go back in the editing phase and correct any spelling mistakes or grammar mishaps. 

Key things to remember:

- Describe your characters and settings thoroughly. This makes your writing exciting and really sets the scene for the reader. Think about the 5 senses (smell, touch, sight, taste and hearing)

- Use a wide range of language. Rather than repeating that something is 'scary' you can make your writing much more interesting. 

For example:

 a. The scary monster lifted his scary hand and scared me when he hit the table scarily. 

b. The horrifying monster lifted his terrible hand and scared me when he his the table aggressively. 

- Use a range of sentence starters (there is a fronted adverbial mat attached at the bottom of this page)

- Remember the rule: new speak, new line! 

Incorrect:

She shifted in her chair. "I'm not sure I want to go to the park today, there might be a bunny rabbit there and I don't like bunny rabbits." "Don't be silly," said mum kindly, "you'll be fine. Anyway, bunny rabbits can't hurt you!" "Unless they poke you with their carrots!" chuckled dad in the corner. 

Correct:

She shifted in her chair.

"I'm not sure I want to go to the park today, there might be a bunny rabbit there and I don't like bunny rabbits."

"Don't be silly," said mum kindly, "you'll be fine. Anyway, bunny rabbits can't hurt you!"

"Unless they poke you with their carrots!" chuckled dad in the corner. 

Edit

In the editing phase it helps to read your work out loud. If you don't want to disturb anyone else while you do this, or it's a bit noisy where you are then put your fingers in your ears and whisper the words to yourself - you block out other sounds, can hear yourself clearly and don't make too much noise! You can also ask someone else to have a look at your work or read it to them to get a second opinion.

In this phase you can use a different coloured pen or pencil to make any edits on your work. 

Improve

This is where you write out your second draft. Copy out the edited piece of writing, adding in any edits to spelling or grammar. This is where you need to take your time to write out your work neatly and clearly.