Introduction

The judges will be marking your Two Minute Tales based on

five categories: originality, plot, characterisation, language

and enjoyment. When we read your story we will be looking

out for all of these things, so consider each of these

important elements when you are planning what to write

about.

To help you get started, we have put together some tips on

how to make sure your tale is bursting with enjoyable

characters, a strong plot, colourful language, and of course,

is a total original.

Writing great stories is like any skill, the more you practise

the better you will get. Even if you’re scratching your head

and have no idea how to get started, trying some of our

exercises will help to get your creative juices flowing. In no

time at all, you’ll be writing magical tales.

Don’t forget, the theme of Two Minute Tales is ‘Home’.

These stories can be inspired by real life events, but we want

to read your magical and fantastical works of fiction. Let

your imagination and creativity run wild!

Good luck!

Originality

Writing an original story might seem like a challenge, but there are

things you can do to find that spark of inspiration. Writing exercises

can get your creative juices flowing.

Inspiration from ordinary events:

Think about ordinary events from life that could inspire a story idea.

Objects that tell a story:

Take a few objects that could be used in different ways. Why might

they be important to someone? Maybe your character has lost this

item. Can you write a story based on this?

Stories in the news:

Look at some news headlines. There can be some strange stories in

real life that might inspire you. Take on and change it to make your

own story.

Story idea generator:

Pick one from each of the below lists of locations, characters and

genres, and write a story inspired by these.

Genre: Location: Character:

Fantasy Shakespearean England Teenage detective

Comedy Under the sea Hero knight

Crime Mars Alien King

Historical In a tree house Princess

Story dice – Cut out and stick the story dice template from the

following page, roll all three dice together, and use the genre,

character and location you get to create your story

Plot

The plot is what happens in the story. It keeps the reader interested.

Without a plot a story can feel boring, and a reader might not want to

get to the end. The best stories make you not want to put the book

down because you really want to know what’s going to happen next.

To make sure your story has a good plot it helps to plan it out. Here

are some exercises to help you to get plotting.

Story summary:

What will happen in your story? What will your characters do? Write a

summary of your plot and then simplify it into bullet points. This will

help you to see your plot clearly.

Problem/disruption:

Good stories often have a problem that needs to be solved.

Something is lost, or has gone wrong. The story comes from the

characters trying to resolve this. Think of a problem, and then decide

how it can be solved in an interesting way.

Beginning, middle and end:

A story needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end. Write bullet

points describing each stage of your story and make sure it has a

beginning, middle and end.

Rewrite your favourite opening scene:

Pick an opening scene from a book that you love. Rewrite it in your

own words.

Emotional endings:

Think of how you want the reader to feel at the end of your story -

relieved, triumphant, sad, confused, happy. Now create an ending

that evokes that feeling.

Chain reaction:

Working in groups, each person create a problem that needs to be

solved. Now pass it on to the person to your left. Now that everyone

has a new problem they need to think of the first step towards

solving it. Then pass it on again. What happens next? Pass it once

more, and this time write an ending to the story you have been given.

Now read out the stories to see what they have become.

Storyboard:

Use the template on the next page to make a storyboard of your plot.

What will happen at each stage. What are your characters doing, and

what comes next?

Characterisation

Strong characters can make a story come alive. The reader will want

to hear more if they enjoy following the characters. You need to think

about who this person (or animal, creature or object) is and what they

look like. Imagine how their voice sounds and what kind of

personality they have, if they are shy or loud, funny or cheeky. It

might help you to think of different characters that you like and

explore what qualities you want your characters to have. Try some of

these exercises to help you.

Drawing:

Draw a picture of your character and see if this helps you to visualise

them. They might start to come alive to you. What do they look like?

What sort of hair and teeth do they have? Do they always wear a

funny hat, or glasses? What kind of adventures would this character

have?

Super powers:

Think of a strength or power that you wish you had and give it to your

character. Can they do something that you wish you could? Are they

brave? Can they fly? They can be anyone you want them to be. Pick a

character trait or power for your character and describe it.

Name them:

A good name will help you picture your character. Look at names

from fiction and discuss what makes this a good name for the

character it refers to. Different genres use different names. In The

Lord of the Rings ‘Gandalf the Grey’ is a name that suggest wisdom

and old age. What would you like your character’s name to say about

them? Try to come up with some good names for different characters

in your story.

‘Lost’ poster:

If your character got lost in the shopping centre or in the woods, how

would you describe them to anyone searching? Create a poster for

them that defines their looks and personality, how they might be

dressed, things they might say, their height and hair colour. What

might they be wearing?

Character profile – The following page has some questions about

your character. Answer all of the questions to make sure you have a

fully developed person (or animal or creature). Where do they live?

What’s their favourite food? Who is their best friend?

Language

Creative language can add excitement and uniqueness to your story.

Taking the time to add in unusual words or alliteration can have a big

impact. Using adjectives and similes can help the reader to be drawn into

your story and really picture and believe in the characters and places you

are describing.

Adjectives list:

Adjectives are what add colour and detail to a story. A ‘huge, hairy,

ravenous wolf’ is more descriptive than a ‘wolf’. Make a list with as many

adjectives as you can think of. Try to add some that you wouldn’t use very

often or that are really specific. The more detail you can give to your

language the more your story will come alive.

Synonyms:

Think of some ordinary words that you might use in your story. Make a list.

Now take a Children’s Thesaurus and look up those words to find more

interesting versions of them. What can you say instead of using the same

words all the time? Words like ‘big’ can be swapped for ‘humungous’ or

instead of ‘angry’ you could try ‘furious’. When you’re writing your story

look out for opportunities to use more unusual vocabulary instead of

common every day words.

Similes:

Similes compare something you want to describe to something that is

familiar. If you wanted to describe the similarity of a brother and sister are,

you might say they are as different as chalk and cheese. You can tell when

something is a simile because the word ‘as’ or ‘like’ is used. If someone was

embarrassed you might say their face went as red as a tomato. Or the rain

poured down like someone emptying a bucket.

See if you can complete the similes on the following page .

Enjoyment

The best stories are the ones that everyone can enjoy reading. What

makes your favourite story enjoyable? Adding twists or unusual

locations and characters can all add enjoyment. Even sad or scary

stories can be enjoyed if they are exciting or make you feel something.

Try some of these exercises to practise adding that extra factor to

your work.

Change a traditional story

Using a story that is familiar can be fun for the reader, and if you

change it in a new way it can be exciting. Try picking a familiar story

and rewriting it from the point of view of a different character.

What about writing Snow White from the point of view of the ‘Wicked’

Stepmother. Is she just misunderstood? Or you could write about

Christmas from the point of view of Mrs Claus. Does she worry about

Santa trying to deliver all those presents in one night? Does she think

children are ungrateful for all the hard work that they do making the

toys? What character would you like to hear from that doesn’t usually

get to tell their story?

Add a twist:

Another way to change a traditional story might be to add a twist or

change the ending. What might happen that could make things work

out very differently? What if Goldilocks had entered the three bears’

house and found some stolen goods? What if Robin Hood was very

shy and nervous and couldn’t bring himself to rob from the rich?

Location location location:

Sometimes changing your location can inspire exciting ideas. Try

going out to your garden to write. Does it change the sort of story

you would write? What if you were writing at the beach or up a windy

mountain?

Pictures:

Find some pictures of other countries or places. What story ideas do

the pictures inspire?

Create a map:

Is your story set in a fictional world? Or a real city or town that you

know well? Create a map to show all the different places that your

characters might visit or live in. Who else lives there, and how might

those people or the surroundings, impact on your character?

Show don’t tell:

How can you show a character’s emotions without just saying they

are happy or sad? Pick an emotion to act out. What are the physical

things people do that show emotions? Do their feelings show in their

physical behaviour or facial expressions? The following page has

some blank faces. What physical things can you add to show their

emotions?