patflynnwriter.files.wordpress.com€¦ · Web viewBecause it is a story, you can change some details or slightly exaggerate if you like. Setting An important part of a narrative

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Written by Pat Flynn

Illustrated by Peter Carnavas

Published by UQP

ISBN: 978-0-7022-4947-1

www.patflynnwriter.com www.uqp.com.au

http://www.uqp.com.au/

http://www.patflynnwriter.com/

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Teachers’ Notes Written by Pat FlynnThese notes may be reproduced free of charge for use and study within schools but they may not be reproduced (either in whole or in part) and offered for commercial sale.

About the Author and Illustrator 4

Writing Activity: Free Writing 5

Genre 6

Structure

Plot

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Plot Activity – A Comic Strip 10

Coming Up with a Good Idea 11

Writing Activity – Using Real Life 12

Setting 13

Characters 14

Getting to Know Your Characters

Point of View

Getting the Balance Right

Writing Activity – Guided Story

Description Activity – Body Language

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Description Activity – The Senses

Description Activity – Similes/Metaphors

Thoughts Activity – Using Description

Action Activity – Verbs

Writing Activity – Story Starters

Dialogue Activity – Opposites

Theme

Symbolism

Writing Activity – Partner Story

Writing Techniques for the Gifted and Talented

Writing Activity – 6 Word Memoir

My Story – First Draft

Editing

Editing Rules

My Reflection

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Writing Activity – Free Writing

Write for five minutes on any topic. Keep your pen moving at all times and ignore spelling and grammar mistakes. Continue writing until your teacher tells you to stop.




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Genre

There are many types of stories. Another name for a type of story is GENRE. Highlight the following genres that you like and cross out the ones you don’t like:

Horror Romance Comedy Action PoetryScience fiction Historical Fantasy Realistic Fairytale

I would like to write a story in the following genre:




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Structure

Most stories follow a similar STRUCTURE. They have a BEGINNING, MIDDLE and an END.

Example Beginning: A kitten named Sarah climbed a tree. Middle: She climbed so high she was too scared to come down. End: She was rescued by a fireman named Lou.

Your TurnBeginning:

Middle:

End:

Let’s have a look at the parts in more detail. In the beginning, the MAIN CHARACTER is introduced, usually with a

PROBLEM he or she has to solve. In the middle, the main character tries to SOLVE the problem, but instead the

problem GETS WORSE. In the end, the problem is RESOLVED, perhaps with a TWIST.

Example

Beginning: A girl named Sophie loses her favourite dancing shoes before the recital.

Middle: She thinks her enemy, Joanna Prancer, stole the shoes so she looks in Joanna’s bag. The shoes aren’t there and Sophie gets caught snooping.

End: Sophie sees the shoes on her little sister’s feet. She apologises to Joanna and they dance well together.




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Your Turn Beginning:

Middle:

End:




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Plot

PLOT is what happens in a story. Some plots follow a formula – which is a set way of doing things. For example, a type of plot called THE HERO’S JOURNEY goes like this:

1. The hero is happy with his/her life but is forced to take on a huge challenge.

2. The hero goes on a journey to overcome this challenge, gathering friends and powers and confronting enemies and problems along the way. The hero fights evil but is defeated.

3. The hero gets a new piece of information or a new power from someone wise and is victorious at the end.

Example

1. Suzie is a happy girl until her pet guinea pig named Spotty goes missing. She must go into the haunted forest to find Spotty.

2. In the forest, Suzie eats some berries that make her itch all over and while washing her skin in the creek she gets attacked by biting fish. A bush fairy saves Suzie, teaches her some magic and tells her to watch out for the sleeping monster.

3. Suzie finds Spotty in a cave. They disturb the sleeping monster who chases them but Suzie uses her new magic to become invisible. They make it home safely.

Your Turn1.

2.

3.




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Plot Activity – A Comic Strip

Choose a time when something memorable happened to you – perhaps the first time you rode the school bus, the first ‘A’ you achieved on a test, or a favourite present you received for Christmas – and create a comic strip to show the major events of the story.




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Coming Up with a Good Idea

The first thing you need when you write a story is an IDEA. As you learnt in STRUCTURE, most stories involve the MAIN CHARACTER facing a PROBLEM or CONFLICT. Here are some common techniques that authors use to give the main character an interesting problem.

1. TAKE SOMETHING IMPORTANT AWAY FROM THE MAIN CHARACTER

ExampleWhat if a rich man lost all his money?

Your Turn What if ____________________________________________________?

2. FISH OUT OF WATER. Put someone in a place where they will feel uncomfortable.

ExampleWhat if a vegetarian had to work in a meat factory?

Your Turn What if ___________________________________________________?

3. PERSON VERSUS SOMEONE/SOMETHING. Put someone up against someone or something that’s tough to beat.

Example Family versus haunted house

Your Turn




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__________________ versus _______________________

Writing Activity – Using Real Life

Another good way of coming up with an idea is to use REAL LIFE. Write about a time that something interesting, funny or scary happened to you. Because it is a story, you can change some details or slightly exaggerate if you like.




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Setting

An important part of a narrative is the SETTING – WHERE and WHEN a story takes place.

The setting can influence the GENRE. For example, a story set well into the future is likely to be SCIENCE FICTION, while a story set in the past is HISTORICAL.

Highlight the following settings that you like and cross out the ones you don’t like:

A spaceship 1000 years into the future A school danceAncient Egypt A sporting field A wedding A forest full of magical creatures

I would like my story to be set in the following time and place:




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Characters

The MAIN CHARACTER of a story is called the PROTAGONIST. Usually this is the person the reader can best relate to and is often the HERO of the story.

Describe the qualities of your ideal protagonist.

Your protagonist should CHANGE and GROW throughout your story. What are some ways your protagonist could grow?

Draw a picture of your protagonist.




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An ANTAGONIST is the main character’s OPPONENT.

Describe the qualities of your ideal antagonist.

Draw a picture of your antagonist.




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Sometimes the main character has a LOVE INTEREST.

Describe the qualities of your ideal love interest.

Draw a picture of your love interest.




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MINOR CHARACTERS often provide humour or information for the story to move forward. They rarely grow and change and so are called FLAT characters.

List some people you might use for minor characters, for example, sister’s best friend, neighbour, or bus driver.

Draw some pictures of minor characters.




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Getting to Know Your Characters

One way you can get to know your main character is to conduct an INTERVIEW with him or her.

Main character’s name:

Age:

Colour of hair and eyes:

Favourite hobby:

Favourite colour:

Talents:

Biggest fear:

Likes:

Hates:




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Point of View

A story is told by a NARRATOR. The perspective from which the narrator tells the story is known as the POINT OF VIEW.

FIRST PERSON point of view is when the person telling the story is a character in the story itself. You can often tell first person point of view by the use of the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘me’.

Example I shouldn’t have listened when my best friend dared me to cross the old train bridge.

Your Turn Using first person point of view, write about what you did before school up until the morning bell rang.

THIRD PERSON point of view is when the person telling the story is someone looking on from the outside. The third person narrator knows the main character so well they can describe exactly what the main character is doing and even what he or she is thinking.

Example Billy shouldn’t have listened when his best friend dared him to cross the old train bridge.

Your Turn Using third person point of view, write about what you did before school up until the morning bell rang. Remember to refer to yourself by your own name and use the pronouns ‘he’ or ‘she’.




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Getting the Balance Right

An effective narrative will have a good balance of DESCRIPTION, THOUGHTS, ACTION and DIALOGUE.

Description – how something or someone looks, sounds, tastes or feels

When she asked me to dance my stomach ________________________________

Thoughts – someone thinking something important or coming to a realisation

And then the idea hit me. I needed to ___________________________________________________

Action – something happening

As I sit on my surfboard, my dangling legs freeze. A huge shark ______________________

Dialogue – someone talking. Use it to advance the plot or show something about the character speaking, or both.

‘I can’t believe you did that! You’re just a __________________________________’

Your Turn

Fill in the blanks with description, action, dialogue and thoughts.

A man in a black coat grabbed my arm and said, ‘___________________________’

My heart ____________________________ and my legs ___________________________.




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I thought, _________________________________________________________________________________.

But what I actually said was,

__________________________________________.Writing Activity – Guided Story

Jonathon Mahoney’s Strange Day(Cross out the words you don’t want. Fill in the blanks to help complete the story.)

Jonathon Mahoney was the most popular/most unpopular boy in school. He wore his

pants perfectly/waist high/so low you could see his underwear and he even had a

________________________________________________________________.

One day, Jonathon was playing handball at lunchtime when the strangest thing

happened. He was just about to hit a winning shot when he saw Erica, the gorgeous

babe/Dave, the tough bully, staring at him. Jonathon thought, _________________

________________________. This is ____________________________________!

The gorgeous babe/tough bully strolled over to the handball courts. Jonathon’s heart

started beating like a drummer in a _______________________ band. Erica/Dave

looked Jonathon in the eye and said, ____________________________________.




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Jonathon’s mind started racing like ______________________________________.

He knew he had to say something back, but what? Then he remembered what his

best friend/brother/soccer coach/great grandmother told him, and he repeated it to

Erica/Dave. ‘Roses are red, violets are blue. _______________________________

__________________________________________________________________.

Erica/Dave raised her/his eyebrows at Jonathon. Then Erica/Dave did something

that shocked everyone watching. She/He reached over and __________________

_________________________________________________________________.

Jonathon couldn’t believe it. Things were never going to be the same. One minute he

was a ________________________ playing handball, and the next he’s _______

__________________________________________________________________.

Jonathan learnt a valuable lesson that day. Always/Never listen to your best

friend/brother/soccer coach/great grandmother . Especially when he/she _________

___________________________________________________________________.




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Description Activity – Body Language and Voice Expression

An effective way of describing your characters is to use BODY LANGUAGE and VOICE EXPRESSION. These can include:

Facial expressions: smiles, frowns, scowls, smirks Gestures: crossing legs, drumming fingers, making a fistVocal cues: whispering, shouting, voice quivering with fear Involuntary body language: knees trembling, heart racing, stomach gurgling

Describe the following emotions using body language and/or voice expression:

ExampleJoy: I punched the air and hooted with delight.

Your TurnNervousness:

Anger:

Surprise:

Fear:




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Description Activity – The Senses

When you describe something it’s important to make use of the senses – SIGHT, SMELL, TOUCH, TASTE and HEARING.

ExampleThe sun warmed my skin as I heard the crash of waves and smelt the salty air.

Your TurnYou will be blindfolded and your writing partner will give you three things to touch, taste and smell respectively. Describe what you feel, smell and taste and your writing partner will jot the answers down in your workbook.

1. This feels like

2. This smells like

3. This tastes like




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Description Activity – Similes and Metaphors

One way of describing something is to compare it with something else by using a SIMILE or a METAPHOR.

A SIMILE is when you use ‘like’ or ‘as’ to compare two things.

ExampleLike a mouse, she crept past the soldier. He ran as fast as a gazelle escaping from a lion.

Your TurnThe dentist’s device felt like _________________________inside my mouth.

The teacher’s voice roared as loud as ___________________________________________.

A METAPHOR is when you say something ‘is’ something else, even though it isn’t really.

ExampleShe was a mouse creeping past the soldier. He was a gazelle escaping from a lion.

Your TurnThe baby was a _________________________________________________.

He was the shining _____________________________________ of the school.




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Thoughts Activity – Using Description

You can link THOUGHTS with DESCRIPTION when your main character needs to come to an important realisation in the story.

ExampleAs I watched the sun rise, I realised my new life was about to begin. I couldn’t wait.

Your TurnThe smell in the air seemed to sum up my life at the moment. It was __________________

__________________________________________________________________.

Dave met Jane on New Year’s Eve. The fireworks went off and Dave realised _____

___________________________________________________________________.

A bird glided through the air and it made Joanne feel ___________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________.




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Action Activity – Verbs

You can improve the way you write ACTION by using VERBS effectively.

A verb is ____________________________________________________.

Good verbs make your writing more powerful.

The wave had a lot of power behind it. It took me to the bottom.

The wave ______________________ me up and ____________________ me to the bottom.

You can sometimes replace ‘to be’ verbs such as ‘am’, ‘are’, ‘is’, ‘was’ and ‘were’ with more action-packed verbs.

ExampleShe was a reader of thick books.She read thick books.

Your Turn

___________________ is the teacher of this class.

___________________ __________________ this class.

A well-chosen verb can also eliminate unnecessary ADVERBS. Adverbs describe verbs and often, but not always, end with ‘ly’.

ExampleShe spoke softly into my ear.She whispered into my ear.

Your Turn




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I walked quietly across the floorboards.

I ________________________ across the floorboards.

Writing Activity – Story Starters

If I were principal for a day I would

The worst food I ever ate was

I’d like to invent




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Dialogue Activity – Opposites

With your writing partner, write down a pretend conversation between two people who are very different, such as a city slicker and a country bumpkin.

Our two people are: Person 1: Person 2:

Person 1:

Person 2:

Person 1:

Person 2:

Person 1:

Person 2:

Person 1:

Person 2:

Person 1:

Person 2:

Person 1:




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Person 2:




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Theme

PLOT is what happens in a story. The MAIN MESSAGE of a story is called the THEME.

The theme of The Three Little Pigs is not to rush things but to put in your very best effort. Note that this is the case for building a story as well as building a house!

The theme of Beauty and the Beast is don’t judge a book by ________________

There are many lessons a character might learn in a story, for example, it’s very important to tell the truth.

Write down three possible lessons your main character could learn:

1.2.3.




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Symbolism

If you’re an advanced writer, you may wish to use SYMBOLISM in your story. A SYMBOL is something that represents something else. For example, a caged bird in a story could represent that the main character is feeling trapped.

What could these things symbolise? A dark cloud could symbolise that ___________________________________

If your main character eats an apple it could mean ________________________________

Sometimes COLOURS can be used as symbols. Match up each colour with what it commonly symbolises.

Write down any other symbols you can think of and their meaning.

Symbol Meaning


Femininity

Innocence, light

New life

Cool, calm Passion, danger

Death, evil

RedBlack

White

Green

Blue

Pink



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Writing Activity – Partner Story

With your writing partner, create a story where you write ONE sentence each. This activity will be done in silence – meaning you have to accept what your partner writes and they have to accept what you write. The teacher will tell you when it’s time to write the last sentence.




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Writing Techniques for the Gifted and Talented

These writing techniques have the potential to make a narrative more appealing to the reader’s ‘inner ear’.

POWERFUL END WORDS – where possible place an emotional word at the end of a sentence or paragraph.

Example The wave rose like a monster. All I could think of was, I don’t want to die.

Your TurnRework this line so that it ends with a more powerful word. Our eyes locked and I knew that I loved her.

Our eyes locked and ___________________________________________________________________

REPETITION – repeat the opening of a phrase or sentence three times in a row.

ExampleI ran. I jumped. I soared over the bar.

Your Turn

I love _____________. I love __________________. But most of all, I love _________________.

I’ve never seen my father cry. Not when ________________________________________________.




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Not when _________________________________________________________________________________.

And not even when ______________________________________________________________________.

But the day ____________________________________________________________________________, he blubbered like a baby.

SENTENCE OPENINGS – use different ways to start sentences for variety.

1.The most common is to start with the SUBJECT of the sentence. Example: John hit the ball. She went to a movie. The snake slithered away slowly.

2.You can also start a sentence with a CONJUNCTION (such as ‘although’, ‘because’ or ‘while’) or a PREPOSITION (such as ‘during’, ‘between’ or ‘despite’). Example: Since the first day, one boy has loved to show off in class.

3.You can begin with the ‘ING’ FORM of a VERB. Example: Bobbing and weaving, John avoided being hit.

4. You can describe something about the subject of a sentence. Example: Her legs shaking, Sophie stood up at the lectern.

Using each of the sentence-opening techniques, write four sentences about a boy named Jonty who gets swept down a river in fast-flowing rapids.




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Writing Activity – A Six-Word Memoir

Write a story about yourself using exactly six words. Choose each word carefully!




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My Story – First Draft

Title: ______________________________________________________________

By _____________________________________________

Introduction – introduce your main character and his/her problem




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Middle – the problem develops




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Ending – the problem gets solved, perhaps with a twist




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Editing

The process of improving a story after you have written it is called EDITING. Here are some important editing steps.

1. Make sure your story and sentences MAKE SENSE. Fix up the sentence below.

I ate an iceblock with a red tongue that gave me brain freeze.

2. Tense: stories are written in either PAST tense or PRESENT tense. You can tell if a story is in past or present tense by the verbs used.

Present tense is telling a story as if it is happening right now.

John is surfing the big waves. It is really fun. But he falls off and nearly drowns.

Past tense is telling a story which has already happened. Make the following sentences into past tense. John ___________ surfing the big waves. It _______________ really fun. But he ___________

off and nearly _________________________________.

Choose which tense you are writing in and be consistent. Past tense is easier.

3. REPETITION and UNNECESSARY INFORMATION should be cut from your story. Rewrite the following paragraph so that it is less repetitive.

The Sunshine Coast is a beautiful place. There are beautiful beaches and beautiful rainforest there. It’s really beautiful at the Sunshine Coast.

________________ beaches and ______________________ waves line the Sunshine Coast. It’s




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__________________________________ there.

4. Proofreading: check for spilling puntuatian and gramma mistakes




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Editing Rules – Once, Twice, Three Times a Story

You should write at least THREE DRAFTS of a story before it is finished.

First reading: Make sure your story and sentences MAKE SENSE. Check that the TENSE and POINT OF VIEW remain consistent.

My story is written in _________________________ tense and _____________________ person.

Second reading: Add details such as EFFECTIVE DESCRIPTION, STRONG VERBS and POWERFUL END WORDS. Delete REPETITION and UNNECESSARY INFORMATION.

Give one example of an effective detail that you added to your story.

Give one example of something that you deleted in the story.

Third reading: Fix up for the last time, preferably a few days later. PROOFREAD.

List one spelling, punctuation or grammar mistake that you fixed up.




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My Reflection

The theme of my story is _________________________________________.

The grade I would give my story is _______________ because ____________________

What I most enjoyed about this term’s writing process was

The best thing about writing stories is

One skill I can still improve in my writing is




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patflynnwriter.files.wordpress.com€¦ · Web viewBecause it is a story, you can change some details or slightly exaggerate if you like. Setting An important part of a narrative