Plan Out Your Story

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Now that we have a main character and a world and setting in which our novels will take place… Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

It’s time to plan the story! Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Now every story is different, of course, but most stories follow a similar path. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

We are going to use this path or arc to plan our stories! Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Usually the tension and problems rise throughout the story and then are resolved and fall again. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Let’s take a look at a real story path to see what we mean by this… Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Let’s show this arc with the example of a famous story (and movie) called The Wizard of Oz. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum You may have seen this movie or read the book. But even if you haven’t, it’s OK, we will show you the story using the arc. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum A story arc starts with an introduction. This is where you introduce the main characters through small events. You introduce the first setting and begin the story. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum In the Wizard of Oz, we meet our Protagonist. Her name is Dorothy. We meet her dog Toto, her mom and some of the people who work on her farm. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum We are also introduced to the Antagonist in the story. Not too much has happened yet. Dorothy sings a song and wishes to be in another place. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum We’re also introduced to the first setting: The state of Kansas during the Great Depression. We see that it is poor and very flat! Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Soon after introducing your main characters and setting, it is time to bring in a conflict. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum A conflict is a very important part of any story. It introduces the tension and makes the story more interesting. Some kind of problem should come into your story. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Imagine a story without a conflict: Some friends meet for dinner. They order steak and mashed potatoes. Then they go see a movie. After the movie, they say goodbye and go home to go to sleep. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Pretty boring huh? Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

A conflict adds interest to the story. It makes your readers wonder, “Will it be OK?” “Will everything work out?” “Will the protagonist be safe?” Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum In the Wizard of Oz, the conflict is indeed scary for our protagonist, Dorothy… A tornado hits Kansas and throws her into the magical land of Oz where an evil witch wants to kill her! Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Almost any reader would want to find out if Dorothy will make it back to Kansas safely! Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum After the Introduction and the Conflict, a series of steps should take place. These could be minor problems to solve, meetings with new characters, introductions to new settings. This is called the Rising Action. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum For instance, in the Wizard of Oz a number of important steps take place: Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

She meets Scarecrow who needs a new brain. Dorothy finds out that the Yellow Brick roads leads to the Wizard of Oz who can return her to Kansas. She meets Scarecrow who needs a new brain. She meets Tin Man who needs a new heart. She meets the Cowardly Lion who needs courage. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Each of these is almost like a little story in themselves. These steps should not be too short. For instance in a story about a boy who wants to be a bird, these would NOT be good steps… Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

The boy decides to make wings He gets cardboard flaps for wings He glues them to his body He tries to fly Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum These steps are too small. If these are the steps that lead to the ending, the story only will last about a page. Try to think of fuller steps that can almost be like little stories in themselves. Here is a better example from the boy who wants to be a bird story… Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

The boy travels to meet a famous inventor named Old Man Wisely. Wisely teaches him how to call upon the Great Flying Spirit Through practicing high jumps on his horse he is able to summon the Spirit The Spirit appears and they create magical wings but must fight off the Evil Demon of Gravity who says boys should not fly. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Each of these steps could be written about for many pages. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum You may have noticed that the protagonist’s journey through the story is almost like a path. In the case of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is literally following a path called the Yellow Brick Road. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Finally, after all the tension and action builds up, we reach a CLIMAX. This is where everything in the story is resolved in one big scene. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Some stories have more than one CLIMAX. In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy finally defeats the witch by melting her with water and she uncovers the true identity of the Wizard of Oz. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum The climax scenes are always very exciting. In some stories they are a battle or action scene. In other stories, they are full of high drama! Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Finally, after the conflict is resolved and the climax takes place, there are the final pages in which a RESOLUTION ends the story. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum This is the ending of the story where we see how things turn out. We also get a glimpse at how life will go on for the characters in the story. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum In the Wizard of Oz there is a twist in the resolution. Dorothy discovers that her trip through Oz was actually a dream. She returns home to find her family and friends standing around her bed. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Today we are going to plan out our novels using the structure we have just talked about. Your teacher will now pass out a sheet which will show us how we will plan. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum