Writing a story

Task: it may be something like this: Short story competition You have decided to enter a short story competition. Your story must end with the words “… and he always believed in his dreams from that day on.” Your story must begin with the words “It was April 1st, so I decided to play a practical joke.” Personal narrative Write a story with the following title: “The worst birthday party ever.” Think of a time when you were very nervous: your first plane ride, your wedding, your first day at school, etc. Tell what happened and how you reacted.

HOW DO YOU WRITE A STORY? PLAN Introduction: describe the setting of the story (time, place, weather, etc) and introduce the main character(s). Main part: mention what happened, what the character(s) did, saw, heard, etc, and how they felt. Conclusion: describe what happened in the end and how the character(s) felt.

And remember: Write the events in chronological order. Use past tenses (past simple and progressive) Use time linkers (when, while, as, as soon as, after that, …) Use adverbs and adverbial phrases (suddenly, fortunately, in the end, to my surprise, …) Use adjectives describing feelings (surprised, frightened, worried, …) Use direct speech, questions and exclamations to make your story more interesting.

Useful time phrases Introduction. One day, … Many years ago, … Main body Then,... Later,... After that, ... The following night, … Suddenly,... Fortunately, … Closing In the end, … Finally, …

Adverbs and advebial phrases Suddenly = all of a sudden Fortunately = luckily Unfortunately = unluckily Immediately = at once Then = after that Finally = in the end

Complete the sentences with an adverb or adverbial phrase. We were walking in the forest when ………………. we saw a snake. …………, it didn’t come towards us. My brother had his credit card with him yesterday, but he lost it. When he realised it, he …………….. called the bank to inform them. The search party was searching for hours but couldn’t find the missing child. ………………, a helicopter took part in the search and …………….. the pilot found the child alive and well.

Put the paragraphs in the correct order.  At first, it was sunny, the mountains were beautiful and I felt happy. But time passed quickly and soon it was getting dark. I realised I was a long way from my cousin’s house and I was completely lost!  Suddenly, I heard a strange noise and saw a large dog. He was barking and I decided to follow him. The dog took me to my cousin’s house and then ran off into the night. I never saw him again.    It all happened last summer. I was staying at my cousin’s house in the mountains and I was bored. I wanted to do something so I decided to go for a walk alone.

Before you start writing… √ Write down ideas √ Write down useful vocabulary and phrases √ Organise ideas, vocabulary and phrases into paragraphs.