Creative writing structure

CREATIVE WRITING TEMPLATESA practical tool for primary-school students

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Using Composition Templates to Facilitate Creative WritingA tool for primary school students

Selena Sol | [email protected] | http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol/

Creative writing can be pretty intimidating to primary school students. They might be asked a very broad question like, “What did you do on your summer vacation?” and be staring at a blank word document for many hours thinking/worrying about what to write.

But it need not be so scary!

In this deck, I propose 4 easy-to-use templates for common primary school writing questions that can quell some of the anxiety. With a good structure and a series of fill-in-the-blanks, a child can easily plan out the skeleton of any standard school-type of writing and then tackle the work in less intimidating chunks.

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There are at least 4 generic types (archetypes) of creative writing forms

ARCHETYPE DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

Narrative Tell a story What did you do on your school holidays?

Descriptive Describe or explain something

Describe the way your room looks at home?

Positional Take a position on something

What is your favorite color?

Persuasive Take a position and try to convince someone else to share it

Who is the most powerful Avenger?

Each type of writing uses a specific structure. The nice thing about a structure is that if you don’t know what to write, just fill

in the blanks

NARRATIVE DESCRIPTIVE

POSITIONAL PERSUASIVE

To be continued….

Type 1: The Narrative Structure

You love to read stories! You should also love to write stories!

What did you do on your summer

vacation?

What did you do on your summer

vacation?

You are a famous detective. You have just been hired to find out why the school lunches tasted awful last week. How do you solve the case? Write a story about what happens. Use your imagination!

You are a famous detective. You have just been hired to find out why the school lunches tasted awful last week. How do you solve the case? Write a story about what happens. Use your imagination!

Suppose you woke up and found out that you had become a super hero for a day. What happened? What powers did you have? What did you do? Write a story about your day. Be creative!

Suppose you woke up and found out that you had become a super hero for a day. What happened? What powers did you have? What did you do? Write a story about your day. Be creative!

Imagine that the grocery store is a town where different foods live. Write a story about a day in Grocery Town when one of the foods does something that changed the lives of all the foods in the town. What did the food do? What happened to it and to the other foods afterward?

Imagine that the grocery store is a town where different foods live. Write a story about a day in Grocery Town when one of the foods does something that changed the lives of all the foods in the town. What did the food do? What happened to it and to the other foods afterward?

Many stories follow a very simple pattern.

It all begins with Act 1 where the author gets the reader interested in the characters and excited about the story

1. Introduce characters

& context

ACT 1The Setup

2. Th

e Hoo

k! W

hat s

ets

story

in m

otion

MAKE A

UDIENCE IN

TERESTED

In Act 2, the hero is faced with a series of obstacles that force her to grow and discover something meaningful.


& context

ACT 1The Setup

2. Th

e Hoo

k! W

hat s

ets

story

in m

otion

3. Facing a series of

obstacles

4. The Low Point!

ACT 2Conflict

ACT 3Enlightenment

MAKE A

UDIENCE IN

TERESTED MA

KE

AU

DIE

NC

E A

NX

IOU

S

5. T

he c

omeb

ack!

MA

KE

AU

DIE

NC

E R

OO

T

6. Moment of Enlightenment

5. T

he c

omeb

ack!

MA

KE

AU

DIE

NC

E R

OO

T

In Act 3, the hero’s new wisdom is tested (just to be sure). Of course, the hero rises to the challenge and everyone is happy


& context

ACT 1The Setup

2. Th

e Hoo

k! W

hat s

ets

story

in m

otion


obstacles

4. The Low Point!


ACT 2Conflict

ACT 3Enlightenment

MAKE A

UDIENCE IN

TERESTED MA

KE

AU

DIE

NC

E A

NX

IOU

S

7. One last test

8. V

icto

ry a

t las

t!M

AK

E A

UD

IEN

CE

CH

EE

R

The whole story looks like this!


& context

ACT 1The Setup

2. Th

e Hoo

k! W

hat s

ets

story

in m

otion


obstacles

4. The Low Point!

5. T

he c

omeb

ack!


7. One last test

8. V

icto

ry a

t las

t!

ACT 2Conflict

ACT 3Enlightenment

MAKE A

UDIENCE IN

TERESTED MA

KE

AU

DIE

NC

E A

NX

IOU

S

MA

KE

AU

DIE

NC

E R

OO

T MA

KE

AU

DIE

NC

E C

HE

ER

OK, I know what you are asking. There are thousands of different stories out there. Aren’t they all different?

!

As it turns out, this one structure works for probably 80% of the stories you’ll come across (maybe 99% in primary & secondary

school)

STORYTELLING STAGE THE 3 LITTLE PIGS MULAN

THE INTROIntroduce characters & context

Meet the pig family • Shan Yu crosses the great wall• Emporer sends general to fight and sends shifu to find

conscripts• Mulan introduced as loveable oddball who cannot get a

man because she is too boyish

THE HOOKThe hook – what sets story in motion

Mother pig sends brothers out into the world to setup their own homes

• Shifu comes to enlist father, but Mulan steps in because father is sickly, but does it against his wishes

• Mushu enters as mentor

THE CHALLENGEFacing a series of obstacles

The pigs work hard to build their 3 types of homes

• Many hijinks trying to maintain ruse• Warrior training - Climbing the pole with weights!

THE LOW POINT The big bad wolf blows down the first 2 houses and the 3 pigs run to the safety of the last house

• Village destroyed• Battle at the snowy pass ending with discovery of Mulan

as a girl

THE COMEBACK The wolf tries and tries, but cannot blow down the brick house

• Mulan and Mushu in the snow coming to terms

THE AH-HA!A moment of enlightenment

The pigs celebrate that the brick house is the best and it is worth it to build for quality

• Mulan enters capital city as a herself. No need for deception! She can be brave and be herself!

THE TEST The wolf tries to come down the chimney • Battle at the castle where the boys dress like girls. Mulan proves herself in battle again, but as herself

THE VICTORY The pigs start a fire and the wolf runs away with a burning tail!

• Mulan gets gift from emperor and gives to father• Captain comes to marry Mulan

Try mapping some of your storybooks and favorite movies using the structure. You’ll be amazed at how many work!

ACTIVITY TIME!!!!!!STORYTELLING STAGE




THE LOW POINT

THE COMEBACK


THE TEST

THE VICTORY

Advanced Writer Note:If you get a book for really young kids, sometimes they stop at the end of Act 2 to make it simpler for new readers. Then it is just 1) Intro, 2) Obstacles, 3) Victory

So what if you are asked to write a story in school? How would you do it using the structure?

Q: What did you do during school holidays?

No problem. Just fill in the blanks! Start with the “Ah-Ha” moment, which some authors call, “the

moral of the story.” I think of it as the “Why?”

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN




THE LOW POINT

THE COMEBACK


“It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”

THE TEST

THE VICTORY


1

Next, you need to put some obstacles in front of your characters so that they have to work hard to succeed. Try to

make the challenges help the hero discover the “ah-ha!”





We could not play on the beach as planned because we were slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!

THE LOW POINT

THE COMEBACK



THE TEST

THE VICTORY


2Advice:Think of maybe 3 obstacles that the hero could overcome that would lead her to the Ah-Ha. Not all obstacles will work. You need to choose carefully.

And of course, all the challenges need to lead to the low point where the reader feels worried about the hero!






THE LOW POINT The whole day was ruined

THE COMEBACK



THE TEST

THE VICTORY


3

But unless you want to leave the reader crying, you need to turn the story around and show the hero growing







THE COMEBACK We found another way to have fun despite missing the beach



THE TEST

THE VICTORY


4

Advice:The comeback needs to tie the obstacles to the ah-ha! This is how the hero learns the ah-ha, so it needs to make sense!

But after the hero has grown and discovered the moral of the story, we need to test her to make sure she really learned her

lesson!










THE TEST Will it rain and we miss day 2 also?!? Here is where I prove myself!

THE VICTORY


5

Finally let’s all say “Hooray!” Our hero has overcome all the obstacles and learned a life lesson.



I went to Penang Beach Resort with family


I was very excited to play on the beach








THE VICTORY No! We made it to the beach and had a great time.


6

But wait, we still need to go back to write the starting! You’ll need something to make your reader “excited” enough to read your story. This hooks the reader like

a fish on the line. Think about what goal the hero had that was thwarted by the obstacles you came up with earlier!













THE VICTORY No! We made it to the beach and had a great time


7

Finally, write the Intro. Sometimes authors say you should introduce who, what, where, & when. Try to make your characters interesting to the

reader. After all, who wants to read about someone they don’t like!













THE VICTORY No! We made it to the beach and had a great time


8

Thought provoker:Isn’t it interesting that we write the intro last? Planning is like that. You need to first decide where you are going. Then, you figure out how to get there. Finally, you start the journey! It’s all backwards in a plan!

Alright, so here is our Story Plan! All you need to do now is fill in the details following your plan and you’re done!













THE VICTORY No! We made it to the beach and had a great time.


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2

3

4

5

6

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8

Even though everyone uses the same structure and even if their plans are very similar, everyone’s story will be different. That is

the magic of writing!

STAGE THE STORY PLAN STORY

Introduce characters & context


During the last 2 weeks of school holidays, my family went to Penang to meet relatives and to learn about Malaysia, where my mother’s family comes from. We went to a beach resort , so having fun at the beach was also my plan. We arrived on Friday night and settled into our rooms, which were comfortable. The big bathtub was my favorite part!

The hook I was very excited to play on the beach

By 7AM on Saturday morning, my sister and I were awake and ready for the beach.

Facing a series of obstacles

First , we were slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!

It took every ounce of patience to wait until 7:30 when my mummy and daddy woke up. But they did. I couldn’t wait! Unfortunately, it was not to be. Mummy insisted that we needed to eat a proper breakfast, so we had to go down to the restaurant first. I had two eggs, bacon and bread. My sister had the chicken porridge (they don’t eat pork in Malaysia). By 8:30, everything went wrong. My sister got very sick. There must have been something bad in her porridge. She was vomiting and her temperature went up to 39. We all rushed to the hospital and ended up waiting all day while my sister got treatment and medicine.

The low point The whole day was ruined

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was already too late to go to the beach.

The comeback We found another way to have fun despite missing the beach

In the end, we ended up playing on our iPads for the rest of the evening and watching videos. At first I was really upset. How could my sister waste the whole day?!? But as we played Dungeon Hunter 2 together, things just seemed to get better and by the time it was bedtime, we were joking and laughing together like normal.

A moment of enlighten-ment

It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!

I realized that it really didn’t matter where we were or what we were doing. Anything could be fun, if we did it together.

One last test Will it rain and we miss day 2 also?!? Here is where I prove myself!

But, by the next day, I was really anxious to get going. Unfortunately, the sky looked dark and mummy said it might rain. My sister looked like she was going to cry. So I said, “Don’t worry, let’s just cross our fingers and see if the clouds go away. In the meantime, we can finish the final levels of Dungeon Hunter2”

Victory at last! No! We made it to the beach and had a great time.

And sure enough, within 30 minutes the clouds disappeared and we all went down to the seaside. My sister and I had a really, really fun time playing in the water and collecting hermit crabs and putting them in the tide pools. But even if we hadn’t, I knew I still would have had a fun time!

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2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Now you try!

ACTIVITY TIME!!!!!!

STAGE THE STORY PLAN STORY

Introduce characters & context

The hook

Facing a series of obstacles

The low point

The comeback

A moment of enlightenment

One last test

Victory at last!

PRINT THIS WORKSHEET

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2

3

4

5

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8

Type 2: The Descriptive Structure

Throughout life, you will be asked to describe something!

Pretend that you have a cousin you've never met.

Your cousin lives in another state, but you want him or her to get to know you. Write a letter to your

cousin describing yourself. Include what you look like, your personality, and your

interests.

Pretend that you have a cousin you've never met.

Your cousin lives in another state, but you want him or her to get to know you. Write a letter to your

cousin describing yourself. Include what you look like, your personality, and your

interests.

Think about something that made you happy recently.

Describe fully what happened and how you felt. Also explain why it made you feel that way.

Think about something that made you happy recently.

Describe fully what happened and how you felt. Also explain why it made you feel that way.

ISAHASADOESAWASAINASOWHATA! It’s kind’ve fun to say right? Well this is a good way to describe something

IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-A-SO-WHATA

First off, all things can be described by explaining what type of thing they are

IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-A

IS AHe is a• Human• Boy• Singaporean

Q: Describe yourself!

Things can also be described by explaining the pieces that make them up


ISA HAS AHe is a• Human• Boy• Singaporean

He has a:• Finger• Hand• Arm


In addition, things can be described by explaining the things they do


IS A HAS A DOES AHe is a:• Human• Boy• Singaporean


He does:• Gymnastics• Dancing• Homework


Further, things can be described by explaining what happens to them over time

IS A HAS A DOES A WAS AHe is a:• Human• Boy• Singaporean



He was a:• P1 Student• Toddler• Baby



Finally, all things can be described by explaining where they are in space

IS A HAS A DOES A WAS A IN AHe is a:• Human• Boy• Singaporean




He was in a:• City• Country• Planet



When you are writing a description, you can’t write about everything, or you’d write a 1000 page book! Instead, choose only a few things to write

about from isahasadoesawasaina. But which ones to choose?!?

IS A HAS A DOES A WAS A IN AHe is a:• Human• Boy• Singaporean




He was in a:• City• Country• Planet

BUT WAIT!!!!!

The final bit of a Description brings everything together into one simple message. That means you need to choose isahasawasadoesaina items

that fit like a puzzle piece into a single sowhata!

IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-ASO-WHATA

IS A HAS A WAS A DOES A IN A

SO-WHATA• I love to be different

• I am a responsible person• I just like to have fun


Of course, you know by now that we always need a hook to start the reader reading. Your introduction is the hook! Try to write

something that will entice the reader to read….

INTRO

IS A HAS A WAS A DOES A IN A

SO-WHATA


Look at this example….

Q: Describe yourself

STAGE THE DESCRIPTIVE PLAN THE DESCRIPTION

INTRO It is nice of you to ask!

IS A GirlP4 classSingaporean

HAS A Strong legsShort hair

DOES A RunnerSwimmerDancer

WAS A Medalist in Perth CSTD

IN A SingaporeAsia

SO WHATA When I grow up, I want to be an athelete

Now you try!

Q: Describe yourself

STAGE THE DESCRIPTIVE PLAN THE DESCRIPTION

INTRO It is nice of you to ask!

IS A GirlP4 classSingaporean

HAS A Strong legsShort hair

DOES A RunnerSwimmerDancer

WAS A Medalist in Perth CSTD

IN A SingaporeAsia

SO WHATA When I grow up, I want to be an athelete

Type 3: The Positional Structure

Throughout life, you will be asked to take position, to state your view on something or other!

Of all the wild animals that you have ever seen in a zoo, movie, or book, what is your favorite? Which animal

would you most like for a friend? Write an essay describing your favorite

animal, including its appearance, its habitat, and its behavior. Explain why

the animal is your favorite.

Of all the wild animals that you have ever seen in a zoo, movie, or book, what is your favorite? Which animal

would you most like for a friend? Write an essay describing your favorite

animal, including its appearance, its habitat, and its behavior. Explain why

the animal is your favorite.

Just like you use the Story Structure to tell great stories, you can use the Positional Structure to take a position! The

Positional Structure looks more like a Plus Sign.

There are 5 parts to the Positional Structure. In primary school this usually means that you have to write 5 paragraphs. In High School it

means 5 pages! In University, 5 chapters!!! But the key to remember is 5.

1

3 4 5

2

First you need to state your position! In this case, the position is you liking the color blue.

POSITION

1

I like the color blue

Q: What is your favorite color?

For Advanced Writers…

In your position section, you should provide some context. Why is it that we want to talk about the topic? In this case, why are we talking about colors at all? Try to “hook” the reader by writing something kind’ve interesting

For Advanced Writers…

In your position section, you should provide some context. Why is it that we want to talk about the topic? In this case, why are we talking about colors at all? Try to “hook” the reader by writing something kind’ve interesting

At the other end is the Ah-Ha. In the Ah-Ha you tie the position to something meaningful or interesting to the reader.

POSITION

1

I like the color red


2

THE AH-HA!Blue makes me feel calm and comfortable.

Finally, you need 3 observations that link the position to the ah-ha. Why 3? I don’t know!?! Whatever the case, remember you can choose any 3

things, but they all must lead to the Ah-Ha!

POSITION

1



OBSERVATION

3

OBSERVATION

4

OBSERVATION

5

2


When you are making an observation, it can be powerful to describe in terms of one of your 5 senses. Great writers even describe one sense

using another like, “it tastes loud!” just to be cheeky.

POSITION

1



OBSERVATION

3

OBSERVATION

4

OBSERVATION

5

Because blue feels relaxing

2


When you are making an observation, you can also think about context. Where does this thing occur? Is it left, right, up or down?

POSITION

1



OBSERVATION

3

OBSERVATION

4

OBSERVATION

5


2


Because water in a still lake is blue

Finally, it is always good to appeal to emotion! Try to make your reader ‘feel’ something about what you are saying rather than just

‘think’ something

POSITION

1



OBSERVATION

3

OBSERVATION

4

OBSERVATION

5


2


Because water in a still lake is blue

Because my mummy’s eyes are blue

OK, so when you need to take a position, you can use the Positional Plan to organize your ideas!


STAGE THE POSITIONAL PLAN THE POSITION

POSITION I like the color blue There are so many colours around us. They are in our clothes, in rainbows, in animals, and especially in the photos on Instagram. But if I had to choose only one colour as my favourite, I would definitely have to choose blue.

OBSERVATION Because blue feels relaxing

To me, blue is the most relaxing colour. Red makes me feel excited and yellow makes me feel curious. But blue definitely calms me down.

OBSERVATION Because water is blue Blue is also the color of still water. Now I don’t mean seawater, which has lots of crashy white foam in it. I mean still water, like in a mountain lake.

OBSERVATION Because my mom’s eyes are blue

Blue is also the colour of my mummy’s eyes. Although she wears glasses at work and when she comes home, when we are chatting in bed before we go to sleep, the night light always lights up her eyes.

AH-HA Blue makes me feel clam and comfortable.

I guess, if I had to sum everything up into a single word, I would say “peaceful.” Blue makes me feel peaceful. It is calm, it makes me feel cool and still like water, and it makes me feel loved when I am with my mummy.

The Advanced studentDid you notice I referred back to all 3 observations at the end?!? Do that! Teachers love it!

Type 4: The Persuasive Structure

To be continued….

Creative writing structure

Education

Transcript of Creative writing structure