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Magna Carta I WorksheetFor Elementary School Students
What, to you, makes a story great?
In the 20 spaces below write as many things as you can think of that you feel make a
story interesting, exciting, and fun to read. You can be as broad or as detailed as you like:
this list can include anything from happy endings to radioactive space dolphins.
Anything that floats your fictional boat should go on this list.
1.______________________________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________________________3.______________________________________________________________________
4.______________________________________________________________________
5.______________________________________________________________________6.______________________________________________________________________
7.______________________________________________________________________
8.______________________________________________________________________9.______________________________________________________________________
10._____________________________________________________________________11._____________________________________________________________________12._____________________________________________________________________
13._____________________________________________________________________
14._____________________________________________________________________
15._____________________________________________________________________16._____________________________________________________________________
17._____________________________________________________________________
18._____________________________________________________________________19._____________________________________________________________________
20._____________________________________________________________________
Once you have finished this list, keep it with you at all times during November. Why is
this list so important? Because the things you like as a reader are going to be things you
are best at writing. As you develop your story, refer to this list of ingredients, and add
them to your novel!
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Magna Carta II WorksheetFor Elementary Students
What, to you, makes a story boring or not fun to read?
In the 20 spaces below write as many things as you can think of that you feel make a
story boring, depressing, or just plain bad. You can be as broad or as detailed as you like:
this list can include anything from too many words to evil stepmothers with yellowteeth. Be honest. If you dislike books with happy endings, write it down. Were not here
to judge!
1.______________________________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________________________4.______________________________________________________________________
5.______________________________________________________________________
6.______________________________________________________________________7.______________________________________________________________________
8.______________________________________________________________________9.______________________________________________________________________10._____________________________________________________________________
11._____________________________________________________________________
12._____________________________________________________________________
13._____________________________________________________________________14._____________________________________________________________________
15._____________________________________________________________________
16._____________________________________________________________________17._____________________________________________________________________
18._____________________________________________________________________
19._____________________________________________________________________20._____________________________________________________________________
Just like the first Magna Carta, keep this list with you at all times during November. It
might seem silly to have to remind yourself to keep things you dislike out of your novel,but be warned: these stealthy entries are sneaky little buggers, and given the slightest
opening, theyll end up in your story without you even knowing it.
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Beginnings WorksheetFor Elementary Students
So, you're going to write a novel. Where should you begin?
The first page of your novel is the place where you try your best to hook your reader, to
keep them coming back for more. But don't worry, it's not as hard as it sounds! A good
place to start your beginning isyou guessed itat the beginning. And that means with
the very first line.
Now, by yourself or with a partner, read over the first lines below. For each of the
following, try to answer the following:-Who's doing the talking? Are they young or old? Boy or girl?
-What kind of a story do you think it will be? Funny? Scary? Sad? A little bit of
each?-Do you think the novel is going to be more like fantasy or like real life? How can
you tell?-Most importantly, does the first line make you curious? Do you want to read
more of that novel? Why?
"I decided I'm not going to school today, or tomorrow, or any other day ever again!"
Who is doing the talking?
_______________________________________________________________________
What kind of story do you think it will be?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Will this be a fantasy story or more like real life?
________________________________________________________________________
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Do you want to keep reading? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
"It was a dark and stormy night."
Who is doing the talking?
_______________________________________________________________________
What kind of story do you think it will be?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Will this be a fantasy story or more like real life?
________________________________________________________________________
Do you want to keep reading? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
"I know it sounds easy, but trust me, slaying dragons is hard work!"
Who is doing the talking?
_______________________________________________________________________
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What kind of story do you think it will be?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Will this be a fantasy story or more like real life?
________________________________________________________________________
Do you want to keep reading? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
"When Captain Smith and his men landed on Mars, the first thing they noticed was the
awful smell."
Who is doing the talking?
_______________________________________________________________________
What kind of story do you think it will be?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Will this be a fantasy story or more like real life?
________________________________________________________________________
Do you want to keep reading? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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"When our dog Mitzie died last May, I was sure that nothing was ever going to be the
same again."
Who is doing the talking?
_______________________________________________________________________
What kind of story do you think it will be?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Will this be a fantasy story or more like real life?
________________________________________________________________________
Do you want to keep reading? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
"With cheerleading tryouts just four days away, Amanda was starting to get nervous."
Who is doing the talking?
_______________________________________________________________________
What kind of story do you think it will be?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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Will this be a fantasy story or more like real life?
________________________________________________________________________
Do you want to keep reading? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
It doesn't matter if your answers are right or not. What's most important is seeing justhow much can be packed in one sentence! Already, at the first line, a reader has
an idea of what kind of story they're going to read. More importantly, a reader has an idea
of whether or not they want to keep reading.
With these things in mind, now try to write some of your own interesting first lines! Tryto come up with several kinds of first lines:
Write a scary one
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Write a funny one
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Write a suspenseful one
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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Write as many as you want! Which sentences do you like best? Which of the sentences
that you wrote draw your attention the most? This is, after all, your novel! Pick the onethat is most interesting to you, and start writing.
Don't worry about whether the writing is very good or not. Just try to let your imagination
take over. You might find that the story just sort of appears in your head, and all you cando is write it down. If the first line you're writing from doesn't excite you as you write, try
another one. Feel free to keep trying until it feels rightuntil you've found the story that
you want to keep writing!
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Authors name ___________________ Characters name ___________________
Main Character WorksheetFor Elementary School Students
1. What is your character? A person? An animal? Something else?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Where does your main character live? Does he/she like it there?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What does your character look like? Hair color? Height? Weight?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What is your characters pet peeve?
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. What is your characters favorite food?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. What are your character's hobbies?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What can your character do better than anyone else?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. What makes your character happy after they had a bad day?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. What makes your character angry?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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10. What are your characters parents like? How about their rest of their family?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
11. What's one secret your character hasn't ever told anyone?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
12. Is your character outgoing? Shy? What do people think when they first meet your
character?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
13. Describe your character in three words:
1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________
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14. What do you really like about your character?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
15. What do you dislike about your character?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
16. What is your characters greatest weakness?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
17. What is the one thing your main character is afraid of more than anything else?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
18. What does your character want more than anything else in the world?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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Even More Questions
If you get done with the questions above, and you want to answer even more questions
about your character, give these a try!
1. If your character could change his/her name, what would they change it to?
________________________________________________________________________
2. What is your characters favorite band? Song? Type of music?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What is your characters favorite book, and why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What is your characters favorite season?
________________________________________________________________________
5. What places, other than where they live now, has your character lived in or visited on
vacation? Which one was their favorite and why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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6. What does your characters house look like? What is hanging on your characters
bedroom walls?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the best thing that ever happened to your character?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the worst thing that ever happened to your character?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. Is your character superstitious? If so, how?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. If your character won the lottery, what would they do with the money?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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11. If a song played every time your character walked into a room, what song would it
be?
________________________________________________________________________
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Authors name ___________________ Characters name ___________________
Supporting Character WorksheetFor Elementary School Students
1. What is your character? A person? An animal? A talking ruler?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. How does this character know the protagonist? Are they a friend? Family member?
How did they first meet?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What does this character look like? Hair color? Height? Weight?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What is this characters favorite food?
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. What are this character's hobbies?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. What can this character do better than anyone else?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. What makes this character happy after theyve had a bad day?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. What makes this character angry?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
9. What are this characters parents like? How about the rest of his or her family?
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. What's one secret this character hasn't ever told anyone?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. Is this character outgoing? Shy? What do people think when they first meet your
character? Are they different than the protagonist?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
12. Describe this character in three words:
1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________
13. What do you really like about this character?
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
14. What do you dislike about this character?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
15. What is this characters greatest weakness?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
16. What is the one thing this character is afraid of more than anything else?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
17. What does this character want more than anything else in the world?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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Even More Questions
If you get done with the questions above, and you want to answer even more questions
about your character, give these a try!
1. If this character could change his or her name, what would he or she change it to?
________________________________________________________________________
2. What is this characters favorite band? Song? Type of music?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is this characters favorite book, and why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What is this characters favorite season?
________________________________________________________________________
5. What places, other than where he or she lives now, has this character lived in or
visited on vacation? Which one was his or her favorite and why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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6. What does this characters house look like? What is hanging on this characters
bedroom walls?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the best thing that ever happened to this character?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the worst thing that ever happened to this character?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. What is this characters biggest pet peeve?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. If your character won the lottery, what would they do with the money?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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11. If a song played every time this character walked into a room, what song would it be?
________________________________________________________________________
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Authors name ___________________ Characters name ___________________
Villain WorksheetFor Elementary School Students
1. What is your villain? A person? An animal? Something else?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Where does your villain live? Does he/she like it there?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What does your villain look like? Hair color? Height? Weight?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What is your villains biggest pet peeve?
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. What is your villains favorite food?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. What are your villain's hobbies?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What can your villain do better than anyone else?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. What makes your villain happy after they had a bad day?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. What makes your villain angry?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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10. What are your villains parents like? How about their rest of their family?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
11. What's one secret your villain hasn't ever told anyone?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
12. Is your villain scary? Mean? What do people think when they first meet your villain?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
13. Describe your villain in three words:
1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________
14. Is there anything likeable about your villain? Do they have a soft spot or a good side?
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
15. What do you dislike most about your villains villainous ways?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
16. What is your villains greatest weakness?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
17. What is the one thing your villain is afraid of more than anything else? Is it your
main character? Or is it something unexpected like furry kittens?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
18. What does your villain want more than anything else in the world?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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19. Now, look back and see what your main character wants more that anything in the
world. How is the villain preventing your main character from getting what he or she
wants and why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Even More Questions
If you get done with the questions above, and you want to answer even more questions
about your character, give these a try!
1. If your character could change his/her name, what would they change it to?
________________________________________________________________________
2. What is your villains favorite band? Song? Type of music?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What is your villains favorite book, and why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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4. What is your villains favorite season?
________________________________________________________________________
5. What places, other than where they live now, has your villain lived in or visited on
vacation? Which one was their favorite and why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. What does your villains house look like? What is hanging on your villains bedroomwalls?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the best thing that ever happened to your villain?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the worst thing that ever happened to your villain?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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9. Is your villain superstitious? If so, how?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. If your villain won the lottery, what would they do with the money?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
11. If a song played every time your villain walked into a room, what song would it be?________________________________________________________________________
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Plot WorksheetFor Elementary Students
Section One
If you have already filled out your Main Character Worksheet and Villain
Worksheet, you already have some great stuff to start off your plot off with a bang!Look back at your Main Character Worksheet and copy the answers to the following
questions in the spaces below. We encourage you to add more detail when you do.
What is the one thing your main character is afraid of more than anything else?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What does your character want more than anything else in the world?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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Now, take out that Villain Worksheet and copy the answer to this question:
Look back and see what your main character wants more that anything in the world. How
is the villain preventing your main character from getting what he or she wants and why?________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations! Youve got your problem: your main character has a dream, but their
fears and that pesky villain are in the way of them getting what they want. In just a
moment, you will have your plot, in other words how your main character makes theirdreams come true by overcoming their fears and beating their villain.
To help you create your super exciting and surprising plot, we have created a Plot
Handout with all youll need to know before you take your characters on their journey.
Read it before you move on to Section Two of this worksheet.
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Section Two
Done reading the Plot Handout? Great! Now its your turn to create your plot. This
worksheet will come in really handy during NaNoWriMo when youre writing your
story. Basically, in November, you will be using this worksheet as an outline for yournovel! This means you dont have to write everything that will happen in your story now.
This is just to help you get an idea of how your story will go. On a separate sheet of lined
notebook paper write the following (try to write at least two sentences for each question):
1. The Beginning. (You can start with one of the first lines you wrote in the
Beginnings Worksheet.)
2. Exciting Event. (What event or other person causes your character to begin their
adventure to go out and make their dreams come true?)
3. Rising Action. (You dont have to write everything now, just write down some of
the events that build up to the climax. Dont forget to include your supporting characters.)
4. The Climax. (It doesnt have to be long, but it does need to be really exciting!)
5. The Falling Action. (What happens next? How does the main character defeat the
villain to finally get what he or she wants?)
6. The Ending. (How does everything work out in the end?)
Now you have your plot! Lets move on to something that is just as important, your
setting.
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Plot Handout
For Elementary School Students
Now that you have your characters, it is time for you to get them off those worksheets
and into action. They need to make their dreams come true without letting their fears andthose pesky villains stop them. You may be wondering how you get from the beginning
of your novel to the end. Well, it is not as hard as you think once you have a plan. Most
stories follow the same outline, and we have mapped it out for you in this handout. Once
you understand all the parts that make up a story, it will be a lot easier to map out yourown.
1. The Beginning: Though some stories begin with an exciting eventwhich you willread about soonmany of them start by telling the reader a little bit about the characters,
the setting, and the problem before jumping right in to the plot.
Here is an example of a storys beginning:
Boris the unicorn was in his bedroom playing Dance Dance Revolutionand
eating mini-pizzas that his mom made him as a late afternoon snack. Like
most unicorns, Boris favorite things were video games and mini-pizzas.But Boris wasnt like allthe other unicorns he knew. More than anything
in the world, Boris wanted to join the circus. Every time the circus came to
town he made sure he had front-row tickets. The clowns, and animals, and
acrobats all looked like they were having so much fun!
Unfortunately, joining wasnt that easy. Joining the circus meant Boris
would have to move far away from his wonderful home, which had his really
nice mom, mini-pizzas, and the video game console. All three of these things,
he feared he couldnt live without.
Plus, the evil one-eyed ringleader, Ivan, had forbid unicorns to join the
circus ever since one had poked his left eye out in a trapeze accident.
Okay, that was a good set up. We have been introduced to the main character and the
main problem of the story: Boris wants to join the circus, but he is afraid to leave home.And the villain, Ivan, has forbid unicorn to join the circus. Now its time for some action!
2. The Exciting Event: This is the event that starts the novel on the road to the action-
packed part of the plot. It is something exciting that happens to your character that
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changes them in some way. Usually, it is an event that causes your character to begintheir journey to make their dreams come true.
Here is the exciting event that happens in this story:
Then Boris the unicorn met Archie the unicorn.
Archie was as free as a Pegasusvery different from Boris who liked to sit
around all day and play video gamesand wasnt about to let that evil
ringleader stop him from becoming a circus star.
Archie happened to be heading to the circus tryouts, and also happened to
have an extra seat in his new Volkswagen Bug. He invited Boris to join him
on his adventure. It was an offer Boris could not turn down!
If an exciting event never happened to Boris, he would more than likely continue to eat
pizza and play video games in his bedroom. This might sound like a pretty fun life to
live, but it is not a very fun life to read about.
3. Rising Action: This will be the longest part of your story. You will write all about
your characters and about what happens to them during their adventure. It might be goodto think about a story as if it was a really high rollercoasterthe higher you go, the more
scared and excited you get. It is just like that in a story. The rising action is like climbing
that roller coaster. It is made up of many events, each of them building and building tothe most exciting part of your novel, the climax.
Here are some examples of rising action:
1. Boris said goodbye to his mom (she baked him some mini-pizzas for the
road), and tried not to look back to his room where the video games were
waving farewell (at least that is what he imagined them doing).
Archie pulled up outside and honked, and Boris knew this was the last
time he would see his mom in a long, long time.
2. As soon as they got to the tryouts, Boris was glad he chose to come.
They met all kinds of interesting people and animals and magical creatures. It
was like a party all day long! Archie and he had a blast talking to everyone
and making new friends.
3. When it was Boris turn to get up in front of the evil ringleader and
actually tryout for the circus, Boris realized that he didnt know any circus
tricks at all. He tried to think of what he was good at, and all he could think
of was that he was good at playing video games. He was about to give up andwalk off the stage, when he heard his friend Archie yell from the audience.
Dance Dance Revolution! he hollered.
That was it! All those hours spent playing Dance Dance Revolutionhad
made Boris an amazing dancer.
Just then the circus band began to play, and Boris started to dance. He was
amazing, and everyone cheeredeveryone except the ringleader. Nothing
was going to change his mind.
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No unicorns in the circus! Ivan said, Unless theyre flipping burgers at
the food stand!
4. Boris and Archie were not going to give up on their dream to become
circus stars. They took the jobs at the food stand flipping burgers, but they
had a plan.
Every night, right before closing time, Boris would get up on the food
counter and dance while Archie played music using pots and pans and spoons
and anything else he found lying around the kitchen.
They were so good that it wasnt long before Archie and Boris were the
most popular act in the circus. Even Ivan seemed to enjoy the act, and
eventually invited the unicorns to perform for one-night only on the main
stage.
Boris and Archie could hardly believe their ears when the ringleader asked
them to perform. Little did they know that Ivan had a plan of his own.
And then . . . .
4. The Climax: This is the moment where things get really exciting. The villainappears out of the blue, the lottery is won, fortunes are lost, and readers gasp. This
is the moment at the very tippy-top of the roller coater, right before your high-speed drop! This moment doesnt last long. Your climax doesnt have to be very
long either. It can be as short as one or two sentences evenjust enough to make
the reader hold their breath in suspense and ask Whats going to happen next?!
Here is an example of a climax:
It was the big night! Boris and Archies names were announced, and the
crowd went wild. But right before Boris stepped onto the stage, Archie saw
Ivan sneaking up to the stage with a bucket of slippery oil . . .
Gasp!
5. The Falling Action: The falling action is when you find out what happens next. It is
the fast-paced, action packed part of your story. You are finally speeding down the tracksof the rollercoaster with your hands in the air! Does the villain get defeated? Do the main
characters dreams finally come true? If so, how?
Here is an example of falling action:
But Ivan was not quite fast enough. Before you could count to three,Archie leapt across the stage, grabbed Ivan, and tied him to a chair in the
front row. The crowd cheered, and all the other circus performers came up on
stage to give Archie high fives while Ivan cried for help. It turned out that no
onereally liked the ringleader.
Finally, someone stood up to him! one of the elephants cheered.
Archie was the hero of the day! And it was finally time for Boris to show
the audience what he was made of.
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6. The Ending: This is how things work out in the end. This is when your
character realizes his or her dream has come true.
An example of an ending:
Once all the excitement had died down, Archie cued the circus band, and
Boris began to dance and the crowd went wild. When he looked out into the
ecstatic audience he saw that his mom was there with a plate full of mini-
pizzas.
He almost jumped off the stage right then, but then realized that if he did,
he would be giving up on his dream for something as silly as mini-pizzas
(though they were so tasty!). So he danced and danced, and the crowd
cheered. His dream had come true and it felt so good!
The mini-pizzas could wait.
That, as they say, is how the story goes. Now that you have the know-how, you are ready
to move on to Section Two of your Plot Worksheet.
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Map Your Setting ExerciseFor Elementary Students
Supplies you will need:
1. A big piece of blank paper (the bigger the better).
2. Pens, pencils, markers, crayons, and/or colored pencils.
Instructions:
Now that you have a cast of characters and an outline of your plot, you probably have an
idea of where your story is set. For example, if your main character is a Martian who setsout to find the planet Zorbit, your story is probably set in outer space. If your maincharacter is a one-legged pirate who sets out to find a rocket-propelled peg leg so he (or
she!) can fly, your story is probably set on the high seas. This is a great start, but now its
time to add all the really interesting details!
It is important to know all that you can about your setting. Just like characters, settings
are much more exciting if theyre described with tons of detail. Joe lived in a house is
pretty boring compared to Joe lived in a twelve story hot pink house next to a unicornzoo and a hotdog factory. Now thats a house you want to read more about!
The goal of this exercise is to make a map of your storys setting while using as muchdetail as possible. Just so you know, there are a lot of different kinds of maps you can
draw. A map of a story set in outer space is going to look very different from a map of a
story on a pirate ship.
Here are the things that you should include on your map!
1. Your characters home: This could be anything from an actual house to a homeplanet to a suitcase if your character is always on the go.
2. Each and every place that your characters will visit during the story: You
probably dont know exactly where your character will go, but you should try to think ofevery place they mightgo in your story. This will help you with your plot as well as yoursetting. For example, by adding an extra planet between the characters home planet and
Zorbit, you might discover an exciting plot twist!
3. Even more detail: After you finish drawing in the basic locations that your character
will visit during their adventure, add even more detail. Add trees, park benches, meteor
clouds, icebergs, floating amusement parks. It is okay if you get a little crazy. If your
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characters town suddenly has a lake filled with lime Jello, thats great! That is just thekind of detail that will inspire new twists and turns in your plot, and make your story
more fun to read.
In November, keep this map close at hand at all times. It will be a great idea-generatorand a handy reminder to write all the details from your map into your story!
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Sensory WorksheetFor Elementary School Students
The more description you have in your novel, the more detailed and interesting your
novel will be. One great way to dive head first into description is to use your five senses:
taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. The more of the senses that you use when writing,the more your readers will be drawn in to your story. Not to mention that your word
count will go up dramatically.
Practice writing with your senses by describing the following things with all five of them.
Note: there are some strange and challenging items you will be asked to describe with all
your senses in the worksheet. Know that there are no right or wrong answers, just write
down what comes to your mind first.
1. A birthday cake
Taste:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Touch:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Smell:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sight:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Hearing:
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. A carnival
Taste:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Touch:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Smell:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Sight:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Hearing:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. A rainstorm
Taste:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Touch:
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Smell:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Sight:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Hearing:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. A bad day
Taste:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Touch:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Smell:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Sight:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Hearing:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. Winter
Taste:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Touch:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Smell:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sight:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Hearing:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. An old pair of socks
Taste:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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Touch:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Smell:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sight:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Hearing:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. A blank white wall
Taste:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Touch:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Smell:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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Sight:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hearing:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. A baseball game
Taste:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Touch:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Smell:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Sight:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Hearing:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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9. Happiness
Taste:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Touch:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Smell:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Sight:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hearing:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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NaNoWriMo Reflection WorksheetFor Elementary School Students
Its over! You did it! Congratulations! You wrote like crazy for 30 days, and whether or
not you reached your word-count goal doesnt even matter. You should be proud of
yourself no matter how many words you were able to bash outeveryone here atNaNoWriMo headquarters sure is.
But before you begin celebrating, and before you forget about all the joys and challenges
of writing a novel in a month, be sure to fill out this reflection worksheet. It will help you
and your teacher (if you are participating in a group) have an even more triumphantNaNoWriMo next year!
1. What was really fun about NaNoWriMo?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. What made NaNoWriMo challenging?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What helped motivate you to write during November?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. If you wrote again next year what would you do differently?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. Did NaNoWriMo help improve your writing skills? If so, how?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. How do you feel now that you are a novelist?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Keep this worksheet somewhere safe. Next fall take this sheet out to remind yourself how
awesome National Novel Writing Month was. Hopefully, this worksheet will motivate
you to do it again, and also remind you of what did and didnt work for you when writing
your novels this year, so that next year you will have noveling down to a science.