Story Writing: Beginning, Middle and End

BEGINNING — Who is your character? Where are they? When?

MIDDLE — What problem or challenge happens?

END — How is the problem solved? How does your character feel?

Title:

BEGINNING:

MIDDLE:

END:

My story opener:

What technique did I use to hook the reader?

Summary: 'A boy got lost in the bush but found his way home by following a creek back to the road.' Problem: ___ Resolution: ___

Summary: 'A girl wanted to bake a birthday cake but had no eggs. She borrowed them from a neighbour and the party was saved.' Problem: ___ Resolution: ___

Story 1 — Character: ___ Setting: ___ Problem: ___ Resolution: ___

Story 2 — Character: ___ Setting: ___ Problem: ___ Resolution: ___

Story 3 — Character: ___ Setting: ___ Problem: ___ Resolution: ___

Which idea do I like best and why?

MIDDLE:

END:

Telling: She was nervous. Showing:

Telling: He was excited. Showing:

Telling: They were bored. Showing:

Telling: The old house was spooky. Showing:

Name: ___ Age: ___ Appearance: ___

What does your character want most in the world?

What is your character afraid of?

What is one surprising thing about your character?

Write 2 sentences that SHOW (not tell) your character's personality:

My chosen setting: ___

My setting description:

Sight: ___

Sound: ___

Smell or touch: ___

Combine them into a flowing paragraph:

Problem 1:

Problem 2:

Problem 3:

Best problem: ___ Solution:

My plan: Character: ___ Problem: ___ Resolution: ___

My story:

My dialogue:

'Watch out!' said Jake. → ___

'I don't know the answer,' said Lily. → ___

'Please, I'll do anything,' said the prisoner. → ___

'I've done it!' said the scientist. → ___

Character: ___ Problem: ___

First attempt (what they try): ___

What goes wrong: ___

Second attempt: ___

Final resolution: ___

My story:

My plan (beginning/middle/end):

My first paragraph:

Happy ending (problem fully solved, character feels relieved/happy):

Reflective ending (character learns something about themselves):

Open ending (leaves the reader wondering what happens next):

My plan:

My story:

My twist (keep secret until the end): ___

My story:

My story (in first person):

Does it have a hook opener? Yes/No. If no, rewrite the opener:

Does the setting use sensory details? Yes/No. Add one sensory detail:

Is there a clear problem? Yes/No. What is it?

Is there a satisfying ending? Yes/No. If not, rewrite the ending:

Opener 1 — Start with action: ___

Opener 2 — Start with a question: ___

Opener 3 — Start with setting/atmosphere: ___

Which opener is most effective? Why?

My revised version (use varying sentence lengths):

My tension scene:

My plan:

My story:

My narrator: ___

My story:

Story chosen: ___ Perspective character: ___

My retelling:

My setting: ___

How the setting creates the problem: ___

My story:

My dialogue scene:

Setting: ___

What we know about Mira (from 'showing'): ___

Hook technique: ___

Sentence length effect: ___

What happens next? (Continue the excerpt for 3 sentences):

(1) Boring version:

(2) Hook and action version:

(3) Atmosphere and setting version:

Which is most effective and why?

My 5-event plot plan:

Techniques I will use:

My story:

Paragraph 1 — first line: ___ Covers: ___

Paragraph 2 — first line: ___ Covers: ___

Paragraph 3 — first line: ___ Covers: ___

Paragraph 4 — first line: ___ Covers: ___

Paragraph 5 — first line: ___ Covers: ___

Opening:

Build-up:

Problem:

Climax:

Resolution:

Story reviewed: ___

Strength 1: ___

Strength 2: ___

Effective technique: ___

One suggestion for improvement: ___

Section I am revising: ___

Original version:

Revised version:

What I changed and why:

My theme/moral: ___

How the plot will show this: ___

My story:

My theme: ___

Character: ___ Problem related to theme: ___

How the plot develops the theme: ___

Ending that shows the theme: ___

Book title: ___ Author: ___

How does the story begin? What technique does the author use?

What is the main problem? How many attempts does the character make?

How does the story end? Is it satisfying? Why?

What is the theme?

One technique you would like to borrow for your own writing:

Convention I am subverting: ___

How my story breaks it: ___

My story:

Scene 1:

Scene 2:

Scene 3:

'The empty house waited.' — Analysis:

'She ran until the sound stopped.' — Analysis:

'He laughed, but his eyes were sad.' — Analysis:

My foreshadowing element: ___

My story:

Explanation of the foreshadowing:

My opening (first paragraph):

My middle (what happens to change things):

My closing (echoes the opening but with new meaning):

How the meaning of the repeated element has changed:

Version for 5-year-olds:

Version for 12-year-olds:

What changed between versions?

My genre: ___

3 genre conventions I will use:

My story:

My plan:

My full story:

Techniques checklist:

New genre: ___ My usual genre: ___

My story:

Three things that were different:

Book and author: ___

My rewritten version:

What I kept the same / what I changed:

Character and moment: ___

Inner monologue:

Hook: Is the first sentence interesting enough? Notes: ___

Setting: Are there at least two sensory details? Notes: ___

Character: Is the character shown through actions, not just described? Notes: ___

Pace: Does sentence length vary? Notes: ___

Ending: Is the theme clear without being stated? Notes: ___

Revised section:

Differences I notice between the two stories:

Techniques I now use that I didn't before:

What I am most proud of in my most recent story:

Series title: ___ Character: ___ Recurring setting: ___ Theme: ___

Story 1 summary:

Story 2 summary:

Story 3 summary:

My showcase scene:

Why I am proud of this scene:

Character profile:

Setting description:

6-event plot:

Theme:

5 techniques I will use:

Chapter 1:

My story (no dialogue):

What was hardest about not using dialogue?

My dialogue-only scene:

What the reader can figure out without description:

My micro-story:

Word count: ___

What I had to cut and why:

Line 1: ___ Technique and why it works: ___

Line 2: ___ Technique and why it works: ___

Line 3: ___ Technique and why it works: ___

Line 4: ___ Technique and why it works: ___

Line 5: ___ Technique and why it works: ___

My explanation:

My reflection: