The Story Game

1. Start with the Who: Give your character a name and a characteristic. Examples: John, the baker or Olivia the sleepy girl or Fenwick the naughty kitten.

2. Add the What: Give your character something to do. Add an action. For Example, let’s continue with John, the baker who is baking cookies. Baking is his action.

3. Add the Where: Describe where the action takes place. Try to think of an unusual place for your character to be. For example, we would expect John the baker to be in the bakery, but what if he is using the heart of a volcano for his oven instead?

4. Add the twist: Now you have your special character doing something unusual. It’s time to make life difficult for your character! Obstacles are important in stories because they add excitement and let the readers feel connected to your character. Here’s an example: The cookies smelled so good, John woke the dragon sleeping deep in the heart of the mountain.

5. Make things even worse! You want to keep readers turning the pages, don’t you? Here’s an example of how John’s problem went from bad to worse. Poor John was so scared when he heard the dragon roar, he dropped all his cookies in the fire!

6. Find an ending: Most readers like happy endings. Try to create a happy ending for your character. Later, you can change it for a sad or suspenseful ending and see which one you like best. Let’s help John out a bit here, because I’m feeling very bad for him! I think the dragon should help him make new cookies, don’t you?

7. Extra Credit: If you’ve come this far, you probably already have a great story ready to be written. Now you can add some details. Try to imagine your what your character would look like. Is John the baker, blond or dark-haired? Is he fat or thin? What does his volcano look like? Is it dark inside? What about the dragon? Is it a big ferocious dragon, or a tiny, cute dragon?

Once you have all your ideas gathered, you’re ready to write a fabulous story! Don’t forget to give it a fun title. Here’s John’s story:

Dragon Cookies

John the baker was baking cookies. His underground oven used the warmth of a volcano to make the most delicious cookies in the kingdom. He had promised some of his special cookies for the King’s birthday party that afternoon. The cookies smelled so good, he woke a dragon sleeping in the heart of the mountain. The dragon’s ferocious roar frightened John and he dropped all his cookies in the fire. Oh no! Now he would have no cookies for the King’s party.

A loud roar, rumbled through the dark cavern again and John forgot all about his cookies. A huge green and gold dragon stood in the doorway of his kitchen. John’s skinny knees knocked together in fear.

“I’m sorry,” said the dragon. “I’m so hungry. And your cookies smell wonderful!” The dragon roared again, but John realized that the noise came from the dragon’s belly not his mouth! His tummy was rumbling!

The dragon looked embarrassed and offered to help John bake some more cookies for the King. Later, John rode on the dragon’s back to the party!

Now you try!

Set a timer and try to see how many stories you can create in 10 minutes.

Other ways to find story ideas:

1. •Keep a journal. Write down your ideas whenever you think of them. You’re sure to forget them, if you don’t.
   

2. •Flip through magazines and photo albums. Look at the faces in the pictures and try to imagine what those people were thinking when the picture was taken.
   

3. •Mix and match: Write dozens of words on slips of paper (make sure to include verbs, nouns and adjectives).  Put the slips in a hat. Pull out 3 slips (or 5 or 10) and write a story that uses all those words.
   

4. •Think, “What happened next?” Write a new ending for your favorite fairy tale. Cinderella lived happily ever after, but what does that really mean? Maybe you should finish her story!
   

5. •Ask Grandma! Often family members will have funny stories about things that happened to them as children. Take the time to listen to these tales. Not only will you get some great story ideas, but you might brighten someone’s day too.
   

6. •Read, read, read! Reading is the best way to find inspiration for your own story. Look at how your favorite authors write, take one of their themes and change it to make your own story. For instance, what if Alice in Wonderland didn’t fall down a rabbit hole, but rode a hot air balloon to the stars instead?
   

If none of these ideas work, you might be able to find that secret idea factory in the forest, run by the elves…

Jill McDougall is the author of more than 100 picture books for children, included Jinxed and Seriously Creepy. Jill lives in Australia. Visit her website at www.jillmcdougall.com.au

Adapted for children by Kim Chatel, from Become a Children’s Writer, Insider Secrets, by Jill McDougall.

Where do ideas for stories come from? Do they grow on trees? Are they made by elves in a secret workshop? (No, but that might be a great idea for a story!)

Ideas come from all around. They come from family memories, life experiences, news articles and even jokes. Your job, as a writer, is to organize all those ideas into a simple story that will delight and entertain readers. Sound impossible? It’s really quite easy. Here is a fun game to get you started.

1. Student Art
   

2. Student Letters
   

3. Contests
   

4. School Visits
   

5. What’s your Story?
   

6. Next Generation of Writers
   

7. Get Kids Published
   

8. Coloring pages