Tag Archives: writing activities

Peta’s fun things to do at home

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18: Write a story!

I love the fact that, however a story starts, there are millions and millions of possible middles and just as many potential endings.

I have used the opening of my only non-rhyming book, Jamie and the Joke Factory, as the starting-point for writing activities in a number of schools: ‘Jamie was SO excited! He was going on a surprise outing with Grandad!’

At this time of lockdown, I think it would be fun to write a story about a surprise outing. Why don’t you have a go? Use my first line as the first line of your own story.

I’d love to see how different your story is from mine – you can email a photo to petarainford@gmail.com, post it on my Peta Rainford’s Facebook page @dogpigeon, or Tweet me @PetaRainford

Top tip: decide what type of story you want to write before you start: is it set in a ‘real life’ situation, or a fantasy world? Is it exciting/scary or madcap/funny? Or all of those things?!

Then think about the following:

  • Where is Jamie when he starts his outing? Who is he with?
  • Is it just Jamie and Grandad that go on the outing, or do other people/animals/things go with them?
  • What is the surprise?
  • What happens when they get there (something funny, exciting or scary)?
  • How do Jamie and Grandad get home?

TOP TOP TIP: BE AS IMAGINATIVE AS POSSIBLE!

What are you waiting for?

On this school visit, children told their stories through pictures, rather than writing. It’s a great way to encourage ‘reluctant writers’ to get creative!

Peta’s fun things to do at home

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Did you have a go at making a Scribble Monster or two after Monday’s post? (It’s here if you missed it.) If you did, you may, like me, have found it strangely addictive, and ended up with a whole bunch of monsters…

What’s the collective noun for a group of monsters? A roar? A scare? What do you think?

I’m now surrounded by Scribble Monsters. Which got me thinking about creating a story about them. Why don’t you have a go? And don’t forget: I’d love to see anything you do – you can email it to petarainford@gmail.com, post it on my Peta Rainford’s Facebook page @dogpigeon, or Tweet me @PetaRainford

12: Create a story about Scribble Monsters (and you don’t have to write a word, unless you want to!)

There are lots of different ways of creating a story:

  • Tell it! Talk about the characters and the adventures they might have ( you could video or record the story, if you like)
  • Draw it! As soon as you draw in a background behind the Scribble Monsters, you start telling a story about where they live and what they are doing. Or you can create a more detailed narrative, by creating a cartoon strip
  • Write it! Writing could be anything from single words – labelling a drawing, for example – to speech bubbles in a cartoon, or the more flowing narrative of a ‘traditional’ written story

Whichever way you decide to create your story, you might like to think about the following:

  • What are the monsters called?
  • What relationship do the monsters have to each other? Are they friends? Enemies? Strangers? Members of the same family? Or something else?
  • Are they goodies or baddies?
  • Where do they live? Maybe they live on a mysterious planet, with a mysterious name. Maybe they live in the fluff under your sofa. Maybe they live next door to you…
  • What language do they speak?
  • What adventure will they go on?

These are just some broad-brush ideas for creating a story. I will look at some of them in more detail in future posts. Have fun with your story making – and do please feel free to share your creations with me.