young writer's program (1).pdf

7/28/2019 Young writer's program (1).pdf

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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."


_______________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

"I know it sounds easy, but trust me, slaying dragons is hard work!"


_______________________________________________________________________


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________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

"When Captain Smith and his men landed on Mars, the first thing they noticed was the

awful smell."


_______________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


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"When our dog Mitzie died last May, I was sure that nothing was ever going to be the

same again."


_______________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

"With cheerleading tryouts just four days away, Amanda was starting to get nervous."


_______________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


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________________________________________________________________________


________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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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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



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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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



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:

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Touch:

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Smell:________________________________________________________________________

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Sight:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Hearing:


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2. A carnival

Taste:

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Touch:

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Smell:________________________________________________________________________

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Sight:

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Hearing:

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3. A rainstorm

Taste:

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Touch:


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Smell:________________________________________________________________________

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Sight:

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Hearing:

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4. A bad day

Taste:

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Touch:

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Smell:

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Sight:

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Hearing:

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5. Winter

Taste:________________________________________________________________________

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Touch:

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Smell:

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Sight:

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Hearing:

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6. An old pair of socks

Taste:

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5

Touch:

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Smell:________________________________________________________________________

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Sight:________________________________________________________________________

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Hearing:

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7. A blank white wall

Taste:

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Touch:

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Smell:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Sight:________________________________________________________________________

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Hearing:

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8. A baseball game

Taste:

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Touch:

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Smell:

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Sight:

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Hearing:

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9. Happiness

Taste:

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Touch:

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Smell:

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Sight:________________________________________________________________________

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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?

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2. What made NaNoWriMo challenging?

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3. What helped motivate you to write during November?

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4. If you wrote again next year what would you do differently?

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5. Did NaNoWriMo help improve your writing skills? If so, how?

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________________________________________________________________________

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6. How do you feel now that you are a novelist?

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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.

young writer's program (1).pdf

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