Story Structure: Ingredient No. 4

Inventing Characters Read! Journal Word Notebook

Choosing Titles The Fab Four Golden Rules Generating Ideas Stealing Ideas From an Idea to a Plan Planning from a Picture Stories Based on a Passage Stories Based on a Sentence An Example of Good Planning

Describing a Location Longer descriptions Describing a character's appearance Dialogue Distinctive Voices Show, Don't Tell Characterisation: Shown Feelings More Characterisation Techniques Playing with Sentences Playscripts Action Suspense

What is story structure? 1 Exciting opening line 2 Set the scene 3 Talking and describing character 4 Characterisation 5 Suspense 6 Action 7 Cliffhanger Standing Out: How can you stand out from the crowd? Clever Clogs: Non-Linear Clever-clogs: Two perspectives Clever-clogs: Narrative voice Practice 11+ exam titles

Checking your story in an exam Redrafting = improving your story What if I run out of time in an exam? The Grumpy Examiner's Pet Hates

Year 2 into 3 Lemony Snicket After Harry Potter Must-Read Authors Spy Novels Horror Stories Classics Animal Stories Adventure Historical Fiction Myths & Legends Fantasy Family Stories & Comedies

You’re half-a-page into your story – having opened with an exciting first-line, set the scene, and described one of the characters – and now you need to use our characterisation skills to push the story forwards.

Unfortunately, this is often the point where things go wrong.

It is tempting to start ‘telling’ the story like it was a list (This happened…then this happened…then this happened…), grinding to a halt at the end of the page.
Sometimes the opposite happens, and the story becomes one long dialogue!

The clever pupil stays focused and uses the four tools of characterisation to make the examiner care about the characters.

Julian, a pupil I taught a few years ago, wrote the following during a Timed Writing lesson. He studied the ‘Key to all Mythologies’, and had learnt how to structure his writing. Note how:

Julian begins with exciting direct speech.
He goes on to set the scene
He uses speech, and then describes one of the characters (the lieutenant)
In Section 4, he continues the story with more speech, feelings and thoughts (he thinks about his wife’s reaction)

The title he started with was – You’re in Charge!

Do you see how Julian’s section four uses more speech, feelings, thoughts and questions about the character?

Follow Bald Worm’s recipe for a successful 11+ story:

Open with exciting direct speech, or a surprising statement
Set the scene
Have a bit of talking, and describe one of the characters
Then use all of our characterisation techniques as you develop the story

Last updated on August 13, 2007