Every great story has three parts, like climbing a mountain. Authors call it the story mountain.
At the beginning, we meet the character and find out where the story happens. In the middle, a problem pops up — something goes wrong, or a big adventure begins. This is the most exciting part, the very top of the mountain! At the end, the problem gets solved and the story comes to a close.
When you know the three parts, you can plan any story you want to tell. Beginning, middle, end — up the mountain and back down!
A character is who a story is about. The best authors don't just tell you what a character does — they show you how the character feels.
Here is a writer's secret called show, don't tell. Instead of writing "She was sad," you can show it:
You never said the word "sad," but the reader feels it! Showing feelings makes readers care about your character and want to keep reading.
When a character speaks out loud in a story, that is called dialogue. Authors wrap the exact spoken words inside quotation marks, which look like this: " ".
The quotation marks go around only the words Max actually said. Everything Max spoke is tucked safely inside them. Dialogue makes your characters feel real, like you can hear them talking right off the page!
Some words are tired out from being used too much — words like big, nice, and said. Authors trade them for sparkle words that paint a brighter picture.
Instead of "The big dog said hi," you could write "The gigantic dog barked hello!" The sparkle words help the reader see and hear exactly what is happening. A strong word is worth a whole sentence.
A twist is a big surprise the reader did not see coming. Twists make a story exciting and fun to remember.
Maybe the quiet dog can suddenly talk. Maybe the "monster" under the bed turns out to be a lost puppy. Maybe the treasure the hero searched for was a friend all along. A good twist makes the reader gasp — then smile.
The best authors plan one surprise for the middle or end of their story. What surprise will YOU hide in yours?
Read your story out loud when you're done. Your ears will catch any sentence that needs fixing — that's what real authors do!
You learned story parts, built characters with feelings, wrote dialogue, used sparkle words, and planned your very own book.