Week 1
Lesson 1
What is a story? 
We examine many genres of story – historical, comedy, mystery, adventure – and consider their different characteristics. We look at extracts from famous children’s stories – why are they successful? What makes them funny/sad/scary/interesting? And how can we generate ideas – and plot?
Lesson 2
Who are our characters? 
We consider some of our own favourite characters in stories. What do we like or dislike about them? We particularly focus on how important it is for a character to have a goal – and for the writer to do everything in their power to stop the character from achieving that goal!
Lesson 3
What is an inciting incident? 
Stories have a dramatic inciting incident which changes the course of the main character’s life for ever. So what are examples of inciting incidents and how can we use them in our stories?
Lesson 4
When should the story end? 
Do you like happy endings, sad endings, cliffhangers or something in between? We look at different types of story endings. What will work best for your type of story? And then …   let’s write! We have 10 minutes of dedicated writing time!