Activity:
Choose a genre and use one of the story building templates (available on our website) to write your own short
three-act story!
[insert links to horror, sci-fi, and fantasy templates]
Story tips
• Think about who your characters are before you start writing. Know their strengths and flaws before
you strike a key on your computer.
• At the beginning, jump right into the action (don’t bother explaining everything to your reader – let
them come through the character’s experience of the action of the story)
• Set your story somewhere specific and interesting.
• Stick to a simple story structure: character experiences something challenging, something goes right
for them in meeting the challenge, then something goes TERRIBLY wrong, then they figure out how
to solve the challenge, then the story wraps up.
• Use action and details to SHOW what’s happening (vs. Telling the reader what’s happening).
• Stick with one central conflict that you resolve by the end of the story. If there are too many conflicts
or nothing ever comes together, your reader will be bummed.
• Choose strong, specific words and avoid weak, boring words (really, very, nice, etc.), but don’t go
thesaurus crazy!
Extensions:
Write Out of This World – Consider submitting your story to Write Out of This World. The Write Out of This
World program gives tomorrow's storytellers a platform to share their work. A short story and comic contest
focused on the science fiction and fantasy genres; Write Out of This World provides authors between grades
3–12 with an outlet for their creativity. Learn more and read past winner’s stories.
Write Out of This World
Collaborative Writing - Try writing a collaborative three-act story with your friends! Download the
collaborative story building template.
Collaborative Story Building Template
Hero’s Journey - Learn about another story structure with the hero’s journey lesson plan.
Hero’s Journey