STORY WRITING
What is a Story?
A story is an imaginary account about people or situations that is told for entertainment.
Everybody loves to read or listen to stories. But writing them is not a simple task. In this chapter,we will learn the
guidelines to writing a good story.
Components of a Story
• Theme: The theme is the main idea around which the storyrevolves.
o What idea do you wish to convey through yourstory?
o Good versus Evil, Revenge, Love ConquersAll
• Setting: The surrounding or the time period where the storyunfolds.
o Where is the storyset?
o When do the events in the story takeplace?
• Characterisation: Characterisation is the process of portrayingcharacters.
o Who is the maincharacter?
o What are their/its physical/mentalattributes?
o What is the problem faced by thecharacter?
o How does the character change or evolve in theend?
• Plot: The plot comprises the main events of thestory.
o Introduction: Introduction of characters and thesituation
o Rising action in the story: The events of the story that lead to thecrisis
o Crisis: The main problem faced by a/the character(s) of thestory
o Climax: The problemescalates
o Falling action: The intensity of the problemlessens
o Resolution: The stage where everything isresolved
Steps for Writing a Story
Samples and Types
Outline of the Story
• In such questions, the outline of the story is provided. Students are expected to connect
the points to form a comprehensive narrative.
Sample 1
When the Opening Line is Provided
Sample 2
• In such cases, the first line of the story is given. Students are expected to use their
imagination and their writing skills to create an interestingstory.
I could hear the wind howling as I lay in my bed that night…
When the Closing Line is Provided
Sample 3
• In such cases, the concluding line of the story is given. Students are expected to use
theirimagination and their writing skills to create an interestingstory.
…And that ‟show I managed to get to school on time.
Samples of Story Writing
Story Outline
Sample 4
The Shoemaker and the Elves
Once upon a time, there lived a shoemaker who was very poor. He lived in an old, rickety house with his wife. He was sopoor
that he only had enough leather left for one pair of shoes. At night, he cut it out to stitch it into shoes. But he wastoo tired that
night, so he retired to his bed. In the morning, to his surprise, he found the shoes already stitched! Hewas puzzled since he
clearly remembered cutting the leather and leaving it at his work table. He admired the shoes for their craftsmanship as they
were perfectly stitched.
In came a customer who was immediately enamoured by the shoes. She was ready to pay any amount of money for the
beautiful pair. The shoemaker who was still puzzled by the unexplained appearance of the shoes was a little reluctant to
part with them. The customer offered to pay double the amount for the pair. The shoemaker, who was well aware of his
financial problems, accepted the offer. With the money, he bought more leather enough for two shoes. After cutting
them out, he went to bed hoping for a second miracle.
His wish came true when he found two pairs of shoes ready on his work table in the morning. He and his wife were overjoyed
but befuddled. They decided to stay awake at night spying on his work station. To their surprise, they found two elves come in
through the open window. For the next couple of hours, the duo sang as they stitched the leather into two pairs of shoes. The
couple was moved by the elves‟ selflessness so they decided to stitch clothes for them to show their gratitude towards them.
The next night, the elves were surprised to see the sets of tiny clothes, shoes and mittens stitched for them. Overjoyed, they
sang merrily and jumped and skipped their way out of the house. Even though the shoemaker never saw them again, he and
his wife were prosperous for life.
Sample 5
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A crocodile and a monkey were best friends. The monkey would treat his friend the crocodile to delicious fruits every day.
He would painstakingly collect them from the deep regions of the jungle. The crocodilewasveryfondofhisfriend.
Hevaluedthemonkey‟sgenerosityandtreatedhimlikehisown brother.
Oneday,thecrocodile‟swifeaskedhimaboutthefruitshisfriendservedhimeveryday.Hesaid that they were delicious and juicy
and that the monkey took a lot of pains to procure it for him. The wife said, “The monkey may be eating the fruits every day.
I am sure his heart is also as sweet as the fruits he eats.”Thecrocodiledidnotunderstandthemeaningofhiswife‟swords.Shesaid,
“Iwantyoutolurethe monkey to our house. I will attack him when he least expects it. You and I can then feast on his heart.”
The crocodile was reluctant to betray his friend, but his wife kept insisting. Eventually, the crocodile fell preytohiswife
‟srelentlessnessandheagreedtolurethemonkeyintotheirhouse.
The next day, he said to the monkey, “Greetings brother. My wife wants to meet you as you have been such a good friend to me.
She wants to repay you for all the hospitality and love you have extended towards me.” The monkey said, “Surely brother. I would
also like to meet her.” The crocodile carried the monkey on his back as he swam towards his house. During the journey, the crocodile
suffered from a slip of tongue and he absent-mindedly divulged his wife‟s plans to the monkey.The quick-thinking monkeysaid,“Ifit‟smyheartshewishestoeat,wearemovinginthewrongdirection.Ikeepmyheartinthetrunk of a tree that we left behind on our way.
Let us go back and retrieve it.” The gullible crocodile fell for the monkey‟sact.Whentheyreachedthetree,themonkeyjumpedofhisbackan
- descapedintothethicket.It took a while for the crocodile to realise that his act of betrayal had cost him a good friendship.
When the Opening Line is Provided
Sample 6
Rahul stepped on the creaky floor and was startled by the sound it made. A small rat scurried across the room and he jumped up in fright.
The old house smelled musty and there were cobwebs everywhere. Two boys outside yelled, “Did you find the ball yet?” “Not yet. I am
still looking” he yelled back. The house has been a source of fear and curiosity for Rahul and his friends. Some elder children in the colony
had frightened the younger ones about a mysterious old woman living in the house. According to their accounts, she was responsible for
the many inexplicable disappearances of children in the locality.
The bullies Varun and Arjun had forced him to retrieve their cricket ball that had fallen inside the house through a broken window.
Rahul was petrified of the house, but today, he found himself inside his worst nightmare. He moved carefully trying to locate the bright
red rubber ball that had bounced into the bedroom of the supposedly evil woman. As he stood at the dark entrance of the house, he could
feel the glimmer of the red ball in the darkness. The boys yelled again, “What is taking you so long?” “I am almost there!” Rahul yelled back.
He walked carefully into the room and grasped at the red shiny ball. Something clammy touched the back of his hand. He screamed loudly
and ran out of the house with the red ball in his hand. The bulliesstandingpatientlyoutsidethehousesawhimrushout.TheywereimpressedbyRahul
‟sfeatof entering the infamous house and staying there for a full 15 minutes. He was now their hero. Rahul reveled in the admiration, but he couldn
‟t forget the cold feeling of the touch on his back for a longtime to come.
Sample 7
Once upon a time, in afar off kingdom, there was a theft of royal proportions. The queen‟s
necklace was stolen. The king called upon his intelligent minister to look into the case. The minister studied the movements of the queen
and her maids and concluded that no one except the maids had the accesstothequeen‟schamber. Hewasoftheopinionthatoneofthemaid
-smayhaveperpetratedthe crime. But there were ten maids working in the chamber.
The minister then thought of an ingenious plan to bag the culprit. He called them to the court and offered them an ointment to apply
on their noses. The maids applied the ointment as directed. The king asked the minister, “Why have you made them apply the ointment
on their noses?” The minister replied, “It is an enchanted ointment given to me by the court magician. “ He turned towards them and said,
“The real culprit it‟s nose will grow by a centimetre on the application of the ointment.” One of the maids broke into a sweat and touched
her nose involuntarily in fright.
The minister knew who the thief was. He approached her and told her in a low voice to surrender the necklace or be thrown into jail for
the rest of her life. Nervously, she opened a small pouch attached to her apron and surrendered the necklace. The queen and the king
were overjoyed. They fired the maid and rewarded the intelligent ministergenerously.