Story Development Worksheets

How Do Authors Develop Stories?

The authors are creative beings. They stem words and hem sentences in ways that hit right at readers' hearts. Unless you didn't know already, here's how authors develop stories. They Follow Their Creative Instincts - Creativity is at the heart of writing or developing stories. You have to have that knack for creativity if you wish to explore horizons of constructing an imaginative realm of your own. However, while you are at it, it is of the utmost potential that you keep faith in your creative instincts. So, you don't forget these inspirations you get for your stories. Write a lot - Writing helps the authors develop stories. It aligns their thought process and makes their ideas go in the right direction. From brainstorming to creating an outline and a rough draft, ensure you are writing every single day if you wish to become the next big thing in the writing world. Develop Characters Followed by an Outline and Their Story Idea - One of the first steps in developing a story is writing every inspiration that hits you down on the paper. Some authors like to create visuals for them before they proceed with their actual stories. If you are one of them, ensure your art doesn't miss any detail. Otherwise, hop on the bandwagon and develop characters for your story that caters to your story's idea.

Prewriting: Plan Your Story

Before you begin to write, it can be helpful to know some things about your story. Think about the story that you want to tell. Then answer the questions.

Plan Before You Write

If you know what needs to be in your story and how it ends, it’s easier to stay on point and keep writing. Think about an idea you have for a story. Complete the organizer.


Basic Building Blocks

Make brief notes to indicate that your story has all of these parts.

Character Change

Chart how a character makes transitions throughout a body of work.

Character Arc Worksheet

A nice way to follow how a character progresses through.

Developing Characters

Choose two characters in the story that you are working on. Identify the main character trait of each character. Then use each method to reveal that character trait.

Development

Answer each question about your character. Then write the first scene of your story in a way that reveals who your character is on the beginning of their adventure.

Creating Three-Dimensional Characters

A three-dimensional character is a character that seems like a real person. Like real people, three-dimensional characters have both good and not-so-good qualities. They act within their own individual perceptions of reality, and they are capable of growing and changing.


Where Is It Happening?

Helpful when the setting of a story is abstract and not clearly stated.

Thinking About Setting

Answer the questions about the setting in your story.

The First Plot Point

In the beginning of a story, the main character is going about their normal, everyday life. Then something big happens that sets the story into motion. That something big is called the first plot point. The first plot point usually occurs about 20% or 25% of the way through the story.

Breakdown

This is helpful to see how much your retained.



Story Beat Sheet

Draft the main beats of your story.

Can You Tell Your Story in 9 Sentences?

Study the definitions of the 9 main parts of a story. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, write a single sentence telling what happens at this part in your story.

Judging By the Cover

Students explore the anatomy of a book and design their own.