this week's Story Prompt

I blinked away a bead of sweat and continued to pedal furiously. I couldn't get away fast enough! Suddenly, a shadow fell over me...

a pangram to start school with

A pangram is a sentence that contains all letters of the alphabet. The most common pangram that just about everyone knows is the quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.

Interesting pangrams are usually short ones. Here's another pangram to sink your teeth into!
The five boxing wizards jump quickly.
Have a go at creating your own pangram! Remember to use all the letters of the alphabet in it.

Writing a Mystery Story

Do you ever wonder 'How can I make my story more interesting'? Sometimes all it takes is to find the right writing style for you! There are all kinds of genres to explore! Let's start with a very exciting style, A Mystery Story!

What is a mystery?
A mystery is something that is not easily explained or described. Mystery stories often contain a puzzle or problem that needs to be solved.

Start at the Beginning
Before you write a mystery story, you need to have an idea. Is there a puzzle to solve at school? Did your mum lose something? Does it seem like there is a secret going around the gardening club? Was there a strange happening at your neighborhood? If so, you could use that as the idea of your story.

The Characters
You need to figure out your Detective and Suspect.

Clues
These help detectives or readers solve the mystery. They can be objects or things that people say.

Distractions
This happens when your clues don't make sense and confuses your detectives. So they will take longer to solve the mystery.

Here's a great mystery to pick up from the library - The Dark and Deadly Pool by Joan Lowery Nixon.

* Read an interesting Mystery recently? Send an email to missdee@iheartboardgames.com and tell me all about it! Your report might just be published on this site!

a picture prompt

Sometimes when you're stuck for ideas, looking at a picture helps! Stories that are inspired by pictures are called Picture Prompt stories. A picture prompt could be a photograph, drawing or a painting. Here's a photograph to get you started on a picture prompt story.

Have a look at the picture and imagine the story behind the picture. Take as long as you need; if you want a challenge, give yourself 10 minutes and then start writing!

*Don't forget the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, why)!

Descriptive Writing 101

Descriptive Writing is a form of writing that is so descriptive that it makes you feel you're in the story you're reading.

Imagine reading about a place you've never been to. Maybe it's a country you haven't visited before, or maybe it's a made-up place. Having vivid descriptions help create a picture in your mind so you're able to imagine what it's like to be there.

Descriptive Writing can be used when you are talking about a character. Adding in little details like the colour of their eyes or the funny sound they make when laugh can really make your character come alive!

Here's a fun exercise for you to do with a friend
Write a description of a monster and email it to your friend. Ask your friend to draw the monster based on your descriptions.
Does the monster your friend drew look like what you pictured in your mind? Was it easy for your friend to draw the monster based on your descriptions?

Send in your description and picture to missdee@iheartboardgames.com and see your masterpiece up on this site!

this week's Story Prompt

I knew it was going to be an unusual day when my mom came into my bedroom and said ...

Drizzle Dazzle!

Every story has Character, Setting and Plot. How we build upon these elements is entirely up to our imagination. Here is an idea to get you started.
Picture the scenario given below and think of how you would write it in two extremely different ways. For instance, you can start with writing the story in a funny or tragic way.

Scenario:

"A woman walks into a wedding dinner party, she looks around her and looks perplexed. She walks over to a table and sits down..."

While you think about the story try thinking of it with this approach:

Who are you writing this for?

Why are you writing it and why would the reader want to read your story?

Where do you want to take this story to?

When do you think the story took place?

What are the possibilities of the characters, setting and plot?

How does your characters, setting and plot make the story funny or tragic?

Details are important!
So drizzle your stories with details to make the story funny or tragic and dazzle your readers!