CBSE BUDDING AUTHORS PROGRAM : Classes 6-10

Please give a thorough read

Suggestions and Guidelines for Creating Stories

Writing a story is one of the most amazing, joyous and expressive things one can do.
While developing up a story, there are several ingredients that are needed. They can be
divided into three categories.
1. Story Elements
Most stories are made up of five elements to help determine whom the story is about,
where it’s set and how a story progresses. These elements are explained in detail
below.
2. Story Structure
The structure of a story is its backbone. It is the order in which events flow within a
story.
3. The Process:
The process of writing a story is different for each writer but broadly involves ideation,
organization and structuring of an idea before building it into a story by using the various
story elements.

1. Story Elements
There are five major elements to keep in mind while writing a story. They can also be
used as broad guidelines for writers working on their story.
While these elements form a rough guide on how to write a story, not all elements have
equal weightage in a story. Not having an element in a story does not necessarily mean
that it would be a poor story. What is important is an understanding of which
element(s)work best for a story and adequately presenting them.
These elements are:
1. Character
2. Setting
3. Problem
4. Solution
5. Key Events

Let’s understand in a little more detail with examples from the famous
Harry Potter series.
a. Characters: The person / people/ organisms /objects that are a part of the story.
For example, the main character in the popular Harry Potter series is Harry Potter. The
Sorting hat, which is an object, is also a character in the story .

A character can:
- be living or non-living
- have any gender or not have a
gender at all!
- propel the story through their actions
- cause a problem
- solve a problem
- add a twist to the story
- be positive, negative, or neither
A well-sketched character can have
the following attributes:
- looks and mannerisms
- personality
- traits
- behaviour
- attitudes

Characters in a story can also be divided into various groups according to their role in the
story. Some of the broad categories include:
Primary characters: They are the one(s) not only experiencing all the events in the story but
also heavily influencing how the story progresses. For readers, the story unfolds through the
experiences of the main characters. Their arc forms an intricate part of the story.
Secondary characters: These characters are mainly defined through their interactions with
the main characters. They too have their own arc and own ways of influencing the events in
the story but in most cases, it is not as prominent as that of the main character. These
characters can be used to build up the main character, criticize them, as a foil to them…the
possibilities are endless.
Background characters: These characters contribute in many different ways to influence
both the characters and the events in the story. They could help develop the story
background, could be affected by an event in the story that could then set in motion the
other
events in the story, or could only have a single interaction with one of the main characters.
They need not be as well developed as the main and side characters but they contribute to
making the stories more believable.

b. Setting:
This is the environment in which the story takes place. The environment of the story gives
us
more information about the protagonist's worlds and their world views. For example, one of
the main settings of the Harry Potter stories is their school, Hogwarts. Some other settings
include Diagon Alley,The Forbidden Forest and Platform number nine and three quarters.

A setting can be:

- a specific place, fantastical
location, and/ or time-period

A setting can be used to:

- Provide a backdrop for the story
and the characters
- add more context and details to a
story
- help the reader imagine the story
Better

c. Key Events:
This is the central plot of the story and can be of various types. It can be centered around
one moment or a series of moments–an interruption of a pattern, a turning point, or an
action–that disrupts the regular flow of events. This can be done in several forms, such as
a question raised in the story that would need to be answered by the end of the story or a
conflict (internal or external) introduced that raises dramatic tension and would need to be
resolved throughout the course of the story. All stories need not be dramatic or cantered
around a conflict, they could also be simple, slice-of-life stories that just describe an event
or a day.
For example, in the first book of the Harry Potter series, Harry receiving letters from an
unknown source, talking to a snake in the zoo, and going to Hogwarts disrupts how his life
had been for the previous 11 years. The search for the sorcerer's stone and the associated
events with it form the main plot of the book, with the confrontation between Harry and
Voldermort and Harry’s discovery of the stone being a resolution to the events of the first
book and the beginning of the second book.
A story could also contain various subplots that contribute to the development of the main
plot.For example: While the main plot in the Harry Potter series is the conflict between
Voldermort and Harry and the ideologies they represent, the entire series is filled with other
developments that contribute to how the whole plot progresses, the relationship between
the characters, the death of some important characters, the revelation of the motivation of
some characters etc.

d. Problem
This can be the disruption of events in the story that adversely impacts the characters or
events in the story. How the characters interact with the problem influences the events in
the story and how they take place.
For example: The petrification of the students in the second book of the Harry Potter series
is a severe problem that almost leads to Hogwarts being closed down. Different characters
react differently to this problem, the professors work to ensure the safety of the students,
several students choose to prepare to go home, while Harry and Ron decide to go in search
of the Basilisk and save Ginny. They all were posed with the same problem but how they
reacted to it was what influenced how they experienced the problem. And as readers, since
we experience the story through Harry’s point of view, we experience his reaction to the
problem.

e. Resolution
The final element of a story answers the questions raised and resolves the problem/ issue
that was faced by the characters thus far. In cases where the stories don’t have a well
defined plot or conflict, the resolution is the conclusion or the logical end of the story.

2. Story Structure
All stories have a beginning, middle and end that are made up of the key events that have
been identified, and each of these sections highlight an important part of the plot. However,
writers need not follow the order: some writers might choose to start from the end, and
some might choose the middle. Structuring the story in advance helps ensure that the
different components of the story are explained clearly.
Suggestive Cues

• Create a theme-based storyline based on these cues or your own ideas.

• IMPORTANT : The story should be absolutely original in characters, theme and plot
. It should not be copied from anywhere at all.

Create a theme-based storyline based on these cues or your own ideas.

IMPORTANT : The story should be absolutely original in characters, theme and plot . It
should not be copied from anywhere at all.

Classes 7-8 (Word Limit: 500-600 words)

Themes

A) When I…
(A theme that makes you fantasize or imagine about acertain point in time)
Story cues:
1)When I found ancient treasure buried in my school playground.
2)When I dialed 100 by mistake and the police came rushing to my house.
3) When I got to be the Prime Minister of India for a day.
4) When I had to host a foreign exchange student from Spain at my house.

Theme B : Weird and whacky

Story cues :
1) A strange island forms in your bathroom. What can be done?
2) My upside-down day, when I went to work and my mom went to school(in my
classroom.)
3) Zombies take over your school while you are playing a game of zombies.
4) You are in the forest when you come face to face with the snow dragon : an adorable,
furry, and surprisingly tiny creature who breathes fire.

Theme C: Kindness
Story cue :

1) A poacher who has a change of heart and devotes their life to helping animals.
2) A friend forgives another who makes a rash mistake, and what happens when the tables
are turned.
3) Being kind is hard, but worth it.

Theme D: Self-confidence
Story cue :
1)Someone who always loses races but participates in them again and again.
2) I was terrified. Butterflies filled my stomach. But I took a deep breath and finally stepped
out onto the stage
3)When I say it, I do it Character,
4)One day a 14 year old teenager wakes up and realizes that they are 22.