CLASS IX

STORY WRITING
Title
 STORY WRITING

 Story writing is a work of “fiction or imagination” that is

usually written in “easily understandable grammatical
structure” with “natural flow of speech”.
 A story is simply a narrative comprising of either real or
fictional characters put together in certain events or
circumstances.
 STORY WRITING

  Story writing is meant to be read at a single sitting and

therefore it should be as direct and brief as possible.
 A story is usually meant for entertainment purposes,
can be moral-based or both. 
 STORY WRITING

 As story writing involves creative writing

skills, please follow the below mentioned
points to write a good story :-

i. The narrative should be in I, II or III person.

ii. Setting of the story should be made.

iii. Time, location, context and atmosphere should be described

to create imagery.
 STORY WRITING

iv. Meaningful dialogues to be used. Dialogues should have

expressions.

v. Characterization - identify 1 - 2 main characters and a few side

characters in the story.

vi. Plot of the story should be interesting but short because the word
limit should not be exceeded.
Understanding the Essentials of Story Writing
The five key elements (or stages) of Story Writing
are as follows-

i. Character
ii. Setting
iii. Plot
iv. Conflict
v. Theme
 CHARACTER

 The golden rule for selecting characters in story

writing is “Fewer are better”. A story writing
would more effectively convey its meaning if it
has very few characters – one protagonist, one
other main character and no supporting or side
characters would be ideal.
2. SETTING

  

 Time frame and place constitute setting of story writing.

The setting is often decorated with descriptions of
scenes such as super market, bedroom, crowded metro
train, or drizzling evening… again unlimited list. These
descriptions are very important to make reader immerse
in the plot.
 SETTING

 The golden rule in selecting time frame for story writing

is “keep it shorter”.
 Vividly describe the surroundings. It must be absolutely
clear and very importantly, be appealing to five senses
of your readers. Be poetic, use suitable adjectives,
script dialogues, or even deploy side characters… do
whatever you need to ensure that the reader lives your
story while reading.
3. PLOT

 Plot is the flesh and muscles of story writing. It

comprises events and characters’ actions. The
more creatively you describe and logically
connect the events and actions, the stronger the
plot would be; and stronger the plot you create,
better interest would it generate among readers.
 PLOT

A plot has start, body and end that are linked

sequentially by events and character actions.
4. CONFLICT

 Conflict is an individual’s struggle against

something outside of themselves. Conflicts
are also known as complications.
 Typically, there is more than one conflict in a
story.
5. THEME

 Central idea or main belief presented by a story

is called its theme. It is the skeleton or frame of
your short story that is decorated by plot,
setting, conflict and characters.
STORY WRITING FORMAT

 GIVE A SUITABLE TITLE TO YOUR STORY.

 USE
SIMPLE LANGUAGE AND SHORT
SENTENCES.
 DIVIDE THE STORY INTO 3-4 PARAGRAGHS.
 TRYTO IMPART A RELEVANT MORAL
/MESSAGE AT THE END OF YOUR STORY.
 WORD LIMIT IS 200-250 WORDS.
FORMAT

 TITLE (in capital letters)

 PARA 1

 PARA 2

 PARA 3

 MORAL/MESSAGE
 SAMPLE STORY WRITING

  Write a short story in 200 – 250 words, with the help of the cues given
below.  
                                                                                                                                
 Going to Mumbai by train to attend the marriage of a friend ..... got stuck in
a traffic jam ..... reached the railway station late ..... boarded a wrong
train ..... realized after two hours ..... now you ... ... ...
 A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

I sat down with relief as I ticked off the last task in the checklist. I wanted everything to be
perfect as it was my best friend’s marriage in Mumbai. The alarm rang next morning, I woke up
in excitement and booked a cab to the railway station.
Everything was going perfectly until I got stuck in a traffic jam. I reached the railway station late
but on the sight of the train still waiting on the platform, I hurried and somehow managed to get
into the train. I breathed a sigh of relief and got comfortable. It was only when the Ticket
Collector came, I realised that I had been in the wrong train for two hours. I panicked and
deboarded the train at the next station. I tried booking a ticket for the next train to Mumbai but
there was no availability.
On coming back from the ticket counter, I realised that my luggage was missing. Even after
hours of finding and reporting it, there was no  trace of it. I got tired and lost hope, tried booking
a cab with the minimal amount I was left with in my pocket. The cab couldn’t reach on time as it
was raining heavily. Disheartened, I finally walked my way to the nearest hotel, contacted my
parents and recited them the series of unfortunate events that happened during the day. Alas, I
couldn’t even make it to my best friend’s wedding.
MORAL- Sometimes luck doesn’t favour us. Some days are bad days so we need to cope up with
them with a positive approach.
 QUESTION TO TRY OUT

 It was raining heavily, the street lights had gone off and I
was returning……………..
 Complete the story in about 200-250 words, providing an
appropriate title to it. 
QUESTION TO TRY OUT

Night before the zonal debate competition,

everyone was fast asleep, while I was
practicing. Suddenly……

Complete the story in about 200-250

words, providing an appropriate title to it.