Adventure
Definition: A story in which the characters go somewhere
exciting and dangerous.
Key Features: A chase or narrow escape. A battle
might be fought. ‘Goodies’ against ‘Baddies’. Usually
makes us wonder if the characters will make it or not.
Key Words Settings
kidnap dangerous desert island
treasure unknown abandoned ship
swordfight brave cave
escape outsmarted underwater
journey suddenly pirate ship
Adventure
Example: The frayed rope snapped and Jack went hurtling
through the air until a small bush broke his fall. He didn’t care.
He’d made it. After months of planning and research, Jack had
finally worked out where it was hidden. Somewhere in this dense
jungle lay the answer to what had been baffling historians for
decades.
Jack knew the only way leading to it would be through a hidden
passage and there was only one minor problem with that. It was
hidden. Another problem was that time was not on his side. He
knew the men hunting him would be on his trail before nightfall.
One thing in Jack’s favour was that there was no way onto the
island after the rope had snapped, as the rocks were too
treacherous to take a boat near. That also meant there was no
way off the island. He’d cross that bridge when he came to it, and
chuckled to himself at the
thought of the irony. Jack took the old tattered map from his
pocket and began looking for some of the features on the map
that
Traditional Fairy Tales
Definition: A story about fairies and magic. Usually told
through many generations.
Key Features: Begin with ‘Once upon a time…’. Love
and magic are common themes. Talking animals.
Witches and wizards. Princes and princesses. Ending is
usually ‘…happily ever after.’
Key Words Settings
enchanted spell magical kingdom
three wishes unknown land far, far away
castle brave cottage
evil in love forest
wicked beautiful wood
Traditional Fairy Tales
Example: Once upon a time there was a king who had three
daughters. He told them that one day his kingdom would belong
to one of them. Whoever would inherit the kingdom would have
to prove that they were worthy.
The king told his daughters about a magical well up in the misty
mountains where a magical genie lived. This genie could be asked
three questions to find out which of these three daughters would
be the one who would rule the kingdom.
The three daughters set out from the kingdom, through the
Tirisfall Glades, through the Eversong Woods and finally into
Winterspring where they met an old lady.
Fantasy
Definition: A story about imagined places and people.
Not based on reality at all.
Key Features: A whole other world with fantastical
creatures and magic. Extraordinary and beautiful
events.
Key Words Settings
magical mermaids clouds
enchanted kingdom castle
unicorn castles magic cottage
wizard fairies sea
dragons powers sky
Fantasy
Example: In a land far away, in a time long ago to remember
lived a handsome young man.
When most young men his age worried about what they were
going to do with their life, Nicholas worried about how long his life
may last. It had a nasty way of seeming like it was about to end,
but this was normal when your job was to protect the town from a
dragon. Three dragons to be precise.
The trouble was that these dragons were very fond
of treasure, which the city of Westfall had a good
deal of. Most of this treasure was worn by a
beautiful young princess. In short, this handsome
young man’s job was simply to protect the
beautiful young princess from being carried off
by dragons.
Horror
Definition: A scary story written to frighten people!
Key Features: Elements of surprise and shock. Detailed
descriptions to create a scary atmosphere. All will seem
well and then suddenly go wrong! Short sentences can be
used for effect.
Key Words Settings
cackle horrifying old house
haunting shock castle
terrified screaming woods
shivers dark swamp
creeping spooky deserted place
Horror
Example: Sarah woke up. That is to say, something had woken her
up. As she gazed around in the darkness one thing quickly became
apparent to her. This room she had woken up in was not the same
one she had fallen asleep in. She sat in silence trying to take in her
new surroundings.
There was an old, damp smell in the air. A tiny window in the far
corner let in just enough light to make out the room she was currently
occupying. Tattered curtains, unopened for decades hung on an old
wrought iron rail while a cracked oil painting of a man hung above an
old stone fireplace. Though Sarah could not clearly make out the
painting, she could see that it had been viciously slashed where the
head should be. She froze. With no warning, the wooden door to the
small room shook violently. It shook with so much force that one of
the paintings fell from its perch on the wall and hit the floor
with such force it splintered at once.
Sarah fell to the floor in sheer terror, her heart racing out of control.
Just as soon it started, the violent shaking came to a halt and was
replaced by what could only have been the sound of heavy, clawed
feet thumping away down the corridor and into the night.
Detective/Mystery
Definition: A story in which a crime is committed and the
perpetrator is unknown.
Key Features: The main character tries to solve the
crime.
Clues are found to help with solving the mystery, though
some clues are found to lead us away from the truth and
surprise us
at the end. Key Words Settings
robbery detective police station
kidnap spy mansion
clues victim jewellery shop
suspect mystery quiet village
suspicious millionaire
Detective/Mystery
Example: The clues just didn’t add up. There was a set of
footprints leading to a solid wall, a note written to someone who
did not live at the house and a set of fingerprints that belonged to
somebody who was known at that precise moment to be on the
other side of the world.
Every piece of evidence would be photographed and then taken
into a laboratory to be looked at in more detail. Millionaires don’t
get kidnapped every day, but there is always a bigger reward if
you manage to catch the kidnapper.
There were twenty possible suspects, but each one either had
their own air-tight alibi or there wasn’t enough evidence to
place them as the main suspect.
Science Fiction
Definition: Stories that are based around scientific knowledge.
Key Features: These stories are often set in the future
and scientific discoveries are usually the inspiration for
the advanced technology that is mentioned in them e.g.
time machine.
Key Words Settings
mutant pod planet
galaxy meteorite moon
laser hovercraft spaceship
mission zoom galaxy
black hole UFO
Science Fiction
Example: The laser scanners powered down and came to a
steady halt with a hum. Nathan cautiously opened one eye, then
the next. Did it work?
All of a sudden the two empty cylinders next to him began to fill
with liquid, one a lurid green; the other a brilliant purple. He could
hear the machine buzzing and whirring as it calculated its next
procedure…almost as if it was thinking for itself. Silence. With the
strike like that of a cobra, the machine shot two pipes into
Nathan’s left arm. He watched in eager anticipation as the fluid
drained through the pipes and into his body. He could feel it
surging around his body. He was now connected to the space
ship. Nathan could feel his senses heightening, almost as if this
alien technology was reading his mind…
Within the blink of an eye, the ship and Nathan had reached
a speed never before reached by another human.
Cultural Stories
Definition: Stories that are passed down from generation to
generation and explain a belief or tradition within a culture.
Key Features: These stories are often set
in the past and explain how a country’s
custom or belief came to be. Characters
often include talking animals or mythical
creatures and they may have a problem or
dilemma to overcome.
Key Words Settings
hero battle desert
challenge dilemma historical places
history society specific countries
past creature woods
serpent mythical forest
Cultural Stories
Example: One day, a boy called Bald Boy was walking home from the
marketplace where he had made three gold coins by selling his crops. He
was very happy with his fortune. Suddenly, Bald Boy came across a group
of men who were teasing a cat with a long stick. Bald Boy walked up to
the men and told them that he would give them one gold coin if they
would stop teasing the cat. The men agreed and Bald Boy handed over the
coin. The cat was very grateful and promised to repay the boy’s kindness.
After walking a few miles, Bald Boy and the cat came across an old
woman who was beating a dog. Bald Boy told the woman that he would
give her one gold coin if she would stop beating the dog. The woman
agreed and Bald Boy handed over the coin. The dog was very grateful and
promised to be faithful to Bald Boy forevermore.
Whilst continuing their journey, Bald Boy, the cat and the dog stumbled
upon two woodcutters who were trying to kill a snake with a sharp axe.
Bald Boy walked up to the woodcutters and told them that he would give
them one gold coin if they would stop trying to kill the snake. The
woodcutters agreed and Bald Boy handed over the coin. The snake was
very grateful and told Bald Boy that he was going to take him to his father,
the Snake Emperor. The Snake Emperor was very grateful to Bald Boy and
told him that he would give him anything that Bald Boy asked of him.
