Writing a short story. Optional homework for Christmas.

Your English club is running a short story competition. 

Choose one of the titles below and write your story (250 words):  

1 A blind date. 2 The wedding. 3 Time goes by. 4 Under my bed

SHORT STORY

REMEMBER

• Narrative story needs paragraphing:

BEFORE THE EVENT: try to answer in this first paragraph the WHO, WHERe, WHEN and WHY of your story
THE EVENT: write 2 or 3 paragraphs to describe the WHAT HAPPENED
AFTER THE EVENT: try to solve the conflict in this paragraph and describe feelings of characters after the solution of the conflict.

• Try to keep the chronological order of events. It will help you avoid overlapping of sequencing.
• Short sentences create suspense, which makes your story more interesting. Do not make the plot of your story too complicated.
• You can incorporate short dialogues into your story.
• Use the variety of narrative tenses:

• Past Simple:
  • to describe simple facts and states

    She opened her eyes, yawned, and slowly got up.

    
    
  • to describe events that follow each other

    She left the building, went to the shop where she realised she did not have enough money and returned home.

    
    
• Past Continuous:
  
  • to set the scene

    The wind was blowing, dark clouds were gathering over his head and he was getting cold.

    
    
  • (used with Past Simple) to show that the continuity of one action is interrupted by another action

    Tom was watching the news when a strange noise came from the basement.

    
    
• Past Perfect/ Continuous:
  
  • 'past in the past'- to indicate that something happened earlier than the action described

    She stared at him trying to remember where she had seen that face before.

    
    
  • to indicate that what happened earlier was a longer activity

    She was dirty and sweaty as she had been playing volleyball all day.

    
    

Useful expressions: the first thing that happened; at first; it began with; it started with; after that; just then; afterwards; when; once (meaning after); just as; then; after some time; suddenly; out of the sudden; gradually; step by step; slowly; in the end; eventually; finally; it ended with;

https://www.ang.pl/egzaminy/egzaminy_cambridge/fce_writing_guidelines/short_story