These story planning worksheets were designed to help your kids learn the 5 W’s of writing, which makes getting started with writing much easier!
The hardest part of being a writer is, like anything else, the getting-started part: the putting of pen to paper.
What are the 5 W’s of writing?
- Who
Coming up with characters is often the easiest part of beginning to write a story. Yet, there is much more about the “who” than just their names and what they do throughout the story. Their personalities, talking style, mannerisms, beliefs, likes and dislikes ~ all of these details are necessary to decide as part of each ‘who’ in a story.
- What
There are key points and details throughout each story. The plot is what the story is centered around, but in addition to a plot, there are climaxes and anticlimaxes, incidents, pinch points, etc.
- Where
The beauty of writing a story is that you can make the location anywhere in the world (or beyond if your imagination takes you that far!) that you want to go! There are no limits to where in the world your story is based, no matter your physical location.
- When
Writers who love history often place their stories in times of the past. Far-off dreamers might pen their story decades into the future. Those who enjoy writing stories based on what they know and love write in the here and now.
- Why
This is the personal part of story planning for each writer. Why. There is a reason you’re driven to storytelling. Why is this particular story important for you to tell? Only you know. Take time to consider why it is important to you. This will help you keep on keeping on when you might want to throw it all away.
The best part of writing is not a ‘w ‘, and only you, the writer, can bring all of the ‘W’s’ together into ‘how’. Each of the 5 steps above will help you put together an amazing story showcasing the how of your dream…your story.
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