What style of story are you writing? A genre is a type of story. You may have a favourite – like funny stories or ghost stories.

Realistic Fiction

These are stories that are made up but could really happen in real life. They can be set anywhere in the world today. Use this genre to write about things that are personal to you – this can be serious or humorous.

Mystery

These stories feature crimes, mysteries or puzzles to be solved. They’re usually resolved at the end of the story. Sometimes the reader is aware of the the solution to the mystery from the start and sometimes the reader discovers the secret along with the characters.

Historical Fiction

These stories are based on real events in the past and usually feature characters who are real figures from history. The story usually ends as it did in real life, but perhaps shows the events from a different viewpoint. Sometimes stories present alternative histories where the writer can explore what could have happened if things happened differently.

Fairy Tale/Folktale

These are stories featuring imaginary and often magical characters and creatures that are based on stories that may have been told for hundreds of years and passed down through word-of-mouth. Often the stories have moral messages or warnings to the reader and they can be retold in lots of different ways.

Alternative myth/ fairy tale

An adaptation of a traditional story, often with twists or brought into the modern day or other setting

Fantasy

These are stories set in universes that can be very different from ours — places where magic is common and the typical laws of nature don’t apply. Some fantasy stories are set in worlds like ours but where certain fantasy elements can exist – for example magic or super powers.

Science Fiction

Sci-fi or science fiction stories usually include elements of advanced technologies can take place in the future or even in space. There are some variations on science fiction that are  about possible futures for particular cultural groups – for example Afrofuturism. Others are about how things won’t improve in the future or may get a lot worse, for example dystopian fiction or cyberpunk.

Cli-fi -Climate fiction

Stories that explore the natural world

Horror

These stories are written to scare the reader! They can feature ghosts and other supernatural or fantastical creatures, or be set in the real world and feature scary things that could really happen or have happened.

It’s important to plan your story before you start writing

Most stories have a beginning, middle and end. Before you start writing, make sure you know what will happen at these three points.

Things to do to help you plan your story

• Quickly write down your ideas before you forget them!
• Draw pictures of what will happen in the story
• Create your characters
• Write down where the story will take place

Writing the story

In the beginning of the story, establish your setting and characters.

• Write an amazing opening line!
• Introduce your hero and set their story in motion
• Explain when the story is taking place and set the scene.
• Write about what’s happening and make sure the reader is interested!

In the middle of the story, add conflict and a problem to solve. Our character(s) will come across a major problem, obstacle or dilemma.

• Introduce new characters (this could include a villain) and perhaps new settings Make sure the reader wants the hero to succeed Make things difficult for your hero!

At the end of the story your character has to solve or resolve the problem to reach their goal. This is the resolution. The ending could be happy or sad.

• Don’t just end the story in one or two lines. Make sure you have enough words left to write a proper ending!
• If the hero succeeds, make sure it’s believable. Could the hero you’ve written actually have done this?
• Is there a twist?

Things to think about when creating a character

Make sure this is a character that you’re interested in writing about. Is the character similar to you or someone you know?

Name : Give your character a name that people can remember.
Choose a name that fits their background, culture and identity.

Setting : Where would your character live or spend time? Make sure that the character fits into the world in your story!

What does your character want? How will they react to what happens in the story? If they’re the hero, what they want will shape the whole story.

Appearance : What does your character look like? Do they have any unusual features or act in a certain way? Use adjectives (describing words) to bring your characters to life.

Job : What does your character do? Do they go to school? Are they a ballerina? A vampire hunter? A supervillain?
Choose something that fits with the story you want to write

Clothing : What does your character wear? This can help people get to know the character better.

Likes and dislikes : What does your character like and dislike? Do they love football? Do they hate Brussels sprouts?

Important! If you’re writing a short story, don’t spend lots of words on descriptions that the reader (and the story) doesn’t need! Only write that your hero hates sprouts if they’re eating Christmas dinner or fighting a 20 ft high Brussels sprout monster.

There are lots of different types of poem. Some have rules and others don‘t!

Free verse

A popular modern style of poem. Free verse has no rules and can rhyme

Haiku

Japanese haikus have just three lines; the first and third lines have five syllables, whereas the second has seven. Haikus don’t have to rhyme and evoke a particular mood or instance

Sonnets

Made famous by Shakespeare, sonnets have 14 lines and follow a rhyming structure

Acrostic

These can be any length and spell out a word or phrase with the first letter of each line

Ballad

A traditional form of poem intended to tell stories. They use rhymes and were usually set to music. A lot of modern pop music could be considered as ballads

Things to think about when writing a poem

Poems are highly expressive. Make sure you’re writing about something that really inspires you.

Carry a notebook – any time you’re inspired or words or a rhyme come into your head, write it down!

Choose a form of poem that you’d like to write – there are some listed on this flyer. Read plenty of poems of different styles to give you ideas, or listen to some favourite song lyrics!

Write about something you know or that you’ve experienced. Choose words that describe your feelings and responses.
Use your senses to inspire your writing! Does what you touch, taste, hear, see or smell remind you of a particular memory, place or occasion? What words would you use to describe these feelings?

If you’re writing a poem about a character or someone you know, start off by thinking of a word or phrase to describe them, for example: noisy, loud, loving, funny, ticklish… Use these words to start your verse.

Does your poem have a rhythm or does it rhyme? Some poems use a repeated word or line, often with the meaning changing as the poem progresses.

Why not mix in different languages or made-up words?

Read (or sing!) your poem out loud (even if it’s just to yourself). How does it sound and make you feel?

Important! Have fun! Poems let you play with words and language in a way that you sometimes can’t with a story.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Street Child by Berlie Doherty and others : stories about foundlings and finding a home and new family

Paddington Bear by Michael Bond – both lost and found, he’s lost at Paddington Station until he’s found by the Browns and adopted into his new-found family.

The Lion Above the Door by Onjali Q. Rauf – lost and found history of relatives (especially BIPOC relatives) during WW2

Once by Morris Gleitzman – WW2 story set in Poland about one boy’s escape from Nazis.

Oliver and the Seawigs by Phillip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre – Oliver finds a talking island with a natty hairdo. And a mermaid.

The Wombles by Elisabeth Beresford – finding things on Wimbledon Common and turning them into something useful

Fish in the Forest from Tales of Wisdom and Wonder by Hugh Lupton – a farmer discovers a chest of gold in his field but how can he keep a hold of it when his wife is a gossip?

The Song Walker by Zillah Bethnell – a girl is lost wandering in the Australian Outback with no memory of who she is or why she’s there

London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd – a boy’s cousin goes missing on the London Eye

The King of the Copper Mountains by Paul Biegel – stories within stories as a doctor hunts down the elusive Golden Speedwell flower for the ailing king

Malamander by Thomas Taylor : about a boy who works in a lost and found office in a strange hotel

• An Island of our own by Sally Nicholls
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Explorers at Stardust City by Alex Bell

Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird

After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

Birdie by JP Rose

Finding my Voice by Aoife Dooley

The Lonely Book by Meg Grehan

Quiet Storm by Kimberly Whittam

A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton – little owl has lost his mummy and his friend is not very good at understanding descriptions.

Where is Fred?  by Edward Hardy – Fred the Caterpillar is nowhere to be seen and Gerald the Crow wants to eat him. Camouflage.

Greedy Zebra by Mwenye Hadthi – the animals find some skins in a cave and make themselves lovely new coats for the first time, except for Zebra who is too busy stuffing his face with grass to get to the cave on time. Great ‘how the animals came to be’ story.

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch – Princess Elizabeth goes searching for her prince after he’s stolen by a dragon

Dogger by Shirley Hughes – lost stuffed toy

Heart in the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers – dealing with grief and how grief can lead to finding new shared experiences

The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright – mouse finds his inner lion and courage when he has to ask Lion to teach him to roar

Journey Home by Fran Preston-Gannon – some animals get lost at sea

Lost by Morajo Ilustrajo – lost polar bear

Beegu by Alexia Deacon – an alien is lost on Earth looking for a friend

The Something by Katherine Cave – the Something is not like anyone else. Found family/friends story

The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett – Duck finds an egg and decides to raise it as his own

Where’s Wally?

I Want my Hat Back by Jon Klassen – Bear can’t find his hat, have you seen it?

There’s a Bear on my Chair by Ross Collins – Mouse finds a bear, sitting on HIS chair.

Laika the Astronaut by Owen Davey – the first dog in space

Rhinos Don’t Eat Pancakes by Anna Kemp – a little girl comes downstairs one day and finds a big purple rhino tucking in to her breakfast that her parents cannot see

The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan

Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (for older readers)

The Journey by Francesca Sanna

Hansel and Gretel : becoming lost in a forest and finding a witch’s house…

The journey of Odysseus : being lost at sea and trying to reach home

Theseus and the Minotaur : Using a thread and finding a way through a labyrinth where a monster lives…