What an exciting one to start with! This week the challenge is to write a short story. This story can be hand-written or typed, it's up to you! There is no strict word count, but for more experienced writers, those who want to challenge themselves, or anyone who loves a bit of creative writing, we would say that 500 to 1000 words is a great goal to have. Who knows, you might even write more than that? 

 

Remember not everyone writes the same at every age- write a story that is the right length for you. This story could be about ANYTHING. There are no limits to what could happen, so long as it makes sense to anyone reading it. You could write an adventure story, or a fantasy tale, something autobiographical or, if you were feeling brave, a horror. The choice is yours! 

 

REMEMBER; when writing a story it is important to have a beginning, middle and end. Sometimes it helps to plan these out in advance, as these are what allows the story to make sense for your readers. If your story involves characters, you may want to add some descriptive adjectives to tell readers what each of them is like. They might be beautiful, or sweet, or tall, or made of orange jelly. If there is any speech in your story, remember to use speech marks (e.g. "My favourite fruit is a grapefruit," said Mr Grapefruit) so that readers know when someone is talking.

 

Finally, remember to use paragraphs. This breaks the story up so it is easier for readers to follow. When writing a story, you should aim to have at least one thing happen, or make one point, in each paragraph.  

 

FUN FACT- 

There are few different types of fictional book. A novel, short story and a novella. You can tell which is which by how many words is in the book.

 

A novel typically has over 50,000 words, a novella is typically 10,000 to 40,000 and a published short story usually has 1,000 words or more.

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To see our other Home-Challenges, click here.