Brain Storm a Story! Writing Activity for Kids

Every new story begins with a brain storm! Today we are going to brain storm an idea for a brand new story.

Have your student start with a blank sheet of notebook paper, label it “setting”. Number the paper one through three on the side leaving at least three lines in between. Older students may want to write down more ideas and increase the amount of space needed for writing.

Directions for the student:

#1- Describe a place you have visited before and might like to write a story about.

#2- Describe a place you want to visit but have never been to and you want to write a story about what that might be like.

#3- Describe a fantasy place that exists only in your own imagination!

Now it is time to populate your story with interesting characters. Get out a clean sheet of paper, or flip your current paper over. Label this paper “characters”. Again, number the paper 1-3 with a few lines in between.

Directions for the student:

#1 – Name and give a little description of at least three people you know. Hint: Be sure to add “character” to your characters!
(Example: Uncle Bob is very tall. He has blonde hair, blue eyes, and you can always see him wearing his brown loafers. Uncle Bob enjoys telling jokes that Mom says is crude. )

#2- Name and give a description of at least three people you would like to meet.
(Example: Princess Kate is a classy brunette with her own sense of style. She may not have been the queen’s top pick for the prince to marry, but she has accepted her role as princess with grace and dignity.)

#3 Name and give description of at least three people who do not really exist.
(Twinkle is a silly and adorable pink baby unicorn who is always getting into mischief.)

Now that you have a few settings and some characters, you can mix and match them to your heart’s desire to create a story that is uniquely yours and totally fun! To begin writing your first story, select a setting and any three characters from your list. (Hint: They can be from one category or combination of all three categories. What if Uncle Bob, Princess Kate, and Twinkle all decided to visit Hawaii together? What a story that would be!) 

Remember every story has a beginning, middle and end. In the beginning of the story, describe your setting (or at least your starting place, if your characters plan to travel) and talk about who your characters are. In the middle, describe the place they are visiting. Did your characters experience any problems? How are they going to work together to solve those problems? At the end bring your story to a conclusion. Do they make it home safe and sound? Does one of them wake up and realize it was only a dream? 

Once you have finished your story, be sure to share it with your friends and family! And I would love to hear from you too!