Staring at a blank page can be daunting, and many of you did not write your story that was due last week (first draft), and will be final-draft-due on (A) Nov 30 and (B) Dec 1. In Study Skills A4, we did an activity based on the Snowflake Method of Novel Writing. The full Method is found at http://bubblecow.com/see-how-easily-you-can-write-a-novel-using-the-snowflake-method .

Our shortened version began with writing down just one word on each of five cards:

protagonist, antagonist, setting, conflict, conclusion

Then, we turned each of the words into a sentence.

The assignment in Ms. Jessi’s class requires dialogue, so we next made a card that contains a conversation between the antagonist and the protagonist. We put that card in the place where it belongs in the story. My dialogue was in the conclusion, but others could be in the exposition or in the conflict.

Then, we placed the cards on a story outline. We put characters and setting in our exposition, the conflict goes on the rising action, and the conclusion goes at the end.

Our homework: If you have your story finished, check and make sure each of the cards is in it somewhere. If your story isn’t written, turn each sentence into a paragraph, or a scene, and you will have a story!