My bright idea:

The main character:

Her/his full name is:

His/her age:

Where my main character lives:

His/her hair is:

She/he is this tall:

What he/she looks like:

Who is in her/his family?

What other people are in this story? (You may need to fill this out as you write the plot outline. Don't put anyone in the story unless you need him there. Tell just what you need to know about each person who isn't really important.)

The Plot:

1. What is the big problem this person has?

2. Why does this problem matter?

3. What will happen if the hero solves the problem?

4. What will happen if the hero does not solve the problem? (It should be serious, so your readers will worry.)

5. What will be happening when the story starts? (In a short story, start as close to the beginning of the problem as possible.)

6. How will your hero find out about the problem? If he already knows, how will you let the reader find out about it?

7. List three things the hero will try to do to fix the problem. Write what he will do, what will go wrong, and how the hero will feel about this. The first two tries will not work. The last one will.

8.Why will the last try work? How will your hero feel now? How will the story end?

After you write the story:

1. Type your story on the computer if you can.

2. After a day or two, read your story. Think about what is good and what you would like to change. Make the changes. Professional writers edit their stories three or four or even more times before they try to get them published.

3. Think about your main character. Is this a believable character? Even if he lives on some other planet and has five eyes, he should seem pretty real. Does he have the skills he needs to solve his problem? Will other people like him? Did you do a good job of showing people what he's like?

3. Think about your plot. Is this a problem people really care about? Did you copy it from another story? that's called plagiarism, and it's against the rules. Be sure everything in your story makes sense. Remember that your reader won't know anything you don't tell him. Don't leave out any important information.

4. Check your grammar, spelling and typing. Make your story look professional.

5. Do you want to illustrate your story?

6. When everything is finished, decide if you're happy with your story. Is this the best job you can do? No author likes everything he writes, but you should always do your best anyway.

7. Who would like to read your story? Share it with people who will like it.

8. Congratulations. You're a writer!