Note: This whole activity is available online at my new “Keep On Writing” Online Writing School. It’s set up as a tutorial to allow kids to work at their own pace with more in depth instruction. For more information, LINK HERE!

Welcome to Day 3 of writing your own spooky story. Today we’re going to start the rough draft. The best way to start your story is to find a quiet place, and have an idea of what activity your character is doing when we find them. It’s best to start them in the middle of an activity that is important to them, such as being at school, basketball practice, or playing in the creek near their house. Something that would be a place or thing that will lead them to the problem.

Why is this important? Because as a writer, you want to SHOW, NOT TELL your story. You want to have activities showing what your character is about or likes to do, and not just tell your readers. If you tell them, your story is nothing more than just a summary of actions. A story shows the actions and events. It puts characters into problems and lets them loose.

There are two school of thoughts on how to write the rough draft as well. The two ways to write a rough draft can be broken into two groups of people, those that write by having an idea of what the characters are and what may happen, and let the action play in their mind as they write it down. These people are called Pantsers, as they write by the seat of their pants.

The second group are more organized and like to outline or write down the order of events that they want to have happen in a story from beginning, middle to end. These people are called Plotters since they like to have events mapped out.

Either way of writing your rough draft is correct. You could even try the one way that sounds best to you, and if it doesn’t work, switch to the other. It’s good to know which you prefer since it will make it easier for you to write. Personally, I’m a Pantser. I tend to spend a lot of time knowing what my characters are like, and an idea of what they will do. But often I’ve sat down and had the story turn out different, because once I put the characters into the situation I’ve created, they choose to do something else. I love this! I call it being in the zone. I enjoy the story as much as any reader since sometimes I don’t even know what will happen in the end until I write it.

So, think of that action your main character needs to be in the middle of, find that quiet space, and start writing. Don’t worry about how it starts. You can always change it later. Just start. If it’s hard, use the phase, “There I was on a dark and stormy night.” My starting phrase for my posts this week is”Welcome to Day — to writing your own spooky story.” It might sound boring or hokey, but it gets me started. Once you get your brain flowing, the beginning can always be changed or improved.

Tomorrow, I’m planning to try something new. I’m going to be broadcasting on Periscope, a phone app. that allows you to broadcast world wide anything you might be doing from anywhere. I’ll be going through the techniques I’ve posted about the last few days, and taking any questions or comments you might have on your story in progress. Please join me @Tiffmeister on Periscope at 3:30pm-4:40pm PDT. If you don’t have the app, you can download it from the GooglePlayStore or Itunes store for your iPhone.

So, get writing! And I’ll see you tomorrow for some one-to-one help and support! -Tiffany (Mrs. Turner)

Plus, for this week only starting today, Oct. 27, my Halloween Tale, Pumper the Pumpkin will be available for free on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Pumper-Pumpkin-Tiffany-Turner-ebook/dp/B005X1CS1A