Use Dialogue to Raise the Tension | Create Great Stories

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Return to course: Upper Elementary Fiction Writing: Creating the Story

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Upper Elementary Fiction Writing: Creating the Story

Grades

Course introduction
This story belongs to you
What makes something a story?
Stories begin with possibilities
Turn an idea into a story
Choose the story you want to tell
Start telling the story
Keep the story moving
Finish your story
Celebrate your story, then make it stronger
Critical thinking - Choices, Consequences, and Better Decisions
Mark optional lessons complete
(Optional) Christian writing supplement: Stories can carry truth

Give us someone worth following
Show us who your character is
Strengths, weaknesses, and contradictions
Put your character in a situation that reveals them
Choose the character you want to follow
Let your character take the lead
Let choices reveal character
Finish your character’s story
Celebrate your story, then make the character stronger
Critical thinking — Looking beyond first impressions
(Optional) Christian writing supplement — Character revealed through choices

What does your character want badly enough to act?
One character, different wants, different stories
Why does it matter to them?
Let the want change what your character does
Choose the want that gives you a story
Put the want into the story early
Let the pursuit lead to choices
Follow the want to an ending
Celebrate it, then make the want matter more
Critical thinking: What we want shapes what we choose
(Optional) Christian writing supplement: What someone values shapes their choices

Put Your Character Somewhere That Changes the Story
Same Character, Different Place, Different Story
What Can This Place Make Possible—or Impossible?
Let the Setting Affect What Your Character Does
Choose the Setting That Gives You a Story
Bring the Setting Into the Story Naturally
Let the Place Keep Affecting the Choices
Follow the Setting All the Way to the Ending
Celebrate It, Then Make the Setting Matter More
Critical Thinking — The Same Choice Can Work Differently in Different Situations
(Optional) Christian Writing Supplement: Place and Circumstance Shape What Happens

When Another Character Changes Everything
Allies, Rivals, Enemies, and Wild Cards
Give Both Characters Something They’re Trying to Do
Let Characters Force New Choices
Choose the Character Dynamic That Makes You Want to Write
Start Where the Characters Begin Affecting Each Other
Keep the Push and Pull Moving
Bring Their Choices Together at the Ending
Celebrate It, Then Make the Character Impact Stronger
Critical Thinking: Other People Change What Happens Next
(Optional) Christian Writing Supplement: People Affect One Another’s Choices

Tell the Same Situation as a Completely Different Story
Put the Hero, Rival, or Enemy at the Center
Change the Character, Change the Way the Story Moves
Turn the Story Around and Tell the Other Side
Choose How the Reader Experiences the Story
Let This Character Decide Where the Story Begins
Let This Character Drive What Happens Next
Let This Character’s Choices Shape the Ending
Make the Point of View Change the Story More
Critical Thinking — Different Perspectives Can Change How We Understand a Situation
(Optional) Christian Writing Supplement: Four True Views of One Story

Make Dialogue Change What Happens
Give Each Character Something They Want From the Conversation
Let Characters Push Back With Their Words
Let Dialogue Reveal What Characters Aren’t Saying
Make Each Character Sound Like Themselves
Start Where Someone Needs Something From Someone Else
Use Dialogue to Raise the Tension
Make the Final Conversation Change the Outcome
Make the Dialogue Do More
Critical Thinking: Ask What Someone Is Trying to Do With Their Words
(Optional) Christian Writing Supplement: Words That Change What Happens

Pick Something You’d Love to Write
Get the Story Moving
Make Something Happen That You Want to Write
Finish the Story
Which Stories Do You Want to Share With a Friend?

Use Dialogue to Raise the Tension

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