Let

1
Lets Write a Mystery Story
2
Step One Story Skeleton

• Fill out the story skeleton sheet
• Setting
• Character List
• Conflict
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Resolution

3
Choose the Setting for Your Story

• Where will the story take place?
• Will it be in the city where you live or
  somewhere else?
• Writing about someplace you can picture is
  easier.
• Use the five senses to help describe the setting.

• When will the story take place?
• Will your story take place in the present, past,
  or future?
• Will your story take place all in one day or over
  a longer time?
• Your choice of pictures follows

4
Choice of Pictures
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Cast of Characters

• Make a list of the people in your story.
• The main character is most important.
• Minor characters may help the main character, or
  they may prevent the main character from solving
  the mystery
• You need an antagonist.

11
Step Two Character Webs

• For each character, make a web or cluster.
  Develop your characters personality and
  appearance. What is the motivation for how your
  characters act and talk?

12
Conflict

• WHODUNNIT? What is the mystery? What is the
  problem that your main character will have to
  solve?
• Is someone or something missing?
• Did someone steal something?
• Was there a murder?

13
Rising Action

• Rising action is the steps between learning there
  is a mystery and finding the solution.
• List these events in order, but stop right before
  the mystery is solved.
• Develop suspense with clues.
• Red herrings are clues that lead the reader to
  suspect the wrong person.
• One clue must be the key to solving the crime.

14
Climax

• This is the moment when the mystery is solved.
• The climax is the solution to the mystery.
• This is the moment you have been waiting for!

15
Resolution

• This is the end of the story the last paragraph
  or two.
• The resolution ties up the loose ends.
• Tell the reader any details the reader needs to
  know to understand how the mystery was solved.
• It should be obvious that this is the end of the
  story. (Do not say The End.)

16
Write Your First Sentence

• Grab the readers attention and make them want to
  read the rest of the story.
• Begin with action, and with something interesting
  happening at the beginning.

• Starting with a conversation or someone talking
  is another way to make your story come to life
  right away.

17
Step Three Rough Draft

• Write on every other line of the paper. The extra
  space will be used for revising and editing
  later.
• Be sure to include dialogue to help the story
  come to life.

• Let your reader know early in the story what the
  setting is.
• Use the skeleton and character webs to help you
  organize your thoughts.
• Think of an attention grabbing title.

18
Step Four Revising

• Do you need to add information?
• Do you need to subtract information?
• Do you need to move sentences or paragraphs?
• Did you include dialogue? Is it punctuated and
  written correctly?
• Are you happy with the beginning?

• Have you used interesting vocabulary? (Avoid
  unnecessary repetition.) Do you need to replace
  any words?
• Do you need to combine any short, choppy
  sentence?

19
Step Five Editing

• Look for corrections to be made
• spelling
• capitalization
• punctuation
• run-on sentences
• fragments

• verb usage
• pronoun usage
• Paragraph indenting

20
Step Six Final Copy

• Handwritten
• Use looseleaf paper
• Use neat margins on both sides
• Make corrections neatly
• Double space

• Typed
• Use 12 point font
• Double space
• Use 1 margins

Be sure your name and period are in the upper
right hand corner and TAP.
21
The Mystery Is Solved

• Self Evaluation
• And
• Teacher Evaluation

22
Self-Evaluation

• On a separate sheet of paper, you will write
  about your experience writing this mystery story.
  The questions Included are on the following
  slide.
• Staple the evaluation to the rough draft, webs,
  and skeleton.
• Turn your final copy in separately. Be sure your
  project is turned in on time.

23
Questions to Ask Yourself

• How much time did you spend?
• What did you enjoy or not enjoy about this
  assignment?
• What do you think you learned from completing
  this project?
• What is your projects strong point?
• What are you most proud of?
• What do you think you could have improved on?
• What grade do you think you earned?

24
Teacher Evaluation

• Following directions on each step
• Original work
• Interesting title
• Sensible story order
• Carefully chosen vocabulary
• Correct spelling
• Correct Capitalization

• Correct punctuation
• Well constructed sentences
• Correctly written dialogue
• Correct use of paragraphs
• Neat final copy
• Project turned in on time