How To Use Image Prompts: Writing A Story From A Picture
Why image prompts work, tips for writing a story from an image, where to find picture prompts for creative writing, image prompt mood boards.
For example, if you are using an image of a beach, you could include pictures of people swimming, sunsets, waves crashing against the shore, etc.

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Using images for fiction writing.
This is just one example of the many stories you could write from this single picture prompt.
What About Non-Fiction Writing? Can You Use Image Prompts, Too?
There's still so much more to learn đâșïž, related posts, can you use ai to write a book the best ai novel writing software, pdf template for writing a book, can ai replace writers donât worry just yetâŠ, can ai write poetry this hack might help you write your first book of poems, about the author.
Arielle Phoenix
- Image Prompts
85+ Picture Writing Prompts For Kids (+ Free Printable)
A picture is worth a thousand words. So how many words can you write for these 85 picture writing prompts for kids and grow-ups alike! Pictures, whether something as simple as an apple or as complex as an action scene can spark the imagination in more ways than one.
Of course, when looking at pictures you can take the literal route, and describe whatever you see in front of you. Or you can explore your imagination, and think about the âWhat Ifs..â of a picture. What if that person is actually upset? What if this picture is of a broken family? What if the world looked like this years ago? A picture can have so many hidden meanings and can hide so many secrets. The slightest detail could mean everything. Just imagine youâre a detective solving a crime from one picture alone. Examine every detail, write it down and think why? Only then can you fully understand a picture.
For more inspiration take part in our daily picture writing prompt challenge . Each day you will be given a new picture prompt to write about.
Picture Prompt Generator
In this post, we have included a mix of simple pictures, story picture prompts, photographs, fantasy images and even some action-packed images.
You can find the complete list of our picture writing prompts below. We’ve also created a smaller PDF version that includes 30 random picture prompts. Download the printable PDF here .
You might also be interested in the following posts:
- 30 Christmas Pictures To Get You Writing âTis Jolly Season
- 25+ Halloween Image Prompts For Mastering Horror Stories
- How to Use Image prompts To Inspire You
150 Picture Prompts To Inspire
Over 85 picture prompts for creative writing, story-telling and descriptive writing assignments:

How to Use these Prompts
Picture prompts are the perfect writing stimulus especially when you hit writerâs block . Here are a number of ways you can use these picture writing prompts to spark your imagination:
- Descriptive Writing: Directly describe everything you see in extreme detail. You could even go beyond the physical appearance of things, and explore your other senses, such as smell, hear, feel and taste.
- Story-Telling: Pick just one image, and tell a whole story based on this one image.
- Story Starter: Similarly you can pick one image, and use it as the starting place of your story.
- Collaborative Story-Telling: In a group of 5 – 7 students, each student can have a random picture. The first student uses their picture as the story starter, and then the next student continues the story based on their own image. Keep going until the final student ends the story.
- Idea Generation: Pick one image and try to think of at least 3 story ideas related to that one image.
- Daily Writing Challenge: Give your students 7 images, and tell them to write a description for each image every day.
These are just some ways to use images as writing prompts. You can also check our post on 8 fun story-telling games using image prompts for more ideas. Did you find our picture writing prompts useful? Let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.
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An ESL Lesson: Writing a Story Using Picture Prompts and Correction Marks
To the teacher: I took the idea for this lesson from an ESL workbook that I used many years ago. Nothing remains of the book, but for this picture, which I now use as a prompt to get students to write a story together. My lesson is very different from the lesson that was in the workbook originally so there is no plagiarism hereâall I can do is thank those forgotten authors from long ago. All good lessons get borrowed and become the lessons of others.
… Objective:
By working together students will write a story after making a list of words that they will need to write it.
Teacher talk and discussion Groups of three, individuals
Bilingual dictionaries Newsprint and markers Blue painter’s tape
High beginner to low intermediate but a good teacher can make a lesson accommodate any student level
PDF File: Picture Prompts and Correction Marks:
Pig Story, Picture Prompts and Correction Marks
… Progression: …

Looking and discussing. Place students in groups of three and hand out the pictures. Tell them that they are going to make a list of all the words they see when they look at the six pictures. They may use bi-lingual dictionaries to find the words they know in their own languages, but not in English. Tell them they are going to make a list of all the nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs that they see, especially the verbs. What’s happening? …

Making a list and discussing the words listed. Students may write their lists on newsprint or on the board. When the lists are finished, hang them up on the wall in different parts of the classroom. Now, the students in their groups should get up and go from newsprint to newsprint examining the words. Some students like to stay seated, but get them up and interacting. Everybody looks at all the words generated. Most words, of course, will be similar, but some will not. Focus on the differences, the spelling, and what part of speech each word is.
Note: for hanging up newsprint, by the way, I like to use blue painter’s tape because it doesn’t leave marks on the wall when the lesson is over and the newsprint is taken down. …

Writing a story. Using their new vocabulary, each group will write a story creating it together. Tell them to choose one tense to write in, either the simple past or the simple present. There can be one designated writer, or students can take turns writing, but all the students in the group must add words and ideas to the story. The teacher circulates to make sure that this is happening. All hands on deck! …

Reading and correcting the story. As each group finishes, the teacher can take the newsprint and hang it up. But before the groups get up to read the stories, the teacher should familiarize them with correction marks first because the students are going to need to know how to use them so that they can edit and rewrite later. I have provided a list of correction marks below that my students have used successfully.
Once the students have reviewed the correction marks, let them get up in their groups and look over every story. Give each group a marker to make their own corrections. When finished, every story should have correction marks from every group. The teacher, after the students have corrected, goes over every story one more time to point out any correction errors and make any final corrections.
… Correction Marks

To the teacher : I did the corrections in the story above. It was the first time the class worked together, so I modeled the correcting. Honestly, any correction mark, even a simple check, will do as long as it designates the spot where an error has occurred: knowing where the mistake is is what is important.
Using more specific correction marks allows teachers to indicate mistakes without correcting the work themselves. Letting students know what kind of correction is needed, alerts them to the kind of mistake they have made so they can more easily narrow in on what they need to do to correct it.
There can be several drafts where teacher and student work together toward a perfect paper, but on each draft the teacher indicates where the correction is needed and the student makes the correct correction. The teacher should never rewrite the student’s paper. The student must do that. …
When students work in groups, they get to know each other better and that is dynamic for a class. And, after working together students are much more able to work alone. The skills students observe in others become their own. …
Share this:
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… Scott Hightower’s newest book of poems, Tartessos, takes place in western Spain, recording landscapes and cities, the history of politicians and artists, people the poet …
Hi Don. I love this lesson! Do you have the picture prompts available?
I have added a downloadable PDF file.
Thank you, Don. I’m going to download the pictures when I get to school!
Please let me know if it works.
Wow, that’s absolutely amazing, I’ll do it when i start teaching
Quite sure it’s an effective method. Please, where can I get more
Thanks for sharing this amazing post. It will be helpful to my daughter to read your article
Genuine advice. Really helpful.
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Picture Prompts
Over 140 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing
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By Natalie Proulx
- May 23, 2019
Sign up for our free Learning Network newsletter. Receive new writing prompts in your inbox every week.
Updated: May 31, 2019
Think The New York Times is only for readers at a high-school reading level? Think again.
Besides written articles, The Times also offers a rich collection of visuals â photos, illustrations, graphics, GIFs and short videos â that are accessible to learners of all levels. Since 2016, weâve been featuring these images in our daily Picture Prompts : short, image-driven posts that invite a variety of kinds of student writing.
Teachers tell us they use these prompts in all kinds of ways. Some use them to encourage students to develop a daily writing habit . Others as an exercise to practice inferences , spark discussion or support reading . This year, one elementary school music teacher told us how her class used the visuals as inspiration for writing short stories accompanied by music .
For more ideas, we have a lesson plan on how to teach with Picture Prompts and other Times images, as well as a free, on-demand webinar that explores how to use our thousands of writing prompts for everyday low-stakes writing practice across the curriculum.
Below, weâve categorized the 140+ prompts we published during the 2018-19 school year based on the type of writing they primarily ask students to do â whether itâs penning short stories and poems, sharing experiences from their own lives, telling us their opinions, or interpreting an imageâs message. All are still open for comment.
You can find even more images in our Picture Prompt roundups for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.
If you use this feature with your students, or if you have other ideas for how to use photos, illustrations and graphics to encourage writing, let us know in the comments section.
What story could this image tell? Use your imagination.
Three Dots Balloon Face Oars and Sâmores Conversation Spaceship at the White House Around the Campfire Special Key Computer Screen 17-Foot Python Batman on a Couch Hanging With Friends Hole in the Ceiling In a Crowd Opossum Among Shoes Your Food Obsession Tech Gadgets Carrying a Letter Reaching Through the Wall Sledding in the Mountains Trees, River, Cottage and Sheep The Ride Headphones Leap In the Stands Shade Under the Table Security Line At Their Computers Tiny Stories Tarot Cards Haunted House? Driver and Bicyclist Red Ball Kneeling and Reaching A Letter in the Mail Campfire
Share experiences from your own life.
One Last Adventure Amusement Park Dog in a Backpack Generation Z Breakfast A New App Met Gala Tidying Up Take Your Child to Work Day New Homes Photos From Space Social Media Star Signs of Spring Literary Protagonists The Story of Your Name Dream Home Momo Gym Class Nostalgic Places Price Tags Night Owl or Early Bird Lunar New Year Rescue Pets Polar Vortex Facing Rejection Dreams Superstitions Holiday Season Astrology Favorite Books Journaling Caffeine Giving and Getting Candy Around the World Journeys Saying Thank You Nutrition âThe Simpsonsâ Man, Seal, Octopus Weddings The Night Sky Remembering 9/11 Worldâs Largest Prairie Dog
What do you think this image, chart or cartoon is saying?
Falling Bottles Focus Here Emojis Eagle and Gender Symbols Hand and Fist Jungle Gym Stacks of Money Magnifying Glass âFreedom From Wantâ âThe Writerâs Blockâ Watching Walking Down the Street Gun Parts Globe and Books Head Full of Stuff Tight Rope Adventure New Faces Leaping Over Binoculars Brexit Floating Coins Giant Machine Blue Water Other Peopleâs Burdens In a Maze Chalk Outline Hands on Their Shoulders Past and Future Pieces of a Flag From a Hole to a Balloon
Whatâs your opinion on this issue?
Spy Cams Jack-of-all-trades Gender Expectations Game Show Winner Royal Baby Movie Theaters Tiger Woods Wins âThe Image of the Revolutionâ Final Four Referees $430 Million Deal Student Climate Strikes Womenâs History Month Legos and Battlebots Cash Reward Brushing Beagle Book Covers Super Bowl Commercials Math Fast-Food Buffet The âBird Boxâ Challenge Hands-On Parenting 2018 in Pictures The Outspoken N.B.A. Online Video Games Standout Steer California Wildfire Election Day Public Libraries Champions A Computer in Everything Snail Mail Fashion Trends Sleep Deprivation Household Chores Gymnastics on Horseback Song of Summer Giant Ice Disk
Want more writing prompts?
You can find our full collection of writing prompts, added as they publish, here . We also have a list of over 1,000 writing prompts for narrative and persuasive writing gathered from our daily Student Opinion questions . Plus, we have a collection of â 40 Intriguing Images to Make Students Think ,â taken from four years of our weekly â Whatâs Going On in This Picture? â feature.

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Writing Worksheets - Story Pictures
Students can write stories to go along with these pictures. Each worksheet includes a fun cartoon picture, and a few sheets of lined writing paper.

Story Pictures

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Fairy Tale Story Pics
Holiday story pictures.

Read the paragraphs and use editing marks to correct the errors.
Ideas for creative writing journals that involve critical and creative thinking.
Even more worksheets to help teach writing skills.
Students form an opinion on a given topic and write a persuasive essay to support their view.
Sample Worksheet Images

PDF with answer key:
PDF no answer key:

5 Reasons to Use Pictures as Writing Prompts
by Sarah Gribble | 0 comments
Fall is here and for me that means nostalgia over back-to-school time. The idea of seeing friends, new clothes, and especially new school supplies always made me giddy. Oh, the notebooks and pens. I was in heaven.

One of my favorite assignments in elementary school was the picture writing prompts, normally in the form of a coloring book page. The goal was to think about what was happening in the scene while we were coloring. Who are these kids? What are they doing? Why are they doing it?
Then weâd write about it, normally in a timed session.
Years (I wonât say how many) after elementary school, picture writing prompts are still one of my favorite ways to get inspired and get the creative juices flowing. I use them for simple exercises, as the spark of a short story, and collect them for a general inspiration board .
5 Reasons to Dive in with Picture Writing Prompts
If you follow any kind of writing blog or social page, youâve probably seen picture writing prompts before. People love them and thereâs no end to sites that provide them. Not to mention the millions of pictures that are out there that arenât âofficialâ writing prompts. Youâve probably got a ton on your phone that could spark an idea .
If you havenât taken the plunge and tried writing from picture writing prompts before, here are five reasons why you should:
1. A different take on creativity
There are a lot of reasons why teachers use pictures as prompts for their students. One is that it opens up the creative side of your brain in a different way than simply saying âWrite about your summerâ does. A person might write about where they went on vacation if given this verbal prompt, but if theyâre looking at a picture of said vacation, theyâre more likely to comment on the heat or the smell or how the sand felt between their toes.
2. Focus on details
Because the scene is already set, using pictures as prompts allows you to hone in on more sensory details than you may have done otherwise. You may look at a tree bright with crimson leaves and think of the crisp air thatâs blowing down the sidewalk. Or children playing might spark the idea of sticky hands and the taste of Kool-Aid.
The placement of the pictureâs actors is already set, allowing your brain to move on to the finer details of the scene, which will ultimately give your writing more authenticity and feeling.
3. Visual stimulation
Pictures are visually stimulating. You already see what is happening. You notice the colors, the action, the background. You donât have to concentrate on imagining the scene. You simply put yourself in whatâs already there and describe it.
4. Snapshots of life
Pictures convey a narrative on their own. Theyâre literally a snapshot of life, but just a snapshot. They donât give context or background. They simply show you what is, and leave any interpretation up to you.
You get to decide how those people got where they are and where theyâre going from there.
5. Sparks feeling/memory
Humans are very visual. We love taking pictures, looking through strangerâs pictures online, and sifting through old black-and-whites in our grandparentsâ attics. Just one picture can strike a cord of feeling and memory. Look at a picture of a major event in your life and tell me youâre not transported back to that time. You know how you felt, what you did, possibly even how the room smelled or what that birthday cake tasted like.
The same can happen with pictures of other people or places youâve never been. One good picture can capture melancholy or intense joy. By looking at someone else feeling it, you feel it. And then you can write about it.
Donât let pictures limit you
When youâre writing based on a picture writing prompt, remember that you donât have to conform to the picture in the literal sense. Whatever the image sparks, go with it. What comes out the other side might not have anything to do with the picture. And thatâs fine! Youâre using the picture as inspiration, not doing a journalistic piece on it. The skyâs the limit when using any prompt.
Want help with writing a story? Check out my complete guide to writing a short story here .
Do you do better with word or picture writing prompts? Let me know in the comments !
Go to a site like this one or this one or this one and choose a picture. Donât spend a ton of time choosing one. Just pick on and go with it. Take a good look at the picture, then spend fifteen minutes writing about it.
Donât worry if itâs not a complete story. Just free write. If you can develop it into a full story later, great! If not, it was a nice exercise to get the juices flowing!
BONUS: If you want the full elementary school experience (and to give your creative mind a different outlet) print out and color one of these sheets from Crayola . Then write about it.
Don't forget to share your writing in the practice box and give your fellow writers some feedback!
Enter your practice here:
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Sarah Gribble
Sarah Gribble is the author of dozens of short stories that explore uncomfortable situations, basic fears, and the general awe and fascination of the unknown. She just released Surviving Death , her first novel, and is currently working on her next book.
Follow her on Instagram or join her email list for free scares.

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Live worksheets > English > English as a Second Language (ESL) > Writing > Writing- make a story based on pictures

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Story Writing Based On Picture
Displaying top 8 worksheets found for - Story Writing Based On Picture .
Some of the worksheets for this concept are Lesson 13 a, Elite writing skills picture composition, Teachers guide and classroom work, Native american pictograph stories, Whats next sequencing story, 101 picture prompts, Using short stories in the english classroom, The who where when what why and how of story writing.
Found worksheet you are looking for? To download/print, click on pop-out icon or print icon to worksheet to print or download. Worksheet will open in a new window. You can & download or print using the browser document reader options.
1. Lesson 13 (a)
2. elite writing skills picture composition, 3. teachers guide and classroom worksheets, 4. native american pictograph stories, 5. what's next sequencing story, 6. 101 picture prompts, 7. using short stories in the english classroom, 8. the who, where, when, what, why and how of story writing.
78 Picture story English ESL worksheets pdf & doc


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Writing lesson: practice storytelling and writing using pictures.

Common Core Standard
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3 Â Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequencing.
Develops creativity, communication skills, and critical thinking.
Photos from a book at the appropriate reading level.Â
Warm-Up Suggestions
- Welcome students to class and gain their attention.
- Have students do ten jumping jacks, count aloud, or start the lesson standing (especially if it's an afternoon lesson).
- Ask students to write one sentence about their day. (This increases students' understanding of applicability. Their own lives can also be understood as stories).
Activity Introduction
"Good morning, everyone. Today we are going to practice our storytelling skills. I have a book here (hold up the book and allow the class to see it). We will look at the photos in this book and see if we can write a story based on the pictures. Then, we'll see how it compares to the real story. First, I have a couple of questions for you, and then we will get right into it."
"What is a story?" (Allow a few students to answer).
Write down each answer as a potential definition of "story."
- "Do your parents read you stories before bed?" (Allow a few students to answer).
- "What if you could make your own story based on just pictures?"
Activity Organization
Organize students into groups if you have a large class where discussion could be overwhelming. Alternatively, the entire class can work on one story together. In either case, both groups will have the same goal - to create captions for each photo to complete the story.Â
For each picture, students will write a sentence or paragraph about what is going on in the picture. You'll write these options beneath each picture; the class will decide which to use, then you'll read the story to the class as they've written it.
This assignment can be a quick task or drawn out to be more than one lesson. It will depend on the age of your students, the unit you are currently in, and the end goal of the assignment (publication or simple graded assignment).
"Look at the picture in front of you. I'm going to set our timer for 5 minutes, and we will write as much as we can about this picture to tell our story. Think about the people in the photo, the background, and what's happening. Who are these people? What do you think they might be doing or saying?"
- Set a timer for 5 minutes. Complete the picture rotation until all the pictures have been written about.
- When each group of students has looked at each picture and written something, bring the class back together to collaborate.Â
- Tape all story pictures on a whiteboard in front of the class. Or display them on your shared computer screen.
- Call on each group's selected "reader" to share their story in front of the class. As they read, you can write their ideas under the pictures. It is okay to allow for more than one storyline.Â
- When everyone has shared their unique story, make sure each group has their names on their paper and collect them to be graded and returned.Â
- Read the actual book and compare the students' stories to what happened in the book.Â
Concluding Questions to Ask and Tasks to Complete
- What did you learn about cooperation and teamwork from this assignment?
- What was your favorite part of the assignment?
- If you could add anything to the story, what would it be?Â
- Would you rather write a story based on pictures you see or draw pictures with the words you read? (Assessing students' strengths).
These questions can be asked as a group or in a follow-up homework assignment. Â
Turn Your Assignment Into a Personalized Book for Your Class
Even though you'll read the published book, this assignment presents an exciting opportunity for students. A neat option for future assignments like this one is to look at services that turn student work into books.
School Mate Publishing  and Student Treasures  offer affordable options for turning your student's work into a published book. Students can purchase books, or you may choose to fundraise to buy a book for each student in your class. These books are a great way to showcase student work and progress from the year of learning.
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20 Picture-Based Writing Prompts and Ideas for Kids

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A picture is worth a thousand words, and thatâs certainly the case with visual writing prompts!
Be it a simple object or a fantastical scene, a picture is all it takes to spark a childâs imagination.
Thatâs why I love picture writing prompts for kids who are learning how to write.
They help alleviate the burden of not knowing where to start while providing creative flexibility for students to pen their own stories.
I especially like to use picture prompts for teaching descriptive writing. They encourage children to focus, study, and evaluate an image with all its colors and scenery, which naturally sparks more descriptive text.

get this picture prompt printable for free!
What is picture prompt writing.
If you’re unfamiliar with picture prompts, they are a type of writing prompt that uses an image to start a story.
Students then create a story, using the picture as either the setting or simply a jumping off point.
The benefit of visual writing prompts is that it gives students a place to start. Not only that, it encourages them to use more adjectives and write in more detailed sentences.
Most students need some guidance beyond âwrite about this.â The again, too many details can be overwhelming.
Picture prompts give kids just enough information to act as a stress-free starting point, and from there, they can tell their own stories.
They aren’t necessary for every writing activity, but theyâre a fun and simple way to spark creativityâand they often prompt students to think (and write!) outside the box.
How to Use Picture Writing Prompts
Students who struggle to write may naturally gravitate towards picture prompts.
In fact, picture writing for kids is particularly helpful for reluctant writers who struggle with expressing themselves in words.
The prompts can be paired with any number of writing activities, from freewriting to journal writing to creative writing.
Choosing pictures for kids to write about will largely depend on the skill level and age of your student.
As a general rule of thumb, you want to use the most interesting pictures for writing prompts you can find.
As kids get older, their writing world expands, so their prompts can be more in-depth and structured.
You can even try using two unrelated prompts and have your students develop a story that incorporates both perspectives.
Here are a few more specific ways to use visual writing prompts:
1. Choose pictures that arenât so clear-cut. Ambiguous images lead to more brainstorming, providing plenty of room for interpretation and creativity.
2. Give students ample time to look at and study the image.
3. Give them 5-10 minutes to write everything they can think about when they look at the picture.
4. Use the 5 Ws to start the conversation. This encourages young writers to look closely for clues about a possible storyline.
- What? What’s going on in the image?
- Where? Where is it taking place?
- Who? Who or what is the subject of the scene?
- Why? What caused the scene in the image? Why did it happen?
- When? What happened before the picture? What happens after?
5. You can also give them a series of pictures for story writing . This is a great option for older elementary up to middle school students.
As you can see, picture prompts are pretty open-ended. You can tweak and use them whichever way works best for your student.
Want to try using picture prompts?
Weâve provided 20 creative, engaging visual prompts below.
Have fun!
For more writing fun, try these fall-themed prompts , winter writing prompts , or one-sentence story starters .

20 Picture Writing Prompts for Kids
The icebreaker.

- Something mysterious caused the cracking.âŠ
- What do you think is underneath this sheet of ice?
- How far will the cracks spread? What will happen?
The Gardener and the Magical Plant
- It’s not an ordinary seed sprouting…
- What do you think will grow?
- Who is planting the seedling?
Adventures Of The Dive Club
- Did they find treasure under the sea?
- What did they capture on camera?
- Where in the world are they?
The Lion and the Lost Lambs
- It was an unlikely friendship…
- Do the lambs feel safe with the lion?
- What is the lion thinking?
Runaway Cow
- Why is the cow so far away from the rest of the herd?
- What is the cow looking at?
- Whatâs going through her mind?
Sunset at the Meadow
- The tire swing was still swaying as they leftâŠ
- Who was playing here?
- Where are the birds going?
A Kitty of a Different Kind
- Why does the cat have different eye colors?
- Itâs not just his eyes that made him differentâŠ
- What is the catâs name?
The Missing Plane
- Where is the plane going?
- How did it get lost?
- What happens next?
Best Friends in a Snowstorm
- What are their names?
- How did they become friends?
- What are they talking about?
The Icky Sticky Ice Cream Cone
- The person who dropped this ice cream was startledâŠ
- What made them drop their ice cream?
- Describe the scene, the emotions, etc.
A Bugâs Life
- What is the bug doing?
- What is his name?
- His friends made fun of him because he was greenâŠ
The Secret Spy Frog
- What or who is the frog watching?
- Why is the frog hiding?
- What is his secret mission?
The Surprise of a Lifetime
- What is this little boyâs story?
- What or who surprised him?
The Hidden House in the Woods
- There is something very special about this houseâŠ
- Could this be the house everyone in the village spoke of?
- Who lives there?
Beneath the Waves
- Who took this photo?
- Where are all the fish going?
- Are they running away from someone/something?
The Boy and the Giant Roly-Poly Pumpkin
- It was no ordinary pumpkinâŠ
- Whatâs inside the pumpkin?
- What is the boy going to do with it?
The âCat-tastropheâ Shower
- The cat made such a mess…what happened?
- What is the cat thinking?
- What does he do after getting bathed?
World-Famous PupStar
- What is the dog’s name?
- What made this dog famous?
- Why is he taking the photo?
The Sinking House
- What do you think caused the house to sink?
- Where are the people who lived in the house? Are they still there?
- Use your imagination!
The Dinosaurs and the Broccoli Forest
- Why are these dinos eating broccoli?
- Where are all the other dinosaurs?
- Are there other animals in the forest?
Download and Print FREE Picture Prompts (PDF)
No matter what grade your kids are in, they will love these fun (and often funny!) elementary picture writing prompts.
The concepts are suitable for a wide age range and can be used by first graders all the way up to middle school students.
Now when you hear the dreaded, “ I have nothing to write about! ” just pull out these picture prompts, provide pencil and paper, and let your young writers create!
About The Author
Jordan Mitchell

Ideas: Journalism + Tech

Dec 17, 2014
Photo narratives
Defining picture stories, essays and packages.
Al Jazeeraâs September photo essay of child amputees in Syria gave me a new perspective on the traumas caused by Syriaâs ongoing war. Iâd seen photos of unrest in the region before, but seeing a child with a missing leg gave me a new understanding of the suffering and plight of the 20 million people in the country.
Presenting a story through photography communicates a different â often deeper â understanding of person, place, event or narrative than can be expressed through written or spoken word. Photos, unlike text, video or maps, have the potential to show an exact representation of an exact moment, like: how a meal looks after itâs been prepared; what an officer is writing after an arrest; how much damage was done after an earthquake.
Photo storytelling is different from a picture portfolio or collection. Itâs not a random collection of photos, or a display using albums from Flickr or Instagram. In a photo narrative, the storyteller is presenting a finite number of pictures around a theme or an event to communicate what happened define a situation or show details about characters. Photo-driven stories evoke a deeper understanding of scenes and details â the color of a personâs car; the scene of a crime; emotions written on a personâs face.
In journalism, photo storytelling gives a visual complement to often mundane text; in entices a second look at a story. Take a look at any news website, whether itâs ABC News, Al Jazeera English or even Time, and youâll likely see a picture with a story headline. Pick up a newspaper and the pages are peppered with pictures. Click on a news link and results are the same: a story with either video or photo.
According to Ohio Universityâs Terry Eiler , a pioneer in photojournalism and former photographer for National Geographic , there are three ways of telling stories online through pictures: a photo essay, photo package or photo story.
Photo essay
A photo essay is a collection of pictures with an overall topic or theme. The pictures need not be of the same person or event, but they should string together to form a âbig pictureâ.
Photo essays are used to cover events like natural disasters, to show vastness or variety, or to compare and contrast photos.
In a photo essay, both narrative and pictures drive the story; the pictures support whatâs in the text, but a person can understand the topic without having to read text or captions. Pictures are placed throughout text or together in a gallery, usually as a slideshow.
For example, Reporter Mark Stratton of the BBC used pictures between paragraphs in a story about Russiaâs ethnic communities. Stratton wrote of his travels in Russia, while using photos to display the diversity in looks, dress and music of different people in the country.
Photo essays are often used to show how extensive an event is â how much damage was done, how much effort something takes, how people are coping.
For example, Timeâs Gaza Digs Out essay shows what Gazans faced after Israelâs Summer 2014 offensive. The photos show post-war Gazans making sense of their changed lives in school, home and on the streets.
Online photo essays are reminiscent of print presentation in use of different types frame perspectives. For example, feature print stories use photos of different sizes and types of shots (wide, medium, tight) to explain how pictures are interrelated.
While most online essays disregard size, they can use a variety of shots to show detail. Such was the case of Oregonliveâs Oregon Zoo babies essay . The gallery includes wide, medium and tight shots of elephants and other animals at the zoo.
Print news, sports and feature articles, as in the case of Heartland Magazineâs Funky Chickens piece, often show hierarchy in importance by displaying a larger, wide picture and smaller, tight pictures as details.
Photo package
Photo packages are the sophisticated cousin of essays: they take photo storytelling to another by requiring supplementary text. A person needs more explanation to fully understand what the storyteller is trying to say.
Such is the case of Mother Jonesâ reporting on the last abortion clinic in Mississippi . The article includes an audio slide show and paragraphs explaining why so many protesters are outside Jackson Womenâs Health Organization. A person simply viewing the slideshow wouldnât know an important detail: the clinic is the last in the state performing abortions, and state lawmakers are trying to close its doors.
Another example is The Guardianâs article about ex-pats who call Afghanistan home . A person viewing the pictures wouldnât explicitly know the writer talking about a community of people whoâve fallen in love with the country.
Photos in a package canât stand alone, since a viewer needs more details about their significance in a story.
Photo Story
A photo story is about one person, place or situation. Itâs the most intimate of the aforementioned photo storytelling methods because it means the photographer is focusing on one character or scene, and letting viewers live through the photos.
Unlike essays, a story doesnât usually include multiple places or characters. Typically, it will focus the edit on one place character that serves as the connective theme in the entire photo presentation.
Like essays or packages, they can be embedded in text or placed in a slideshow, but their intimacy allow them to stand alone, too.
For example, The Guardian did a simple photo story about an Elmo impersonator who performs in New York Cityâs Times Square. The pictures show how a man named Jorge makes a living by dressing as Elmo and taking pictures with tourists.
And, The Washington Post published an immersive story about the life of a rural Missouri farmer, with pictures detailing hard work and devotion to his small farm.
Some stories show a process. For example, in March 2013 the Chicago Tribune produced a picture explainer about the production process of how marshmallow peeps. This photo story has a beginning, middle and end, which are identifiable characteristics of pictures stories.
Meg Theno, senior photo editor at the Chicago Tribune, says building a photo story doesnât mean you âtreat it like a scrapbook.â
âIf youâre going to put a picture gallery together, think about like youâre writing a story, you donât write a paragraph four times,â she said.
In our Medill School Fall 2014 interactive innovation capstone course, my classmates and I designed and prototyped an idea for a photo storytelling tool. Through market and empathy-focused researched, we concluded that despite photo organization tools abound, tools to easily publish a series of photos to web has largely been focused on slideshows.
Slide shows, while entertaining, are not direct in what they present; you have to start clicking to see what picture is next. Slideshows also disregard the hierarchy seen in print photo essays, stories and packages, since all the pictures are the same size.
We wanted to create a tool that would allow people to view variety of insects or beautiful Caribbean scenes, as in an essay, or view the process of making carrot cake, as in a story. We wanted the story to be a part of a multimedia presentation and have caption options, too.
My classmates and I realized a photo storytelling tool should be both aesthetic and transparent. An ideal tool would allow pictures to be viewed at once while allow for scrolling, too.
So we set out to create Pitcha , a tool that gives journalists, bloggers and marketing gurus power to showcase and publish photos online. Photos are presented in sets of three, four or five. The responsive design allows users to see photos next to each other regardless of screensize and a viewer can click-to-enlarge to see details in individual images. Pitcha allows a storyteller to show hierarchy and importance. Itâs another way of presenting a picture package, story or essay eloquently while stressing the importance of pictures in storytelling.
More about the Pitcha project:
These essays are part of Fall 2014 Interactive Innovation capstone course in Medill School âs MSJ program. This class was taught by Zach Wise in collaboration with Knight Lab .
âą Timeline: Evolution of visual storytelling by Abby Thorpe
âą Defining photo narratives by Eman Shurbaji
âą Photo editing for smaller screens by Farah Collette
âą Understanding captions, credits and metadata by Megan Dawson
âą What is photo editing? by Jade Kolker
âą Introducing Pitcha: Learn about a tool we designed and prototyped to make it easier to create and publish photo stories by Luke Rague
Check out some of Northwestern University Knight Lab âs free tools for journalists and digital storytellers: JuxtaposeJS , StoryMapJS and SnapMap , as well as SoundCiteJS and TimelineJS .
More from Ideas: Journalism + Tech
Thoughts on the intersection of journalism and technology, written by Knight Lab fellows, staff and occasional contributors.
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Eman Shurbaji
Road less traveled of a journalism/jewelry/jojoba enthusiast
Text to speech
- Teaching secondary
- Intermediate B1
Picture to story
This activity provides speaking and writing practice and uses learners' imaginations to create a story based on a picture.

This learner-centred activity also practises question forms and encourages collaboration and teamwork. The idea was influenced greatly by Jacosta Von Achten of the British Council, Bangkok.
Preparation
Prepare a picture that is likely to stimulate the interest and imagination of your students.
- Show a picture to the students and have them work in groups to prepare some questions about it. Below is an attachment with an example photo. Here are some example questions the students may ask.Â
Who is the man? Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â How old is the man? Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Where does he live?
Who is he talking to? Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â What is he talking about? Â Â Â Â What is he saying?
How does he feel? Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Why is he looking worried? Â Â What will happen to him?
- When the students are working together monitor and help with the question forming. Provide advice and correction if necessary. If students are struggling to think of questions, provide prompts.Â
- When you feel the students have produced enough questions ask students to ask you the questions orally.Â
- When you receive a question ask another group to answer.Â
- When they answer (using their imaginations) write their answers on the board.Â
- When you have exhausted all the questions, have the students work in pairs and tell a story to each other based on the answers given. If they want to change any details tell them that this is fine.Â
- Change pairs and have the students tell their stories again.
- Now change pairs again. This time ask them to write the story they have told together.Â
- Monitor and offer advice and help if necessary.Â
- Stick the finished stories on the walls and encourage students to read and comment on them.Â
Extension Â
Give each pair of students a different picture. They must write a story based on the picture. If you have recording equipment available students could record their completed stories. This could then be played to all students while they look at a copy of all the original pictures. Students could then match the pictures to the recorded stories. Alternatively they could read the stories and match them to the pictures.Â
Complete success
I have just used this activity in my class. It's been great. My students loved it and they didn't stop talking in English during the actiity. They also helped each other and corrected each other's mistakes. in the final stage when I put the different stories on the wall they had a good laugh and also saw some mistakes. As a follo up we corrected these mistakes and commented about the stories. I felt really well doing this activity and I will definitely add it to my favourite activities list.
Thanks a lot for sharing it.
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The perfect way to exploit all the pictures in the beautiful art books I rescued from the pile on paper rubbish collection day!
That's Great! I like it. It can help your students to think in a creative way and make up their own story. I use it and will use it!
Fabulous art of mind development
This is a wonderful activity n students will learn a lot from this activity. Not only will their creative thinking will develop but also their style of expressing n hesitation to write, speak publicly. Heartily thanks 4 this marvellous art of expression.
This is wonderful creative activity which helps us to find out our students' imagination skills. It is team work that involves all the students to the lesson. We can call it "English language through art". Not only students even teachers also like to do such kind of activities. I have done a bit different one with teachers. It is called "People". It helps review past tense, present tense, describing someone. You can do it with groups if 3 to 4 students. use photos of different people one photo per group.
Step1: Each group receives a photo and is asked to write a CV for the person in the picture. The students should mainli imagine the person's present inteests, and lifestyle.When they have finished with the first picture, photos are exchanged between groups. Each group works with 3 pictures.
Step2: the results of the group work are read out and discussed.Which lives were seen in asimilar way by the 3 groups? Which photos were interpreted differently?
if you use photos of people that you know, you could tell them how far off the mark they are. Â
You can also use the pictures of different doors and use it as a practice activity for "IF clause". If I open this door there will be a paradise.
A very interesting activity, which stimulate the creativity of the pupils. I like it. Thnx.
It's really very useful and entertainig because they're learning and have fun in the same time.I liked it very much for the fact that it's a student centered activity.I think that when students learn from each other they learn better.also they learn to estimate their their friends.I'm going to use more pictures in the class and I'm taking the photos from some magazines.
I like it a lot. I could use
I like it a lot. I could use pictures taken from National Geographic. i think my students will love this..
Research and insight
We have hundreds of case studies, research papers, publications and resource books written by researchers and experts in ELT from around the world.Â
See our publications, research and insight

How to use photographs as prompts for writing life stories
âYour photography is a record of your living, for anyone who really wants to see.â âPaul Strand

If writing a life story book seems overwhelming, write shorter stories from your life using some favorite family photos to jog your memory.
My generation knows the pleasure, both tactile and emotional, of exploring a box of dusty old photographs: the sense of discovery, of time travel, the good fortune of glimpsing our parents as carefree teenagers, of seeing ourselves as Garanimals-clad kids.
But this is becoming a thing of the past. Do you even have a box of photos in your home?
It saddens me to think of our children inheriting a box of old devices (your iphone will be extinct one day, you know!) and wondering how they can access the digital trove of photos they know must be stored within. And they likely wonât be able to retrieve those images, as the technology will have changed by then.
Just as I wish my mother and grandmother had jotted names and dates on the back of their old photos, our kids will one day be wishing we left some clues about our own pictures (metadata, anyone?).
I urge you to go a few steps further, to not only record the details of important photographs, but to elucidate the stories associated with them. To leave a visual AND narrative history to your children, a gift from the past for the future.
How to Shape Your (Small) Life Stories
Iâve written about this before , but itâs worth reiterating: Shorter is often better, especially when it comes to autobiographical writing. Thatâs why using photos as jumping-off points for your stories can be such an effective method.
Donât worry about length when you sit down to write. Just choose a photo, and begin sharing. A few initial ideas:
1 - Talk, donât write.
Pick up a digital recorder (or use the function on your smart phone) and talk into it. Often spoken language is more direct. You wonât get hung up on sentence structure or finding the perfect words. Rather, your language will flow and have a natural rhythm. Your words will be honest and forthright. You can transcribe your recording later.
2 - Find a partner.
Having someone to listen to your story can be a powerful aid. Even if that person doesnât engage you or ask questions, the very act of listeningâan occasional nod, an understanding expressionâletâs the speaker know that what they are saying matters. The more you converse with someone about your life stories, the easier it becomes to share them, shape them, and delve even deeper.
3 - Be specific.
Small details. Moments. A focus on life as it is truly lived. Did your mother enjoy a cup of room-temperature tea every night before bed? What did the hand-me-down pajamas youâre wearing in the Christmas-morning picture feel like? It wasnât just a red car, it was a 1955 crimson Cadillac convertible that your dad referred to as âMy Dorado.â This is not to say get lost in the details: Do not go overboard describing every object and movement in your story with multiple modifiers. This is to say that the specificity of the right details brings an era or a person to life in a most vibrant and revealing way. Choose wisely.
4 - Interview you.
If you hadnât taken the picture, what would you want to know? Make believe youâre interviewing yourself. This is a helpful exercise in making sure the most essential (often obvious to you but not others) elements do not get left out of your story. And then, like HONYâs Stanton, edit, edit, edit: whittle your interview down to the bone, keeping in those details that surprise, delight, enlighten. I suggest waiting at least a day, longer if you have the luxury of time, to do the editing; itâs amazing how such distance enables us to better self-edit.
Letâs get started: Choose a picture, and use it as a prompt to write a life story vignette

Step 1: Look at your chosen photo.
Study it; ignore it. Eat some lunch and let the memories the picture elicits percolate. Now sit down at your computer to free write: Donât worry about story structure or creating something for an audience, just write from your heart. If you are more comfortable with pen and paper, you might forego sentences altogether and jot down phrases, recollections, adjectives. The key to both approaches, whether stream-of-consciousness writing or brainstorming, is to go fast and to not worry about anything. Just do it.
You may find that this one photo has stirred a wealth of memories for you to mine. Perhaps it recalls one vibrant scene from your childhood. Consider yourself lucky if either of these is the case! Youâve got the makings of a life story vignette at your fingertips.
thumbs down?
If the photo youâve chosen reveals nothing more than a string of boring observations, donât fret. First, go through this list to see if you get anywhere:
What is your personal connection to the photo?
What would you caption the photo (include as much basic factual information as possible, answering Who, What, Why, When?)
Write a question the photo brings to mind.
Write a detailed observation about the photo.
Still boringâŠ? Donât worry, just move on to the helpful exercise below to get the story behind your photo!
Step 2: Go beyond the frame.
Next, try this exercise from author Beth Kephart , an early assignment she would give to her creative nonfiction students at the University of Pennsylvania, as detailed in her book Handling the Truth :
Study the background of any chosen photograph. Not the foreground, the background. Whatâs in the picture that you didnât see when you were snapping? What lies beyond the chosen subjectâjust to the right or the left? ⊠What does the startle of the once-unnoticed detail suggest to you? What would happen if this small thingâand not the obvious thing, the central thing, the thing easily seized and snatchedâwas the start of your story?
Still nothing of interest?
Step 3: enlist help..
If you are convinced there is a worthy story attached to the photo, show it to a sibling or other relative to see what memories they may have. If you have other pictures from the same period, gaze at those for clues. Maybe it means something to you not for the story it tells, but for the one it does not tell: Who is the subject gazing at? What happened right before the camera was snapped? Who was left out of the momentâwas it you? Or was the picture in a frame at your grandparentsâ home, and your memory of that is whatâs important?
If nothing more reveals itself and yet you are still compelled to include the photograph in your life story, ask yourself, why ? Draft a caption that at least puts the image in context, reveals a mystery, or taps an emotion. Then leave it at that, and turn to your next photo. It is likely that after taking this approach with more of your family snapshots, this one will eventually find its way into your narrative or, rightfully, be edited out in favor of others that weave a more textured and colorful tapestry.

FREE Printable Guide
Download our FREE GUIDE, âHow to Use Photographs as Prompts for Writing Life Storiesâ and get started asap on your journey of preserving your memories!
Next steps, and advice for non-writers
If all of this appeals to you but youâre not a DIYer, thatâs what we are here for.
You may want to begin the journey of remembering and selecting photos on your own, using much of the advice provided on the blogâand then hand it over for refining and shaping; our expert editors and designers will transform your memories into a beautiful heirloom that reveals even more than you had imagined .
If you only get as far as piling up those boxes, no worries: Weâll walk you through the whole process! Set up a free consultation to learn how we can work together.
Related reading:
How to choose the best pictures to use as writing prompts
How to use your smaller life vignettes to create a mosaic of your life
Why you should share your photos with loved ones
Four easy ways to find your way into life story writing
#LifeStories #SaveFamilyPhotos #PhotoStories #storytelling #FamilyLegacy #MemoriesMatter #memoirish
Updated June 2020.
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How to Write a Short Story
Last Updated: January 31, 2023 References Approved
This article was co-authored by Lucy V. Hay . Lucy V. Hay is an author, script editor and blogger who helps other writers through writing workshops, courses, and her blog Bang2Write. Lucy is the producer of two British thrillers and her debut crime novel, The Other Twin, is currently being adapted for the screen by [email protected] TV, makers of the Emmy-nominated Agatha Raisin. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 40 testimonials and 81% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 4,643,516 times.
For many writers, the short story is the perfect medium. It is a refreshing activity. For many, it is as natural as breathing is to lungs. While writing a novel can be a Herculean task, just about anybody can craftâand, most importantly, finish âa short story. Writing a novel can be a tiresome task, but writing a short story, it's not the same. A short story includes setting, plot, character and message. Like a novel, a good short story will thrill and entertain your reader. With some brainstorming, drafting, and polishing, you can learn how to write a successful short story in no time. And the greatest benefit is that you can edit it frequently until you are satisfied.
Sample Short Stories

Brainstorming Ideas

- For example, you can start with a simple plot like your main character has to deal with bad news or your main character gets an unwanted visit from a friend or family member.
- You can also try a more complicated plot like your main character wakes up in a parallel dimension or your main character discovers someone else's deep dark secret.

Making Characters that Pop: Finding Inspiration: Characters are all around you. Spend some time people-watching in a public place, like a mall or busy pedestrian street. Make notes about interesting people you see and think about how you could incorporate them into your story. You can also borrow traits from people you know. Crafting a Backstory: Delve into your main characterâs past experiences to figure out what makes them tick. What was the lonely old man like as a child? Where did he get that scar on his hand? Even if you donât include these details in the story, knowing your character deeply will help them ring true. Characters Make the Plot: Create a character who makes your plot more interesting and complicated. For example, if your character is a teenage girl who really cares about her family, you might expect her to protect her brother from school bullies. If she hates her brother, though, and is friends with his bullies, sheâs conflicted in a way that makes your plot even more interesting.

- For example, maybe your main character has a desire or want that they have a hard time fulfilling. Or perhaps your main character is trapped in a bad or dangerous situation and must figure out how to stay alive.

Tips on Crafting a Setting: Brainstorming descriptions: Write the down names of your settings, such as âsmall colony on Marsâ or âthe high school baseball field.â Visualize each place as vividly as you can and jot down whatever details come into your head. Set your characters down there and picture what they might do in this place. Thinking about your plot: Based on your characters and the arc of your plot, where does your story need to take place? Make your setting a crucial part of your story, so that your readers couldnât imagine it anywhere else. For example, if your main character is a man who gets into a car crash, setting the story in a small town in the winter creates a plausible reason for the crash (black ice), plus an added complication (now heâs stranded in the cold with a broken car). Donât overload the story. Using too many settings might confuse your reader or make it hard for them to get into the story. Using 1-2 settings is usually perfect for a short story.

- You can also focus on a more specific theme like âlove between siblings,â âdesire for friendshipâ or âloss of a parent.â

- For example, you may have an emotional climax where your main character, a lonely elderly man, has to confront his neighbor about his illegal activity. Or you may have an emotional climax where the main character, a young teenage girl, stands up for her brother against school bullies.

Creating a Satisfying Ending: Try out a few different endings. Outline a few different endings you could use. Visualize each option and see which ones feel more natural, surprising, or fulfilling. Itâs okay if you donât find the right ending right awayâitâs one of the hardest parts of the story to write! How do you want your readers to feel when they finish? Your ending is the last impression youâll leave on your reader. How will they feel if your characters succeed, fail, or land somewhere in the middle? For example, if your main character decides to stand up to her brotherâs bullies but gets scared at the last second, the readers will leave feeling like she still has a lot of soul-searching to do. Stay away from cliches. Make sure you avoid gimmick endings, where you rely on familiar plot twists to surprise your reader. If your ending feels familiar or even boring, challenge yourself to make it more difficult for your characters.

- âThe Lady with the Dogâ by Anton Chekhov [7] X Research source
- âSomething Iâve Been Meaning to Tell Youâ by Alice Munro
- âFor Esme-With Love and Squalor" by J.D. Salinger [8] X Research source
- âA Sound of Thunderâ by Ray Bradbury [9] X Research source
- âSnow, Glass, Applesâ by Neil Gaiman
- "Brokeback Mountainâ by Annie Proulx [10] X Research source
- âWantsâ by Grace Paley
- âApolloâ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- âThis is How You Lose Herâ by Junot Diaz
- âSevenâ by Edwidge Danticat
Creating a First Draft

- You can also try the snowflake method, where you have a one-sentence summary, a one-paragraph summary, a synopsis of all the characters in the story, and a spreadsheet of scenes.

- For example, an opening line like: âI was lonely that dayâ does not tell your reader much about the narrator and is not unusual or engaging.
- Instead, try an opening line like: âThe day after my wife left me, I rapped on the neighborâs door to ask if she had any sugar for a cake I wasnât going to bake.â This line gives the reader a past conflict, the wife leaving, and tension in the present between the narrator and the neighbor.

- Some stories are written in second person, where the narrator uses âyou.â This is usually only done if the second person is essential to the narrative, such as in Ted Chiangâs short story, âStory of Your Lifeâ or Junot Diazâs short story, âThis is How You Lose Her.â
- Most short stories are written in the past tense, though you can use the present tense if youâd like to give the story more immediacy.

Quick Dialogue Tips: Develop a voice for each character. Your characters are all unique, so all of their dialogue will sound a little different. Experiment to see what voice sounds right for each character. For example, one character might greet a friend by saying, âHey girl, whatâs up?â, while another might say, âWhere have you been? I havenât seen you in ages.â Use different dialogue tagsâbut not too many. Sprinkle descriptive dialogue tags, like âstammeredâ or âshouted,â throughout your story, but donât make them overwhelming. You can continue to use âsaid,â in some situations, choosing a more descriptive tag when the scene really needs it.

- For example, you may describe your old high school as âa giant industrial-looking building that smells of gym socks, hair spray, lost dreams, and chalk.â Or you may describe the sky by your house as âa blank sheet covered in thick, gray haze from wildfires that crackled in the nearby forest in the early morning.â

- You can also end on an interesting image or dialogue that reveals a character change or shift.
- For example, you may end your story when your main character decides to turn in their neighbor, even if that means losing them as a friend. Or you may end your story with the image of your main character helping her bloodied brother walk home, just in time for dinner.
Polishing the Draft

- Notice if your story follows your plot outline and that there is a clear conflict for your main character.
- Reading the story aloud can also help you catch any spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.

Parts to Delete: Unnecessary description: Include just enough description to show the readers the most important characteristics of a place, a character, or an object while contributing to the storyâs overall tone. If you have to clip out a particularly beautiful description, write it down and save itâyou may be able to use in another story! Scenes that donât move the plot forward: If you think a scene might not be necessary to the plot, try crossing it out and reading through the scenes before and after it. If the story still flows well and makes sense, you can probably delete the scene. Characters that donât serve a purpose: You might have created a character to make a story seem realistic or to give your main character someone to talk to, but if that character isnât important to the plot, they can probably be cut or merged into another character. Look carefully at a characterâs extra friends, for example, or siblings who donât have much dialogue.

- For example, the title âSomething Iâve Been Meaning to Tell Youâ by Alice Munro is a good one because it is a quote from a character in the story and it addresses the reader directly, where the âIâ has something to share with readers.
- The title âSnow, Apple, Glassâ by Neil Gaiman is also a good one because it presents three objects that are interesting on their own, but even more interesting when placed together in one story.

- You can also join a writing group and submit your short story for a workshop. Or you may start your own writing group with friends so you can all workshop each otherâs stories.
- Once you get feedback from others, you should then revise the short story again so it is at its best draft.
Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

- â http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/how-to-brainstorm-give-your-brain-free-rein
- â https://blog.reedsy.com/character-development/
- â http://www.nownovel.com/blog/how-to-write-a-short-story/
- â https://www.masterclass.com/articles/understanding-story-setting
- â https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-develop-a-theme-for-your-story
- â https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/102799.50_Best_Short_Stories_of_All_Time
- â https://www.grammarly.com/blog/need-a-pick-me-up-5-best-short-stories-of-all-time/
- â http://www.listchallenges.com/the-50-best-short-stories-of-all-time
- â https://writers.com/freytags-pyramid/
- â https://writingcooperative.com/how-to-write-a-short-story-17c615853bf2
About This Article

If you want to write a short story, first decide on the central conflict for your story, then create a main character who deals with that problem, and decide whether they will interact with anyone else. Next, decide when and where your story will take place. Next, make a plot outline, with a climax and a resolution, and use that outline to create your first draft, telling the whole story without worrying about making it perfect. Read the short story out loud to yourself to help with proofreading and revision. To learn more about how to add details to your story and come up with an interesting title, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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Creating a First Draft. 1. Make a plot outline. Organize your short story into a plot outline with five parts: exposition, an inciting incident, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. Use the outline as a reference guide as you write the story to ensure it has a clear beginning, middle, and end.