When you start writing a story, it’s easy to start with a simple story that focuses on having a beginning, middle, and end by following the “Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then” writing process. Once students have this process down, they can start adding more details which is what this blog is all about: how to add details to stories to make them more interesting.
Starting with the Basics
In the previous blog about how to write a story with the “Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then” writing method, we talked about Lisa moving to a new place where she wanted to make a new friend. She asked people if they wanted to be friends, but everyone already had a friend. So, she asked a dog and a cat who both said no. Finally, she asked a girl she saw playing alone and she asked her to play. They became friends.
This is a great basic story that shows how a conflict can present itself, become more of an issue, and then finally resolve itself. However, there’s always more the students can add to make the story more interesting. When you add details to stories to make them more interesting, you are typically doing it with older students.
Add Details to Stories with a Title
To start, you want to write the word title and remind them what it is and how to write a title. Put the date and then start your story the same way we did before with the “Somebody” step. To get a great title, we might think about what Lisa had to go through or why she moved to the new town. This will help your students come up with a title for the story. If students are struggling, you might use your January Picture Book Pals and have students discuss what the title is and why.
Create a Backstory for Your Main Character
Once you have title ideas, you can start looking at some character details. One detail your students can start with is why Lisa is a new student. Obviously she moved, but why did she move? This can be very interesting for all of your students to come up with ideas because they will most likely draw from their own life experiences. Students who have a two-parent household might say there was a job change. However, students who have single-parents might bring in divorce, separation, or a new significant other their parent has met.
Finding Motivation to Add Details to Stories
Now that you have a reason for the conflict to begin, you want to start to add to the problem. One way to do that is to discuss why the character wants what they want. In our scenario, Lisa wants to make a new friend. What are some reasons Lisa might want to make a new friend? Students can brainstorm reasons someone might want to make a new friend and add that to the story.
Moving to the “But” and “So”
Once you have motivation, students can add detail to the text by explaining the “But” a bit more. The “But” is going to give the story more conflict overall. Everyone already has a friend and they don’t need another. This is never typically true, but in stories, anything is possible. Once you get to the “So” you can start to add why the cat and dog said no. For example, you can add detail to the story by saying the cat said no because she was too busy chasing butterflies. Then, you could say the dog was too busy chasing his tail or chasing a ball.
This is a great place to teach the idea of brainstorming because there are several different things a cat and dog could be too busy doing. By adding these details to the text, it helps the reader understand why these characters couldn’t play with her at that time.
End with a Bang!
Finally, we get to the “Then” portion of the writing process. At this point, Lisa finds a girl who is playing by herself and asks her to play. The girl says yes and they play together. Students can add what Lisa and her new friend are doing, they can give the new friend a name, and they can tell you how they are feeling. All of this information can add detail to the story to make it more interesting to read.
Reminders for Writing Stories
Throughout this process, it’s important to remind students about how to structure their text. This means not making “steps” in their writing and going back to the line where the margin is. You should also talk about transition words. Having an anchor chart or foldable with transitions on them might be a great resource to bring out during this time.
Writing stories is such an important skill. Because students love to tell stories, this is a great way to take story-writing and focus the ideas to the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Plus, your students will have the opportunity to add detail to their stories with this second process. Once students add details, their illustrations can get even better!
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