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Use story maps to organize characters, settings, and events before you start writing.
Have you ever started building a giant LEGO tower only to have it fall over because you forgot the base? Writing a story is the same—without a plan, your ideas can get messy and tumble down!
A Story Map is a visual tool that helps you organize your thoughts before you start writing. Think of it as a blueprint for a house. Just as a builder needs to know where the walls and doors go, a writer needs to know where their story is headed. By filling out a map, you make sure you don't forget the most important parts of your tale. It keeps your ideas in order so that when you sit down to write, you can focus on using your best 'sparkle words' instead of wondering what happens next.
Let's look at how a simple story fits into a map: 1. Characters: Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. 2. Setting: The countryside and three different houses. 3. Problem: The Wolf wants to eat the pigs and blows their houses down. 4. Solution: The third pig builds a strong brick house that the wolf cannot destroy.
Quick Check
If you are writing down that your story takes place in a 'spooky dark forest,' which part of the story map are you filling out?
Answer
The Setting.
Every great story has a Problem (the 'hiccup' or challenge the characters face) and a Solution (how they fix it). Without a problem, a story can be a bit boring! Imagine a story where a girl wants ice cream, goes to the shop, and gets it. Yawn! But what if the shop is closed? Or what if she loses her money? That is a problem! The Solution is the action the character takes to save the day. Mapping these out first ensures your story has an exciting middle and a satisfying end.
Imagine you are writing a story about a boy named Leo. 1. Characters: Leo and his dog, Barnaby. 2. Setting: Leo's messy bedroom on a Saturday morning. 3. Problem: Leo's library book is due today, but it is missing! 4. Solution: Leo and Barnaby follow a trail of biscuit crumbs and find the book under Barnaby's dog bed.
Quick Check
Why is the 'Problem' so important in a story map?
Answer
It creates excitement and gives the characters something to do or fix.
The biggest benefit of a story map is that it prevents Writer's Block. This is that frustrated feeling when you don't know what to write next. If you have a map, you just look at your notes! It also helps with Structure. A story map usually follows a logical flow: . 1. Who is in it? 2. Where are they? 3. What goes wrong? 4. How is it fixed? By following this path, your story will make sense to your readers.
Try to visualize this complex map: 1. Characters: Captain Zorp (an alien) and Robot 5. 2. Setting: The Crystal Planet in the year . 3. Problem: Their spaceship battery is at and the sun is setting. 4. Solution: They use the planet's glowing crystals to recharge the battery just in time.
Which part of the story map includes the people, animals, or creatures in the story?
If a writer gets stuck and doesn't know what to write next, how does a story map help?
The 'Solution' should always happen at the very beginning of the story map.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, see if you can name the 4 main parts of a story map while you are brushing your teeth!
Practice Activity
Pick your favorite cartoon or movie. Try to draw a story map for it by identifying the characters, setting, problem, and solution.