"Mum, dad, I don't know what to write next!" Using this book can really help children in a very practical way to overcome their anxieties as they began to develop the story writing skills so essential for their educational development. The ability to write good stories is a basic requirement of examinations at all the Key Stages in State schools. Furthermore it is often a requirement in eleven plus examinations as entry to Grammar Schools and Independent Private schools. Using this book can help children to develop self-confidence in their own ability as storywriters by using their own experiences as the starting point for writing. This book gives easy to understand advice on the importance of Parts of Speech, the job that words to in sentences, it provides a list of the eleven ingredients for a good story plus examples of how to set out direct speech. It also gives advice on how the feelings of characters should be expressed in a story to add interest. Book One contains twenty story plans based upon experiences and activities that most children will have had, for example, "The Birthday Party" and "My First Day at School".The story plans are written in a child friendly way that is accessible and easy for children to understand and follow.
Using the structured story plans the young writers are able to write about their own experiences and activities, safe and secure in the knowledge that when they get stuck and aren't sure what to write next, instead of calling out for help, the story plan neatly helps them to move on.