Sometimes, getting kids to write anything is like pulling teeth! The complaint you hear most often is, “I can’t think of anything to write.” This is where a good story starter or writing prompt can come in to save the day! No more complaints of not knowing what to write.
A story starter provides the beginning of a story and the child finishes it. Using story starters with your kids or students is a great way to motivate them to write! These story starters are longer, defined, and with more detail than usual story starters. They will spark the creativity in your child or student, and feed their imaginations to do some awesome creative writing.
As a homeschooling mom, I used story starters with my children when they were younger with great success. When my oldest daughter (now 22) was 16, she created some awesome story starters that you can use with your children or students!
Writing prompts are not just for kids, either! Adults who get writer’s block can use a story starter to jump start their muse.
How To Use Story Starters
1. Read the story starter all the way through. It may not be a bad idea to read it twice.
2. Decide on the type of story you want to write:
ADVENTURE • FANTASY • SCIENCE FICTION • MYSTERY
HORROR • COMEDY • ROMANCE
3. Think about the characters in the story starter and the ones you want to add. Who, or what, are they? Is their personality serious, funny, nervous, nice, mean, dumb, smart, etc.?
4. When and where will your story take place? Is it a real place or one you make up? What time period is your story; is it past, present, or future?
5. How will you finish your story? Does it end with a problem solved or with a cliff hanger.
6. Now, it’s time to put pencil, or pen, to paper, unleash your creativity!
Each FREE story starter pack includes a PDF of the story with and without a picture, with and without lines, and one lined page. The story starters are intended for children, but adults will find them just as interesting.
Click the Download button to automatically download the pdf file to your computer. If you just want to print the pdf without downloading and editing it, you can click the image of the pdf, which will open the file so you can print it. This option will also allow you to download to your computer.
You can download a pdf that contains all the pages, or you can simply scroll down to see the different pages and download the one(s) you want to use.
Cat Story Starter
The fierce sound of a dog‛s bark reached Bella‛s ear. She was not very agile and quick for a cat, but she could move fast when she needed to; now she did. She sprang out of the snug little hole she had been curled up in and dashed for a tree a rather long way off, but there was nowhere else to go. The dog was now in sight and was coming straight for her. She couldn‛t know whether he was friendly and wanted to play, or whether he was running towards her with the intent to bite. She was in her neighborhood, but still a long way from her house, her place of shelter and protection, and the dog was now so close she could hear his breathing as she dashed across the road straight for the tree. She didn‛t know if she would make it. As she felt the dog almost upon her, she made one last attempt to escape with a great leap forward at the tree.
Weasel Story Starter
A weasel zipped along the forest floor; it was night. She poked her head underneath the year‛s dead leaves and sniffed. She stopped for a moment, one paw raised in the air, and her sensitive nose twitched. She listened for the sound of mice in the leaves, but all she could hear was a faint crackling as dead leaves fluttered from the trees. She continued her hunt. She glanced upward, and her sharp little eyes saw a mother bird sitting on her nest. The weasel hid in a bush while the mother fell asleep, then she leaped onto the tree. Her little paws clutched the trunk, and her claws dug into the bark. It was no effort to heave her little body onto the branch. The bird awoke as the weasel came towards her. She squawked in fury and began to beat the weasel about the head with her wings!
To see other story starter and writing prompt journals our daughter Hannah has available, click here.
