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Page 1: SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS - e q · PDF fileStep 3: Tightening Tension The tension scene comes just ... SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS Seven Steps to Writing Success ThefullSeven Steps programisavailable:

SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS

Get your free Seven Steps newsletter:

The full Seven Steps program is available:

www.sevenstepswriting.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 61 3 9521 8439

Want to help yourchild write better?

How easy are the Seven Steps techniques?Try our quiz on ‘The Bear Story’.

Step 2:Which story start is more interesting?a) I woke up that morning, got dressed

and ate breakfast.b) The lock on the bear’s cage looked old,

and the bear looked cross.

Step 4:Which is the better dialogue?a) The teacher told us to stand back from

the cage as the bear was growlingloudly, but Jeremy didn’t listen.

b) ‘Stand back,’ said the teacher, butJeremy didn’t listen. Suddenly the beargrowled loudly. ‘Jeremy!’ cried theteacher, ‘get away from the bear.NOW!’

Step 5:Which sentence ‘tells’ and which ‘shows’?a) I was really scared.b) My heart was thudding loudly in my

chest and brain.

See, simple isn’t it?(Hint, answers are all (b)!)

What ARE the Seven Steps?

1. Plan for Success2. Sizzling Starts3. Tightening Tension4. Dynamic Dialogue5. Show, Don't Tell6. Ban the Boring Bits7. Exciting Endings

Wishing you all creativity, confidence andsuccess in writing.

Jen McVeity

• National Literacy Champion• International speaker• Churchill Fellow• Author of over 20 bookswww.jenmcveity.com

Don't just check the spelling! Authors use seven main techniques tomake their writing interesting. So do join us for the Seven Steps 'quicktips' and fun writing ideas, for you to try at home.

Page 2: SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS - e q · PDF fileStep 3: Tightening Tension The tension scene comes just ... SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS Seven Steps to Writing Success ThefullSeven Steps programisavailable:

SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS

Seven Steps to Writing SuccessThe full Seven Steps program is available:

www.sevenstepswriting.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 61 3 9521 8439

© Jen McVeity, author and National Literacy Champion

Step 1:Plan for Success

If you got a dollar for everytime you told your kids to plantheir work, you'd be living on atropical island now, right???

It's hard to show people HOW toplan, so here's a quick method. Goodstories (like movies, books, poemsand even jokes) are all planned - andthey all have a similar structure. Thisis what it looks like.

1. Start with a bang - this usuallyhas the main character in anaction scene.

2. Back fill - the Who, What, Why isfilled in while the action unfolds

3. The main problem is introduced4. Complications and more

problems. Things get very badindeed

5. Tension scene where hero/heroinefights against incredible odds

6. Climax – incredibly, wonderfullythey win!

Once writers know these basics, theyhave a SYSTEM to their planning -and this really improves their writing.

TOP TIP:Think first, write second.Draw yourself a graph like this oneand plot your stories out BEFOREyou start writing.

ACTION ACTIVITY:Watch TV ads - you know the onesthat 'tell a story.' In 30 seconds,some ads can create a start, tensionscene and great ending, exactly likethe story graph.

Series One

Seven Steps to Writing Success

Page 3: SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS - e q · PDF fileStep 3: Tightening Tension The tension scene comes just ... SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS Seven Steps to Writing Success ThefullSeven Steps programisavailable:

SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS

Seven Steps to Writing Success

The full Seven Steps program is available:

www.sevenstepswriting.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 61 3 9521 8439

© Jen McVeity, author and National Literacy Champion

Step 2:Sizzling Starts

When writing, kids alwayswant to start their stories atthe beginning of the day, orthe start of the week or eventhe first day of the schoolholidays.

Before:I leapt out of bed that morning andhurried to get dressed because todayDad was taking us to the zoo. I wasreally excited because they have thisbig monkey enclosure there and I wasmad about monkeys. I also needed toget some really good photos for myScience project.

After:'Here,' I told my sister, 'hold myrucksack. I'm just going to get a bitcloser to the monkey's cage.'A bit closer meant over the fence,past the sign that said 'No Entry' andright up to the wire.'You're monkey mad,' said my sister.Well, maybe I was. But I was alsodesperate for an 'A' in my latestScience project. A picture of a cutemonkey, smiling right at the camera,would make all the difference, right?

TOP TIP:Start stories right where the actionbegins. Not in the morning, but at thezoo as the person sneaks up to themonkey's cage, shiny earringsdangling in the sun, just waiting to begrabbed by a quick sharp paw. Farmore interesting!

ACTION ACTIVITY:Next time you are watching a moviewith your kids, see how the moviebegins with lots of action to grabyour attention. Adventure movies(e.g. James Bond) are especiallygood at this.

Series One

Page 4: SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS - e q · PDF fileStep 3: Tightening Tension The tension scene comes just ... SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS Seven Steps to Writing Success ThefullSeven Steps programisavailable:

SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS

Seven Steps to Writing Success

The full Seven Steps program is available:

www.sevenstepswriting.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 61 3 9521 8439

© Jen McVeity, author and National Literacy Champion

Step 3:Tightening Tension

The tension scene comes justbefore the big climax ending.In movies this is the scene ofthe soccer final, the exciting carchase or the heroine fighting forher life in a raging river.

We all know Little Red Riding Hood'sclassic tension scene. Red RH arrivesat the cottage and the wolf is in bed ingranny's clothes. Red RH, (whoobviously needs glasses!) says:'Oh, grandmother, what big ears youhave!''All the better to hear you with.''Oh, grandmother, what big eyes youhave!''All the better to see you with.''Oh, grandmother, what big handsyou have!''All the better to hold you with!''Oh, grandmother, what big teeth youhave!''All the better to eat you with!'

See how the scene slowly builds up tobe more and more dangerous - andthus frightening? We don't start withthe teeth, we start with the ears - andthe wolf trying to coax Red RH tocome nearer and nearer.

TOP TIP:Emotion always takes time to buildup. So in tension scenes, show kidshow to start small and 'escalate' to apowerful climax.

ACTION ACTIVITY:Read picture books with your kidsand look for the tension scenes.Picture books are short, so it's easyto find where the all-importanttension builds before the ending.

Series One

Page 5: SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS - e q · PDF fileStep 3: Tightening Tension The tension scene comes just ... SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS Seven Steps to Writing Success ThefullSeven Steps programisavailable:

SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS

Seven Steps to Writing Success

The full Seven Steps program is available:

www.sevenstepswriting.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 61 3 9521 8439

© Jen McVeity, author and National Literacy Champion

Step 4:Dynamic Dialogue

Don't tell anyone but authors'cheat' when we write –especially when we writedialogue.

Normal conversations go like this:'Hi.''Hi. How are you?''Good. And you?''Good.''I was thinking of going shopping.''Oh. What for?''My mother gave me some money formy birthday and I need a newjumper.''Sounds great. Count me in.'

In real life conversations we often talkin clichés and ramble a lot. However,reading takes effort, so to keep thingsmoving fast, writers cut straight to theaction.

'Hey, my mum gave me some moneyfor my birthday. Want to goshopping?''Sounds great. Count me in.’

TOP TIP:Give kids a starting line to help themavoid the boring parts. Are theywriting a conversation between aghost and a flying pig? Suggestwhere to begin: 'Hey! Watch whereyou're going!

ACTION ACTIVITY:Tape a conversation at home.Listen to all the rambling, halffinished sentences and 'umms' and'er's.' This is great proof that strongwriting does not have to be basedon real life!

Series One

Page 6: SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS - e q · PDF fileStep 3: Tightening Tension The tension scene comes just ... SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS Seven Steps to Writing Success ThefullSeven Steps programisavailable:

SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS

Seven Steps to Writing Success

The full Seven Steps program is available:

www.sevenstepswriting.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 61 3 9521 8439

© Jen McVeity, author and National Literacy Champion

Step 5:Show, Don't Tell

Our job as writers is to createpictures in the brains of ourreaders. That's what 'Show,Don't Tell' is all about.For instance:-

Tell: My brother is lazy.Show: 'Your turn for the dishesTank,'said Mum.'Yeah, later,' he said yawning andturned theTV louder.'No, now,' said Mum. She stood inthe doorway, arms crossed. Sheknew later inTank's mind meantsomewhere between the year 2012and infinity. Once, as punishment,Mum put all the dishes andsaucepansTank had forgotten on topof his bed. He just dumped them onthe floor. A week later they were stillthere, a shoe in the spaghetti sauce,sweaty socks on the plates and areally bad smell wafting out the door.

Ah, now we 'see' it. It takes muchlonger to write, but our readers are farmore convinced.

TOP TIP:Ask kids to 'prove' important things.e.g. What tells you Jake is a greatfriend? Answer: He ate the biscuitsI cooked that tasted like wet cement.Write that scene to really convinceyour reader.

ACTION ACTIVITY:Test with your kids how words formpictures in our minds. Slowly readthese:-• Red flowers stand tall and

cheerful in a vase.• There's a baby elephant under

the tree in our garden.

Series One

Page 7: SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS - e q · PDF fileStep 3: Tightening Tension The tension scene comes just ... SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS Seven Steps to Writing Success ThefullSeven Steps programisavailable:

SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS

Seven Steps to Writing Success

The full Seven Steps program is available:

www.sevenstepswriting.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 61 3 9521 8439

© Jen McVeity, author and National Literacy Champion

Step 6:Ban the Boring Bits

Why do kids always fill theirstories with the boring detailsof their day? How many ofthese have you seen?

• Food Fetishes:We were at Disneyworld and we gotto eat hamburgers with chips and abig thick milkshake. I had two wholebottles of Coke and my sister had…

• Bedroom boredom:I woke up that morning and leapt outof bed and put on my best jeans anda jumper and then cleaned my teethand put on my shoes…

• Trapped in travel:In the bus on the way to theswimming sports we waved at thecars and Mark made us sing reallyboring songs and then we put ourstreamers through the windows and...

It's called 'warm-up' writing becausepeople start with the safe and familiar.Professional authors know this - someauthors even cut out the first fewchapters when editing, so their bookjumps straight into the action.

TOP TIP:We often learn more about what kidsate going to the zoo then whathappened when the lion escaped.So simply tell children to cut out theboring bits: no beds, no bus trips, noboring lists of friends or food.(See also Step 1: Sizzling Starts)

ACTION ACTIVITY:Watch movies and see how little ofthe 'boring bits' they use. Theyrarely show people using thebathroom, brushing their teeth orblow drying their hair. Even stranger,notice how people never seem totravel, they just 'arrive'.

Series One

Page 8: SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS - e q · PDF fileStep 3: Tightening Tension The tension scene comes just ... SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS Seven Steps to Writing Success ThefullSeven Steps programisavailable:

SEVEN STEPS WRITING TIPS

Seven Steps to Writing Success

The full Seven Steps program is available:

www.sevenstepswriting.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 61 3 9521 8439

© Jen McVeity, author and National Literacy Champion

Step 7:Exciting Endings

A common problem with kids'stories is they end on ananticlimax

Take this sports story: Belinda begs to jointhe volleyball team, but she isn't verygood. Jackie the captain helps her andgradually a friendship forms. In the finalgame, Jackie is injured but now it'sBelinda's turn to help. At match point, shesets a perfect ball to Jackie. Here's thelast sentence.Jackie jumped high, hope giving herstrength and she hit the ball hard. Itlanded right in the corner. They'd won!Then they all went home to bed.

Why has the writer tacked on that lastline? The answer is kids feel something ismissing, but they don't know what. Weneed to show young writers that there areoften two parts to ending a story - theaction climax and the 'inner' story.

This story is not just about volleyball, itneeds a celebration of the friendship thathas grown between the two girls.'We did it! We won!' Everyone wasyelling and hugging each other. ButJackie just turned and looked at Belinda.'Great set,' she said. Belinda laughed.'Great hit' she said. At last she really waspart of the team.

TOP TIP:Solve the action part of the story (likewinning the final game) but also allowfor the characters and their innerjourney to be celebrated too.

ACTION ACTIVITY:Many authors actually get theirending first - and then figure out thestory working backwards. Here's afun ending: 'Crocodiles don't like flyspray.'Try brainstorming with your kidswhat the story could be. You can beas crazy as you like!

Series One