Writing Short Narrative Fiction

• English
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• GCSE

Introduction

A creative writing lesson focusing on short narrative fiction. It covers genre, microfiction, collaborative writing and Freytag's pyramid. Includes many creative writing prompts and inspiration.

Instructions

There is a potential assessement activity at the end of the slides.

Writing Reviews

Short Narrative Fiction 

Creative Writing 

English Language and Literature

Welcome to this lesson on creative writing! I hope you find it useful!

Feel free to adapt as you need!

Person 1

Narrative Game

Person 2

Where?

When?

Person 1 said:

Person 2 said:

What happened next?

met

Narrative Game!

There are several ways to run this.

One is to go round a student at a time. The first student contributes their person one, the next does person 2 and so on.

It's best to keep them all hidden, but the teacher should keep control of the speech bubbles as they come in so they can be dragged into the corresponding box. This should generate some amusing stories! The class should write them down.

This is intended to lead into a discussion about narratives.

Some classes may submit inappropriate answers but you can monitor this easily or freeze the main screen and monitor on a private screen.

Another way of doing this is to get the whole group to submit ideas for each section at a time. Randomly reveal one, place all the rest in the bin and move the selected one into the relevant box. 

Repeat until you have constructed a narrative.

Why are stories important?

?

?

Why are stories important?

Following on from the last activity, this mind map/word cloud is intended to open a discussion about how narratives are important - some students might argue that science explains the universe but how do scientists explain things? They use figurative language and story telling. 'Big Bang', string theory - natural selection - all get framed in narratives!

Stories aren't just for entertainment - they comment on, reflect and shape our world.

Babies start experimenting with narratives - they throw an object, caregiver picks it up, baby throws it again. Narratives!

Type hier een titel

• Understand key components of short narrative fiction (plot, character, setting, theme).
• Outline a short story with a clear structure, including main characters and conflict.
• Experiment with writing style to craft an engaging opening paragraph.
• Engage in peer feedback to refine ideas and improve writing.

Lesson Aims

Adapt the aims and objectives as you require!

What's your favourite genre of story?

What's your favourite genre of story?

Romance

Horror

Mystery

Science Fiction

Crime

Historical

Tragedy

Thriller

Fantasy

Comedy

Just a fun little poll. The maximum option was 10 so if you want to alter any feel free!

Type hier een titel

There are many more genres than on the poll! These genres have their own sub-genres too!

Choosing a genre

LITERARY FICTION

Focuses on character development, style, and thematic depth over plot.

HISTORICAL FICTION

Set in a specific time period, often with real historical events or figures woven into the narrative.

FANTASY

Involves magical elements, mythical creatures, or entirely imagined worlds.

SCIENCE FICTION

Explores futuristic or speculative concepts like advanced technology, space exploration, or alternate realities.

ROMANCE

Primarily focuses on love, relationships, and romantic engagements, often with a happy or hopeful ending.

MYSTERY/THRILLER/CRIME

Focuses on solving a crime or unraveling a puzzle, often with high stakes or suspenseful twists.

ADVENTURE

Involves a protagonist embarking on an exciting or dangerous journey, often with physical challenges and exploration.

DYSTOPIAN FICTION

Set in a bleak or oppressive future society, often exploring themes of control, freedom, and survival.

YOUNG ADULT

Targets a teenage audience, often dealing with coming-of-age themes, identity, relationships, and personal growth.

MAGIC REALISM

Introduces fantastical elements into a realistic setting, where the magical is treated as ordinary.

SATIRE

Uses humour, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or mock societal norms, politics, or human behavior.

BILDUNGSROMAN

Follows a protagonist's personal development from youth to adulthood, often focusing on self-discovery and maturation.

You don't have to go through this with students if they have devices - 'share screen with student'  so they can go through it themselves.

What genre deals with coming-of-age themes?

What genre deals with coming-of-age themes?

1. Young Adult (YA)
2. Mystery
3. Horror
4. Fantasy

Genre based quiz questions.

Which genre primarily focuses on love?

Which genre primarily focuses on love?

1. Bildungsroman
2. Crime
3. Romance
4. Adventure

This one may be too easy but it's really just a way to repeat 'bildungsroman'.....

What genre is set in a bleak future?

What genre is set in a bleak future?

1. Mystery
2. Dystopian
3. Young Adult
4. Magical Realism

Genre based quiz questions.

Which genre involves magical elements?

Which genre involves magical elements?

1. Satire
2. Fantasy
3. Romance
4. Historical Fiction

Genre based quiz questions.

What genre focuses on character development?

What genre focuses on character development?

1. Adventure
2. Science Fiction
3. Horror
4. Literary Fiction

Genre based quiz questions.

Type hier een titel

Key Elements

Character: Who is the story about?

Conflict: What challenge(s) do they face?

Resolution: How does it end?

Writing Short Narrative Fiction

Very simple explanatory slide!

Type hier een titel

The next activities are going to focus on the concept of microfiction.

You can probably guess what microfiction is......

You will get to see a famous example of microfiction - and respond to it!

Microfiction Fun

You may wish to describe microfiction. Tou could do a quick Q and A.

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

?

?

What is your response this this story?

All credit to Ernest Hemingway.

Guided questions might be needed such as 'what's happened?' 'why are they being sold?' or even 'what would a second sentence be?

Type hier een titel

Now it's your turn!

Write a piece of microfiction in no more than 50 words!

You will be given some ideas - but feel free to come up with something yourself!

Microfiction Fun

Instruction slide - the next slide has the writing prompts.

Type hier een titel

• Make every word count!
• You need to use vivid imagery, think about character and emotional impact.
• Make sure there's something 'deeper' about it. It doesn't have to be tragic to be effective - or affecting!
• You might feel a certain prompt fits a certain genre - go for it!

Microfiction Fun

Type hier een titel

“In the dust-covered photo, she saw herself.”

Microfiction Fun

“They opened the book and found a map.”

They said it would be a routine flight.”

“The dog wasn’t barking—it was speaking.”

“The knock at the door came at midnight...”

A deliberately chaotic layout! I want the students to feel inspired - but if they have an idea of their own they obviously don't need to be restricted by these. Use or ignore the timer. Depends on the group you are teaching!

Upload Your microfiction!

Upload Your Microfiction

You should get a page full of great microfiction!

Freytag's Pyramid

What is this diagram?

Freytag's pyramid is notable not for containing mummified remains and amazing treasures, but for explaining narrative structure in the form of a diagram.

Open with an intriguing situation, question, or event to captivate the reader’s attention from the first sentence.

For example: “The lights went out just as I was about to press the button.”

Introduce challenges, conflicts, or mysteries that propel the story forward.

Build tension by revealing small details over time.

A Turning Point: have a moment where everything changes—an unexpected revelation, decision, or event that shifts the protagonist's trajectory.

The part of a story that occurs after the climax. It shows the consequences of the climax and leads toward the resolution, tying up loose ends and diminishing the story's tension.

End by tying loose threads together or leaving the audience wondering what happens next.

Think of a closing image or line that resonates with the reader emotionally or intellectually.

Drag and drop the answers into the pyramid!

Type hier een titel

Freytag's Pyramid

Open with an intriguing situation, question, or event to captivate the reader’s attention from the first sentence.

For example: “The lights went out just as I was about to press the button.”

Introduce challenges, conflicts, or mysteries that propel the story forward.

Build tension by revealing small details over time.

A Turning Point: have a moment where everything changes—an unexpected revelation, decision, or event that shifts the protagonist's trajectory.

the part of a story that occurs after the climax. It shows the consequences of the climax and leads toward the resolution, tying up loose ends and diminishing the story's tension.

End by tying loose threads together or leaving the audience wondering what happens next.

Think of a closing image or line that resonates with the reader emotionally or intellectually.

This is a copy more for reference purposes!

Type hier een titel

Freytag's Pyramid

INSTRUCTIONS

Use the arrow to move along the pyramid, explaining how your story fit (or didn't fit!) the pyramid. Don't feel bad if your story isn't compatible with the pyramid. Creative writing is all about experimentation and sometimes breaking the rules! 

The instructions are there to help the learners - you can either get a random student to come out and talk through their microfiction with the spinner or get them to discuss in groups on their own devices and use the arrow to help explain.

Your turn! Writing a Review

Working in a group, use the wheels to generate the outline of a story! Your task is to work together to make it into a coherent narrative. Remember the Freytag pyramid!

Group Work: Writing Randomiser!

If you set to show this to student screens they can interact or if you prefer you can set the spinner tasks for the class even though this may take too much time with a large group.

Free choice here means they can make up their own or choose one from the spinner.

It is intended to work in a variety of ways. Some of the results may be strange but that's part of the fun.

Upload Your microfiction!

Upload Your Group Stories

You can go through the stories from the board. 

Peer feedback

In a kind way, give feedback on how the stories could be improved

encouraging supportive peer feedback.

Type hier een titel

Use the ideas slide (coming up) as a starting point to your own creative writing.

Use the mind map on the next slide to remember what you need to do!

Writing Short Narrative Fiction

Simple slide setting up the next two activities.

How are you going to make your short narrative fiction the best it can be? 

How are you going to make your short narrative fiction the best it can be?

A mind map revision activity here, going over everything discussed so far.

Type hier een titel

An Unexpected Journey

A character finds a mysterious map in an old attic. Where does it lead, and how does it change their life?

1

Consequences

Your protagonist makes a split-second decision that alters the course of their life. What was the choice, and what happens next?

2

Lost in Time

A malfunctioning elevator/lift traps a character in a time loop. How do they escape—or do they?

3

A Mysterious Stranger

A stranger arrives in town and seems to know everything about the protagonist’s past. Who are they, and what do they want?

4

A letter From the Past

Your character receives a letter addressed to them—but it’s dated 100 years ago. How do they respond?

5

What lies Beneath

An object is unearthed in the protagonist’s garden that reveals a long-buried family secret.

6

Rewriting the Stars

The night sky has changed; constellations now form mysterious symbols. What do they mean, and who is deciphering them?

7

The Day it All Changed

Begin with the sentence: “I woke up, and everything was different.”

8

Voices in the Wind

A character starts hearing whispers when the wind blows through a certain tree. What are they saying, and why?

9

The Locked Room

A character finds themselves in a locked room with no memory of how they got there. What happens next?

10

Am I Dreaming?

Your protagonist wakes up from a vivid dream to discover it’s coming true, piece by piece.

11

The Guardian's Secret

A librarian, janitor/caretaker, or shopkeeper turns out to be guarding a portal to another world.

12

A World Without X

Imagine a world where something essential (e.g., color, sound, or gravity) suddenly disappears

13

A Friend's Betrayal

Your protagonist discovers their closest friend has been working against them all along. Why?

14

An Unlikely Ally

Two characters from opposite sides of a conflict must work together to survive.

15

You can use the spinners to randomise this or let students choose if they feel strongly about one they want to do. A student may have their own idea here too!

I've imagined this as a homework assignment but it may be too easy to cheat with AI so this could instead be a follow up timed class activity. 

Alternatively use AI to create drafts that students then improve.

How confident do you feel about writing short narrative fiction?

How confident do you feel about writing short narrative fiction?  

😒🙁😐🙂😃

Hopefully they feel more confident writing creatively and have had fun in the process!