A story for this lesson is a short piece with one main character, one setting, one problem and an ending that answers the problem. You do not need ten pages. One good page is enough.

Writers do not pour a perfect page out in one go. They plan, draft, revise, edit and share. Planning is thinking. Drafting is getting the words down. Revising changes the meaning: the order, the missing climax, the unclear ending. Editing fixes spelling, capitals and punctuation. Sharing is reading it to someone or publishing it in class.

Revise before you edit. There is no point polishing a sentence you are about to cut.

Write five notes. Who is the character, and what do they want? Where and when is the setting? What problem gets in the way? What is the climax, the turn? How does the ending answer the problem?

Use a setting you know, such as a school yard, a market or a beach, so the details can be real. Invent the problem. You do not have to tell a private family story.

If you cannot say the problem in one sentence, the plan is not ready.

A draft can be messy. Leave gaps rather than stopping for ten minutes on one spelling. When the draft exists, read it as a reader. Can you find the problem? Is there a turn? Does the ending match?

Revise by adding one sensory detail, cutting a sentence that wanders, or moving the climax so it is not in the first line.

Ask a partner one question only: “What is my character trying to do?” If they cannot answer, the draft needs a clearer want.

Editing is the surface. Capitals, full stops, speech marks, they was, and spellings you know. Read the draft aloud. Your ear will catch missing words.

Then share. A classmate, a parent or a class book is enough. Sharing is not the same as posting a private story on a public site. Ask before you share someone else’s life.

Keep the plan notes. They show the process, and a teacher may want to see them.