HOW TO WRITE A STORY

1. WRITING A STORY
WHAT MAKES A GOOD STORY?
• A good plot (argumento)
• A good end; funny, dramatic, unexpected
• Cohesion between paragraphs, use adjectives, verbs to describe what is happening.
• Be careful with tenses, you must use them correctly.
HOW TO WRITE A STORY
Imagine you have to start with this sentence : It had been a long and rainy day.....Había sido un día largo y lluvioso.
1. Use your imagination to develop the plot: You can start thingking the story in Spanish, but be careful with the translation.
2. Ask you questions?
- who the main character is, his/her name
- Which the main idea is
- What the character did before that moment: Was he working? Studying? Was he alone?
- What the character is going to do: Is he going to the cinema? To sleep?
- What happens in a decisive point in the story: Does the character know someone? Is he in another planet?
- What about the end: Does he receive a present? Is a happy end?
3. Organise your ideas
- Beginning: It had been a long and rainy day....había sido un día largo y lluvioso.
- What happened before: Michael había estado trabajando todo el día y estaba muy cansando. Tiene hambre y sed.
- What happens during the story: Decide ir a cenar a un restaurante cercano.
- Decisive point: De pronto, ve a una mujer que conoce. Se trata de Margaret, una compañera de colegio que no veía hace mucho. Se ven y se saludan.
Ambos se alegran mucho de verse.
- Ending: Michael y Margaret se dan cuenta que trabajan en oficinas muy próximas. Lo inesperado ha ocurrido.
NOW, think about the correct tenses you have to use Past Perfect ( had been, had gone), Past simple( was, saw, went), Past continuous ( was Reading)
Correspondencia de tiempos verbales para narraciones (stories) FCE
Español Inglés Ejemplo
Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto
Sujeto + había visto/hecho
Past Perfect
Subject + had+ seen/done/been
They had never been so happy.
Ellos nunca habían sido tan

2. felices.
Pretérito indefinido/imperfecto
Sujeto + verbo en pasado
ganó/comió/vio
Simple Past Tense
Subject + simple past tense
won, ate, saw
She won the lottery. Ella ganó la
lotería.
Pretérito indefinido/imperfecto
Past Tense Verbo “to be”.
Sujeto +fue+ era + estaba
Past Tense verb “to be”
Subject + was/were
She was very happy. Ella estaba
muy contenta.
Pasado para diálogos
Él dijo, pensó, preguntó, ordenó,
contó, recordó
Past tense (for dialogues)
Suject + said, thought,asked, told,
remembered
He said to his friend: “Wait”
Él le dijo a su amigo: “Espera”.
Pasado continuo
Sujeto + ser/estar + v.p. en participio
pasado
Past Continuous
Subject+ was/were + winning, eating,
looking
He was working. Él estaba
trabajando.
Presente
Sujeto + come, mira, camina
Present Tense
Subject + eat, look, walk
They eat, drink and smoke a lot.
Ellos comen, beben y fuman
mucho.
Presente continuo (para diálogos)
Sujeto + ser/estar/ presente
comiendo, mirando, caminando.
Present Continuous (for dialogues)
Subject + am/is/are + eating, looking,
walking
I’m coming – she answered.
Voy – dijo ella.
Futuro (para diálogos)
Sujeto + comerá, mirará, caminará
Future (for dialogues)
Will/Won’t
Subject + will eat, will look, will walk.
She said: I will go there. Ella dijo:
Yo iré allí.
4. Write your story in English
- Be careful with the tenses
- Write short paragraphs. Each idea is a paragraph
- Use conectors.
- Use verbs and adjective to create the atmosphere
- Use some direct speech: She asked me: “ What are you doing here?”
- Include a title
This is an example
It had been a long and rainy day. Michael had been working all day and was very tired and hungry.(1) He decided to go and have dinner at a restaurant
which was very near his office.(2) He put his raincoat on, took his umbrella and headed to the street. (3) He walked briskly to “Le Chezon”.(4)
The restaurant was half-full. As usual, he decided to sit at the bar and order some fish and chips. The waiter, Paul, knew him and said: ‘Right away Sir’,
while he served him the usual beer. Michael had a first sip and looked around. (5)´Wow- he thought- that’s Margaret- I haven’t seen her for ages’. (6)
Margaret had been his classmate at secondary school. She seemed to be having a drink with a friend. She was calling the waiter, and suddenly saw

3. Michael sitting at the bar. They both smiled at each other.Michael went over to her to say hello. It was an exiciting encounter, and they were both very
happy to see each other again.(7) As they talked they came to realise that they had been working at offices which were very near for almost a year. ‘That’s
life – Michael Michael- unexpected things happen every day.’(8)
- What happened before (1)
Michael had been working all day and was very tired and hungry.
Observaciones:
1. Me he inventado un nombre para mi personaje: Michael.
2. He utilizado el Past Perfect Continuous. "Michael had been working/ Había estado trabajando, para hacerlo coincidir con el Past Perfect
de la oración anterior "It had been a long/ había sido...
- What happens during the story: (2) to (5)
Observaciones:
1. Utilizo el Simple Past Tense: He decided to go and have dinner at a restaurant which was very near his office. Decidió ir a cenara un restaurante
que estaba muy cerca de su oficina.
2. Narro una acción tras otra en Simple Past Tense, para dar ritmo a la historia. He put his raincoat on, took his umbrella and headed to the
street. Se puso la gabardina, cogió un paraguasy se dirigió a la calle.
3. Utilizo "briskly" un adjetivo no tan común que significa "brío" para crear atmósfera. Invento el nombre del restaurante "Le Chezon." He walked
briskly to “Le Chezon”. Caminó con brío a Le Chezon.
4. Creo más ambiente. The restaurant was half-full. As usual, he decided to sit at the bar and order some fish and chips. The waiter, Paul, knew him and
said: ‘Right away Sir’, while he served him the usual beer. Michael had a first sip and looked around. El restaurante estaba medio lleno.Como de
costumbre decidió sentarse en la barra y pedir pescado con patatas fritas. El camarero, Paul, lo conocía y le dijo: "Ahora mismo señor",mientrasle
servía la cerveza de siempre. Michael tomó un trago y miró a su alrededor.
- Decisive point.(6/7) Ending. (8)
5. Revise your writing 6. Write, write and write
Sentences to start the story
• I was busy all day.... Estuve todo el día ocupado We were trying to contact them.... Estuvimos intentado contactar con ellos
• It was a dark and cold night.... Era una noche oscura y fría.
Sentences to end the story
• Eventually everything turned out fine....Al final todo salió bien.
• They smiled and went back home...Sonrieron y volvieron a casa It had to be that way... Tuvo que ser así.

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ISEl62rAY