2. Learning Objectives
To understand the importance of planning
before writing a story.
To learn an effective method to plan for a story
before writing.
3. Introduction
Before and during writing, do you face the
following problems?
1) no ideas
2) don’t know how to start
3) started but stuck half-way
If you face these problems, you are not alone!
Fortunately, there’s an easy way out. Many
writers fail to understand the importance of
planning. With proper planning, these problems
can be avoided.
4. Fail to plan and plan to fail
The importance of planning cannot be
overstated.
Having a proper plan is like having a roadmap.
You know where you want to go and how you
are going before you start on your writing
journey.
Just as you would not embark on
a journey without a map, you
cannot write without a plan too.
5. Fail to plan and plan to fail
Fortunately, there’s an easy formula to help you to
plan.
Called 5 wives 1 husband or 5W1H, this plan
helps you to think about all the key ideas in your
story first.
5W1H represents ‘Who’, ‘Where’, ‘When’,
‘What’, ‘Why’ and ‘How’. These
are your story’s important ideas.
The following flashcard gives
the details for each.
6. 5W1H
Who – who are the main characters
Where – where is the story taking place
When – when or the time the story happened
Why – the cause of the problem
What – what happened after the problem
How – how it all ended
7. Benefits of 5W1H
Following this guide means that:
1) You have included all the key ideas in your
story
2) You have a clear guide how your story will
develop
In short, you now have a mind
map on how your story will
unfold!
8. 5W1H in ‘The Hare & Tortoise’
Using 5W1H to analyse the story, we can find these
main ideas in the story:
Who – the hare and the tortoise
Where – open field
When – one fine morning
Why – the hare ridiculed the short feet and slow
pace of the tortoise
What – the tortoise did not stop, the hare fell fast
asleep
How – the tortoise reached the goal first
9. 5W1H in “The Boy who cried ‘Wolf’”
Similarly, using 5W1H for this story:
Who – the boy, villagers, wolf and sheep
Where – village
When – one morning
Why – the boy cried wolf many times
What – the villagers would run to save the sheep,
but the villagers grew tired of his jokes. No one
came to rescue when a wolf finally came.
How – the wolf ate up a lot of sheep on that day.
11. Learning Activity Suggested Answers
Who – mother pig, three little pigs, big bad wolf
Where – open fields
When – 3 little pigs building their homes
What – wolf came to blow down two pigs'
houses made of straw and wood, and ate them.
How – the wolf couldn't blow down the third
house and was caught in a burning pot when he
climbed down the chimney.
Why – last house was built with bricks, showing
the 3rd pig's attitude not to be lazy was correct.
12. Discussion
Why do we need to have a clear plan before we
write?
How does 5W1H help us in writing?
What does 5W1H represent?
13. In summary
Having a clear plan guides the writer when he
starts to write.
5W1H is an effective plan for thinking about
the key ideas in your story before you start
writing.
It represents ‘Who’, ‘Where’, ‘When’, ‘What’,
‘Why’ and ‘How’.
