To tell even a simple story well requires some practice. An uneducated person generally tells a tale badly. He does not mentally look ahead as he tells and plans it out. So he repeats himself, omits important items, which he drags in afterward out of place, and dwells too long on minor details and fails to emphasize the leading points. To write a good story, you must have the whole plot clear in your, and the main points arranged in their proper order.
Hints:
1.See that you have a clear idea of the plot of the story in your mind before you begin to write.
2.Follow the outline given; i.e., do not omit any point, and keep to the order in which the points are given in the outline.
3.Be careful to connect the points given in the outline naturally, so that the whole will read well as a connected piece of good communication. Otherwise the whole will be disconnected and jerky. You must use your imagination in filling in the details of action, gesture and conversation that should connect one point with the next.
4.Where possible, introduce dialogue or conversation; but be careful to make it natural and interesting.
5.The conclusion of a story is important. The whole story should be made to lead up to it naturally, and then it should come as a bit of surprise.
6.If you are asked to supply a heading or title to the story, you may choose the main character, object or incident of the story or, a proverb, or well known quotation that suits the story.
7.See that your composition is grammatical and idiomatic and in good simple English. Revise your work, and if necessary rewrite it, until it is as good as you can make it.
Sample Usage
Specimen Outline:
Boy set to guard sheep--- told to cry “Wolf!" if he sees a wolf near the flock-----watches the sheep for several days-----gets tired of the monotonous work----so one day shouts “Wolf!" as a joke-----all the villagers hasten to his help----find no wolf-----boy laughs at them----villagers angry-----plays the same joke a few days later-----some villagers take no notice----some come running----finding nothing, they beat the boy------at last wolf really comes---boy is terrified and shouts “Wolf ! Wolf"-----villagers take no notice----wolf kills several sheep.
Complete Story:
The Boy Who Cried “Wolf!"
One of the boys in a village was sent out into fields to look after the sheep.
“Mind you take care of them and don't let them stray," said the villagers to him. “And keep a good look out for the wolves. Don't go far away: and if you see a wolf coming near the sheep, shout out “Wolf!" as loudly as you can, and we will come at once to help you."
“All right!" said the boy, “I will be careful."
So every morning he drove his sheep out to the hill side and watched them all day. And when evening came, he drove them home again.
But after a few days he got rather tired of this lonely life. Nothing happened and no wolves came. So one afternoon he said to himself: “These villagers have given me a very stupid job. I think I will play a trick on them just for fun."
So he got up and began shouting as loudly as he could, “Wolf! Wolf! "
The people in the village heard him, and at once they came running with sticks.
“Wolf! Wolf!" shouted the boy; and they ran faster. At last they came up to him, out of breath.
“Where is the wolf?" they panted. But the boy only laughed and said: “There is no wolf. I only shouted in fun. And it was fun to see you all running as hard as you could."
The men were very angry.
“You young rascal!" they said. “If you play a trick like that again, we will beat you instead of the wolf."
And they went back to their work in the village.
For some days the boy kept quiet. But he got restless again and said to himself: “I wonder if they will come running again if I cry ‘Wolf!' once more. It was such fun the last time."
So once more he began shouting, “Wolf! Wolf!"
The villagers heard him. Some said, “That boy is up to his tricks again." But others said, “It may be true this time; and if there really is a wolf, we shall lose some of our sheep."
So they seized their sticks, and ran out of the village to the hillside.
“Where is the wolf?" they cried, as they came up.
“Nowhere! said the boy laughing." “It was fun to see you running up the hill as fast as you could."
“We will teach you to play jokes," shouted the angry men; and they seized the boy and gave him a good beating, and left him crying instead of laughing.
A few days later a wolf really did come. When the boy saw it, he was very frightened and began shouting “Wolf! Wolf! Help! Help!" as loudly as he could.
The villagers heard him, but they took no notice.
“He is playing his tricks again," they said. “We won't be made fools for the third time. You can't believe a boy after you have caught him lying twice."
So no one went to his help, and the wolf killed several sheep and frightened the boy nearly out of his wits.
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