Even with good planning, children often find themselves struggling to get a short story going, and so come to resent story writing, as it is just ‘too hard’, or ‘not something they are good at’. But this is often not true.

A few years ago I had a simple idea: what if I wrote the first part of the story for them? In 500-600 words, I could establish the protagonist and the setting, set the plot in motion, but leave the story at a place my students can confidently pick up from. Then my students could finish the story however they like, creating one complete story that is uniquely their own. The result? Children who actually enjoy writing stories. Yes, by removing their greatest obstacle, my students can write without stress and begin to find the enjoyment in creative writing. And once they enjoy writing, technical improvement is sure to follow. So during the Covid lockdowns I wrote over 50 unique story intros and created a website to show my clients some examples of my work. If you like what you see here, I can incorporate this technique into any child’s tuition.

Here’s the link: www.finishastory.com