Here’s the guidance and resource materials for teachers, librarians, parents and others who work with children for Episode Nine of The Story Thief Challenges.

Story Re-cap questions:

1. Why was Liam happy to be back working with Aoife on the new challenge?
2. Why was their father in a special, locked section of the hospital?
3. What did the kids leave with their father in his hospital room?
4. Why did their mother tear up their story challenge?
5. Why will it be difficult to get their father to the library? How do you think they’ll do it?

Re-cap questions on Dave Rudden writing advice :

1. What is Dave’s definition of conflict?
2. Why must a story’s conflict be important to the main characters in a story?
3. Why should there both be a chance to succeed and a chance to fail for the main character?
4. Why do we all like conflict in a story?
5. What conflicts have you experienced in your life?

Story Challenge:

PS: Here’s a Story Challenge for you!

Remember, practice makes perfect. Writing is a muscle – the more you do it, the better you get. If you want to try out writing many different types of conflict, write out ten types of character and ten types of conflict on a page. Here’s some ideas to get you started:

Possible characters: Tough Detective / Stressed Out Lawyer / Assassin-In-Training / Knight Commander / Jolly Sea Captain / etc..

Possible conflicts: Must Overcome A Fear of Spiders / Must Get Good At Ballet / Must Escape An Old Rival / Must Find The Gold Medallion of Much Importance /Must Win A Karaoke Competition / etc..

Now cut them out then muddle them so they’re mismatched. Challenge yourself to figure out why the stressed-out lawyer must stay in a haunted house for a whole night, or why the tough detective needs to learn ballet. 

How to do this challenge?

As usual the challenge is self-explanatory, but here’s some alternative ways it can be done:

• Let the kids come up with their own characters and challenges by giving each child two post its. On one they write a conflict. On the other a character for that conflict. Collect them up. Mix up each batch. Now redistribute one of each randomly to every child. Challenge them to come up with a story to match each character and conflict combo.
• Instead of the kids writing the characters and conflicts have them draw them. Now mix them all up and share them around and develop stories out of them.
• Get the kids to write or think about a time in their life where they had a conflict. Using Dave’s format, get them to describe themselves as if they were a story character (e.g. new boy in a school) and their conflict as a story (e.g. trying to fit in). Now have them write the story.
• Get the kids to think about their favourite books / films / videogames / even sports. Get them to describe the main characters and the conflict that character faces. How can they succeed? How can they fail?
• Whatever other approach you’re having yourself 🙂

Once the challenge is completed?

As ever we’d love to see what the kids came up with and show it to all our readers on the kids’ work pages.  Please get in touch to arrange this on our contact page.