Think about a story you've enjoyed reading.
How does it begin? What happens in the middle and at the end?
Who are the main characters and what do you know about them? What do you like about them? Where does the story take place?
What problems occur in the story and how are they resolved?
What do you think about the ending?
What was it about this story that you enjoyed?
After doing this, I asked you to think about the things that make these books so great. Here are your responses:
- A hook to make people want to keep reading
- Mystery, figuring things out, cliff hangers
- A good blurb to make people want to read it
- You want the story to make you feel like you are inside it. That you are a part of it
- A problem in the middle. It might even get bigger before it’s solved. There may be more than one problem
- The fact that you can make connections with the book
- Adventurous books, or books where there is a quest
- Naughty characters
- Complexity - a combination of genres
- A good pace
- A setting that makes you feel like you are really in it
- A twist. When you think one thing will happen but there is a surprise
- Advanced vocabulary