Use this narrative writing prompt to engage your students in writing during English. This story writing prompt is an interesting one. It provides a bit of mystery and a lot of opportunity for students set the scene with descriptive sentences. The main character in this story could be on a journey and they find themselves torn between two roads. Perhaps the story is a bit deeper, and the main character is torn between two life choices, and therefore the paths are metaphoric. Have these conversations with your class and allow them to generate story writing ideas.
Story Starter
She walks along the winding dirt path, not caring of the places it will take her, as long as it is far away from her home. The smell of pine and fresh air fills her lungs like sweet perfume and a smile which plays lazily on her lips. A cold breeze shifts her dark locks around her face. In the forest the sky vanishes almost completely, only a few fragments of blue remain, like scattered pieces of an impossible jigsaw puzzle. The forest is her only escape, a reality all on its own. As she dawdles, the trees come alive, singing in the wind, birds chirping to the beat. Animals dance between the Oaks and Pines, unaware of the city just on the other side of the hill.
This narrative writing example is written extremely well and provides some outstanding examples of descriptive writing for your students to observe. There are many wonderful sentences that can be ‘magpied’ and used in your class’ writing. Have them identify two or three of their favorite sentences and see if they can apply them to their own writing. The ending of this story is captivating and will have your students asking for a sequel.
Writing Tip
Possessive apostrophes seem so simple, but they mean so much. If you can use possessive apostrophes with 100% accuracy in your writing, it’ll make a big difference. Unfortunately, when you forget apostrophes of possession, the level of your writing decreases greatly. It takes away some of the credibility in your story and impacts on the reader’s experience. So…ensure you edit your writing and check your apostrophes are in the correct places.
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Free ANZAC Day Poetry Resource
This ANZAC Day resource includes information about ANZAC Day, vocabulary, example poems and a writing template.
The Red House
The red house at the end of my streets glows 24 hours a day. There are strange noises and smoke coming out of the chimney. The weird thing is…no one lives there…
A gust of breeze swept through Sally’s kitchen. The chirping birds were replaced with an eerie silence, and there on her kitchen table sat a mysterious black cat.
Her eyes narrowed in on the target. She never missed. It shimmered in the distance and would be gone in a matter of seconds. The Archer Queen steadied her bow…
I could not help but feel a burning in my chest and a whole in my heart. To my shock, the letter in the bottle displayed a message that read: “I am alive. Follow the signs. Find me.”
The moon rose from behind the clouds as butterflies drifted at the water’s edge. Amy had no idea why she was chosen. Each night her powers came to life.
Trapped alone in a dark cage was unusual for the greatest knight in the land. However, this was reality now. His cage was small and the damp smell stung his nostrils.
Staring mindlessly at the crowds, Peter’s mind fell blank. His father was dead and he was now the king. He turned to his uncle. “Arrest that man, he killed my father.”
Her skin beamed red as adrenaline rushed through her veins. Jendi could feel her new powers surging through her body. Every 5 years, the Gods gifted her with new powers which she used to protect the planet.
Sarah’s eyes widened as her grandfather’s book began to sparkle. A careless visit to the attic was about to turn into an adventure. She leaned forward…
The location of the orb appeared to Brian in a dream. Now he was standing in front of it without a clue of how to use it. Brian approached the orb with caution…
Jack was a fan of all things magic, but what he created was shocking. He had managed to craft a real wand! A wand in the hand of an 8 year old was sure to have dire consequences.
Amy had seen the same sight for 5 years. Every full moon, at midnight, a witch would fly across the moon with her cat. This full moon was different. The witch never came. Instead, as the clock struck twelve, she heard a cackle at her front door.
Dazed and confused, Sandy awoke to the sound of mumbles. She was bound by rope and was covered in dust. Her heart began to beat rapidly as she realized where she was and what had happened.
With her kingdom behind her, the princess moved forward. Her evil ambitions were on display. She planned to take over all of the kingdoms in the land, one by one. “Move forward!” she roared to her troops.
Sam stopped panicking. He had come to the realization that his life was over. Floating in the open ocean for over 12 hours with no sign of help had taken away his hope. However, as the blue moon rose, Sam felt something, a kind of energy surge from the moon.
He stood in the street, staring at the house. The hooded figure did not flinch. His dark cloak covered his entire body and was symbolic of the man himself. Dark energy pulsed through his veins. He had one mission in life…
Her light hair cascaded down her shoulders as she moved back and forth. The stick that she wielded was filled with power and evil. Her long nose and deep black eyes were only seen in nightmares. She was, after all, the keep of souls.
Sam had one mission, to find his brother. He had been missing for 185 days and hope was fading. Sam’s determination had not faded. Alone in his mission, he had to succeed.
The forest offered no safety from the nightmares. The loud ringing of bells and an almost too angelic voice hummed harshly in his ears, as if someone was using cymbals on his head. He felt his entire body vibrate; a low shiver ran down his spine.
Her heart beat uncontrollably as her time machine whirred in the background. Jenny’s invention had finally come to life and now was the time to test it. “200 years ago should do it,” she muttered to herself.
The news was wild with information about the alien “invasion”. Jack watched in awe. “They have come in peace, they have come in peace!” repeated the news broadcaster.
It was finally Ben’s time to go. He had been contacted 5 years ago about moving to a new planet with an alien species. Ben had been chosen and was ready for the journey.
Jack gasped for air, clinging onto life. His mission to establish a colony on Mars was running smoothly until his helmet cracked in a sandstorm. Now, his life and the mission was about to end.
First the lights came and then the sky evolved. Human curiosity changed to fear and anxiety. One spaceship turned to thousands, hovering above the earth. For days they didn’t move, just sat in the purple sky.
His scaly exterior was tough and the power he possessed was destructive. The “Green Machine” had already taken over 2 continents and he was on in way to ours.
Bella’s life seemed normal, but it was far from it. She went to school, had friends and played sport on the weekend. The only strange thing was…she was from the past, living in the future.
His mission to explore Mars had failed. Space cat was now floating into the abyss. However, This extraordinary cat, with a human sized brain, had a plan…
The location was a secret and the employees were…odd. Area 51 was rumored to be hiding an alien. Sandy decided it was her mission to find the location and rescue the alien.
Mr Universe used his powers to protect the planets in our solar system. His super strength and speed stopped all invasions from enemies only found in nightmares. Until one day, he met his match…
The world had changed after the asteroid. The planets had moved and the position of the Sun made life challenging. It felt like life on our planet was heading towards extinction.
Pat was the best astronaut in the world, but he was in trouble. His breathing was heavy as his eyes scanned the area. Pat’s rope to the ship had broken and his chance of survival was fading.
Tom’s chance of survival was slim. He lay flat on his back, trappeed by an asteroid. It seem as if the sky was falling with rock parts landing all around him.
The plane had crashed 3 weeks ago. 20 of us were still alive, fighting for survival. Strange noises echoed across the mysterious island. Survival seemed futile.
After a radioactive explosion, the town of Scarlet had been abandoned and was now a ghost town. 20 years had now passed, and creatures began to emerge out of the radioactive city…
I hovered my hands over her broken leg. It usually took 20 seconds to heal the bone completely. Mary winced in pain as the bone mended. I pulled my hands back and smiled at Mary. “Magic hands,” she whispered.
It was time for Sam’s family to move again. Every year before Christmas, they would prepare their land and head to a new location. It was their way of keeping safe from the warlocks.
Our entry was rough, but we finally made it to Venus. The air was hot and thick. Sweat filled my suit and my glass cover began to fog up. What was on this strange planet?
A single woman protected our village. No one really knew her. All we knew is that when her father was killed, she mysteriously moved to the hills and watched over us.
Liz’s heart was trying to beat out of her chest, but she refused to let it. She had to get everyone out, even if it would drain her. “Help!” cried the voices.
On Terry’s 14th birthday, she made her way up Magic Mountain. That was the age that you could journey up the mountain and claim your one wish, anything you desired.
It was the greatest invention of all time and no one had a clue. Yensen held it up to the light and admired his creation. “What a magnificent beauty you are,” he whispered.
As their boats drifted on to the shore, Sam ran back to his village. His heart racing and his mind frantic. “They’re here, the pirates are here!” he screamed.
Alexia was different from her four sisters, and she was the strongest of them all. They chose evil and she chose good. But now she was in trouble, 3 verse 1 was going to be tricky…
Stone walls and metal bars surrounded Samson. His mind remained calm. The chains that bound him were no match. He had been trained as a ninja from the age of 3.
It shimmered in the beautiful sunlight and sat between the tallest mountains. It’s temperature never changed, nor did its majestic blue. It was the lake that healed anyone who enetered.
The bridge seemed to shimmer in the light and its stone was etched with intricate designs. Maya took the first step on to the magic bridge found on the edge of town.
Trapped in the mountains with no way of fixing his sleigh, Santa was stuck and all alone. A cold shiver ran down his spine and the icy fingers of the wind caressed his chubby cheeks.
The millionaire who lived in the mansion on the edge of town never came out of his house. Until one day, the door opened and out stepped an old, tired man…
An old hut sat on the edge of the forest. Many thought it was abandoned, but there seemed to some life to it. One day, Jackson noticed the door was slightly open…
The files would take another 5 minutes to download. After months of searching, she was just minutes away from getting the classified information she needed to free her brother.
Sandy lay flat on her back, staring up at the night sky. Trapped in a pit was not how she wanted to spend her birthday. She could sense that the rain was coming
Peter had a decision to make. Jump into the portal and risk everything, or turn and walk away. Sweat ran down his forehead as the Sun cast a long shadow behind him. He clenched his fist and walked forward…