English Composition and Comprehension

Project: Short Story Writing

Phase 1

Directions: In the first phase, you will be brainstorming and outlining your original short story. You may
take inspiration from real-life events, people and things around you, and other stories. Take extra care
to make sure that your idea is original and not copied from someone else.

PART A: BRAINSTORMING (5 marks)

Give a rough description of your story idea. Make sure the idea is original. You can brainstorm in any way
you want (bullet points, illustrations etc). This should include your basic idea, the names of main
characters, names of the events that will take place etc. It should give an overall idea of your story.
 12-year-old Anna is an orphan living in Paradise Orphan House with her foster siblings, including
her best friends, Alex, and Ivan, along with their beloved mother, Gabriella.
 Around the orphanage is a mysterious fence, too short to provide protection, but the children don’t
pay a lot of attention.
 The children are usually free apart from some chores and short tasks and Gabriella is an extremely
loving and caring foster mother.
 All the children have numbered tattoos at the back of their neck.
 One child is taken away to be adopted every month, however surprisingly none of the children ever
write to their foster siblings who are still in the orphanage.
 When 5-year old Lisa leaves the orphanage to live with her new foster parents, she forgets her
stuffed bunny behind, which Anna And Alex rush to give it back to her before she’s gone.
 What they witness was beyond their imagination. They secretly watch Lisa get murdered by
horrifying demons and her body get shipped to be eaten.
 Their mother Gabriella was aware of this, and she is one who makes sure that the children are
shipped upon request.
 Anna And Alex realize that the place they call home isn’t really an orphanage, it’s a farm, and
together with their friend Ivan, they plan to escape this hell before eventually comes their or their
friends turn to be shipped.
 However escaping with constant surveillance and limited resources doesn’t prove to be easy for
them, and they face numerous hardships in their path.
PART B: OUTLINING (25 marks)
Provide the following details

1. Exposition – The background about the characters, the setting, and the situation is known as the exposition. The
exposition usually comes at the beginning of the story. Identify the following:

Characters: Who are the main characters (protagonist, antagonist, etc)? Who are the supporting or side
characters? Give a brief physical description of each (skin colour, hair colour, height, eyes, build etc) as well
as a description of their personality. Fill each of the boxes below with the details of the characters. If you
have more characters, you can add their details on the extra pages at the end. (5 marks)

Protagonist: Anna Deuteragonist: Alex

Anna is a peaceful character who prefers talking Norman is a calm and gentle boy who presents
out things rather than fighting. Aged 12 with himself to have figured things out because he
orange hair and green eyes, Anna is one of the wants to appear as a reliable person to people
smartest children in Paradise Orphan House. around him.
Emma is fair heighted (145 cm). He is a 12-year old with silver hair, blue eyes and
is also fair heighted (145 cm).
Tritagonist: Ivan Antagonist: Gabriella
Ivan is an avid reader with high intellectual Gabriella is a caretaker who works in Paradise
abilities. Despite his distant disposition, Ray is Orphan House. Although initially appearing as a
able to interact well with all the orphans and is kind, loving, and affectionate foster mother
extremely loyal and caring towards Anna and towards the children, she actually has a twisted
Alex particularly. He’s also 12, with black hair nature and is responsible for not letting the
and dark green eyes, and has a height of 150 children escape. She is a 30- year old woman with
cm. black hair, brown eyes, and a height of 170 cm.
Supporting: Lisa
Lisa is a 5-year old orphan who resides at
Paradise Orphan House under the parental care
of Gabriella. She later gets shipped out. She is a
blond girl with blue eyes and a height of 115
cm.

Opening Situation: What is happening in the life of the protagonist at the beginning of the story? (2 marks)
It all begins calmly. Anna is an orphan living in Paradise Orphan House with her foster siblings,
including her best friends, Alex, and Ivan, along with their beloved mother, Gabriella.

Setting: Where and when does the story take place? (Describe.) (2 marks)

The story takes place in Paradise Orphan House, and around the orphanage is a mysterious fence,
too short to provide protection, but the children don’t pay a lot of attention to

2. Conflict – The conflict is a struggle between opposing forces. It can internal (man vs. himself), but is usually
external – man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. nature, man vs. supernatural. Describe the central conflict in a
sentence or two. (2 marks)
When Lisa leaves the orphanage and forgets her stuffed bunny behind, Anna And Alex rush to give
it back to her before she’s gone. That’s when they secretly witness Lisa get murdered by horrifying
demons and her body get shipped to be eaten. That’s when they realize that the place they call
home isn’t really an orphanage, it’s a farm, and together with their friend Ivan, they plan to escape
this hell before eventually their or their friends turn to be shipped arises.

3. Inciting Force – Identify the event, situation, or character that introduces the central conflict. Describe the
inciting force in a sentence: (3 marks)
4. Events (Rising Action) – Detail the events that occur during the course of the story that contribute to the plot. If
there’s more events, add them at the end in the extra pages provided. Give proper heading of “EVENTS” (5
marks)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5. Climax – The climax is the point in the story when the tension of the conflict reaches its highest point. The
outcome of the conflict is about to be revealed. Identify what you believe is the turning point of this story: (3
marks)

6. Resolution – The resolution is the final outcome of the story. Often resolution involves a change in one or more
of the main characters or involves an insight. Identify the resolution in a sentence or two. (3 marks)
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