Hello! You may have seen the newspaper that goes with my book, Mirror Magic. It’s called the Wyse Weekly Mirror and you can download a copy here.
I had fun writing all the articles so I thought I’d share a few tips for writing newspaper stories. You might want to write about your holidays, your family, or even invent some spooky articles for a Halloween newspaper.
How to Write a Newspaper Story
Step 1 – Plan your Story
Who is your story about?
What happened?
Where did it happen?
When did it happen?
Why did it happen? (This one can be quite hard to answer, but it will make your story more interesting.)
For example, here’s something that happened on my last holiday.
Who – two small dinosaurs, Sir Boris and Sir Doris.
What – They were accused of stealing a kite and imprisoned without trial. This caused a public outcry. The two dinosaurs made a daring escape in a flying pirate ship kite.
Where – The International Kite Festival in Dieppe, France.
When – September
Why – Because the dinosaurs’ human owner was being very mean.
Step 2 – Write Your Story
Two dinosaurs, Sir Boris and Sir Doris, were wrongly imprisoned in Dieppe, France, after they were accused of stealing a kite from the International Kite Festival in September.
Their human owner, the author Claire Fayers, said she was going to keep the dinosaurs in prison until they’d learned their lesson.
But Claire’s friends all said she was being mean and she should free the dinosaurs. They sent many messages of support on Facebook, and some people even sent gifts of chocolate to the dinosaurs.
The situation was resolved when the dinosaurs escaped dramatically one morning, sneaking out of prison and flying away in kite shaped like a pirate ship.
Step 3 – Edit your Story
All writers have to edit their work, sometimes many times over, until they get it right. Is your story the best you can make it?
Tips:
Keep your story short. Can you cut out any words? See how short you can make it (you can always add some words back in).
Think about the words you’re using. Can you change any of them for more interesting words?
Can you add any pictures or quotes from the people involved?
My finished story
Two dinosaurs were falsely imprisoned this September, accused them of stealing a kite from the Dieppe International Kite Festival in France.
Sir Boris and Sir Doris, both brontosauruses, denied the charge and soon their supporters were calling for their release. “I don’t like seeing innocent dinosaurs jailed,” said Sam on Facebook, while Brandon shouted “FREE THE DINOS!”
But the dinosaurs’ owner meanly put them on bread and water rations.
On their third day in prison, the dinosaurs escaped, wearing hats knitted by one of their supporters.
The brave duo were last seen flying away in a pirate ship kite.
You can download the guide and print it out here:
