Cambridge Primary Checkpoint 0844 · Topic 8 of 10

Writing fiction

Planning and writing stories with strong openings, interesting characters, vivid settings and well-chosen words.

📌 Key points

Plan first: characters, setting, a problem and how it will be solved.
Hook the reader with your opening: start with action, speech, a question or a vivid description.
Show, don't tell: instead of “Sam was scared”, write “Sam's knees shook and his mouth went dry”.
Use paragraphs: start a new one for a change of time, place, event or speaker.
Choose powerful verbs (sprinted, whispered) and precise nouns and adjectives (an old oak, not a tree).
Use dialogue to show what characters are like and to move the story on, but do not overuse it.
Vary your sentences: short ones for drama, longer ones with conjunctions for description.
Link events with time words and fronted adverbials: Later that day, Suddenly, Meanwhile.
Keep the same viewpoint (first or third person) and tense throughout, then check your work.

Opening: The start of a story, which should hook the reader.
Dialogue: The words characters say to each other.
Paragraph: A group of sentences about one idea, time, place or speaker.
Viewpoint: Who tells the story: first person (I) or third person (he, she).
Show, don't tell: Showing feelings through actions and details instead of naming them.
Fronted adverbial: A phrase at the start of a sentence that says when, where or how, e.g. Later that day,

Improve this sentence for a story: 'The man went down the road.'

Replace the dull verb 'went' with a more precise one, such as 'staggered', 'hurried' or 'strolled'.
Make the noun more interesting: 'the old fisherman' instead of 'the man'.
Add detail about the setting: 'the narrow, cobbled road'.
Add a clue about feelings: 'clutching his empty net'.
Answer, for example: The old fisherman staggered down the narrow, cobbled road, clutching his empty net.

💡 Test tip

Spend a few minutes planning before you write. A story with a clear problem and ending scores better than a long one that goes nowhere.

Test yourself8 questions from a bank of 21. A new mix every time.