How to write good stories for kids? We are, by nature, fond of telling and listening to stories as they whet our curiosity and cater to our imaginative faculties. However, to tell (or write) a good story, the following points should be borne in mind:
Plot
Plot is the soul of the story. Therefore, before starting to write the story, a clear-cut idea of the plot must be imagined in your mind.
Logical Movement of Events
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The events in the story must move in a logical order. All unnecessary details should be avoided but details which are essential should not be excluded. Moreover there should be no jumble of events. The events should be narrated in the proper order in which they seem to have happened, such that fiction seems fact.
Title
If a title or heading to the story is to be supplied, it must be based on the leading character or incident in the story or if the story teaches a lesson. Proverb quotation or an impressive poetical tag can be given as the heading.
The story thus written must be free from all grammatical mistakes to make it worth-reading.
Clarity
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The story should be written in such a way that the movement of events is clearly understandable even to a child. There is not much scope for suggestiveness, ambiguity or circumlocution in story-writing.
Dialogue
Dialogue, if any, must sound natural and absorbing.
Consistency
There should be consistency, especially in characterization. The character should not sound illogical and whimsical. There is not much scope for subjective ness in their growth and evolution.
Outline
If the story is based on a given outline, its development must be in accordance with it without elimination of any part of it and without inclusion of any incident seeming unrelated to it.
Conclusion
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The growth of the story from beginning to end must lead to a logical, satisfactory conclusion which appeals to human feeling contemplating faculties. There is no harm if there is a sting-in-the tail which springs a surprise such that the reader feels moved or overwhelmed. The best story creates the best lasting impression.