Choose Your Own Adventure

Drafting Guidelines

With your novel study group, you will compose a “Choose Your Own Adventure Story.” While each group member will be responsible for different parts of the story, you must work together to accomplish this task successfully.

Step 1. Prewriting: The story must be realistic, modern day fiction without war, death, alcohol, drugs, sex, or criminal weapons. Yes, it is possible. Be creative and find other problems in your characters’ lives.

1. Name the characters and what type they will play in your story.

2. What is your setting?

3. What problem will your protagonist face?

4. What decision will your character(s) have to make?

5. List two possible choices for the decision.

Step 2. Exposition (the beginning, 1-2 double spaced pages)

1. Introduce your characters. Reveal how they know each other.

2. Establish your setting and provide sensory details.

3. Describe your characters physical traits.

4. Show, don’t tell the characters’ personality.

5. Create a problem for the characters.

Step 3. Conflict (the middle, 1-2 double spaced pages) Your group should divide into two parts to complete step three. Some of you will continue your story with the first possible choice. The rest of you will continue the story with the second possible choice.

1. Pick up immediately where the exposition left off.

2. Reveal the choice the characters made.

3. Explain why they made the choice they did.

Step 4. The Resolution (the ending, 1-2 pages, double spaced). Each group from Step 3 should divide into pairs or individuals to complete this section. Based on the characters’ choices, there should be two options for the resolution of each choice.

1. Show how the story will end based on the choice the characters made.

2. End the story in a clear way. Don’t leave the reader hanging.