What Happens When You Wonder 'What If...?'

Writing is fun! When we switch up a familiar story, it frees us to play with setting, characterization, and language in ways that are engaging and even silly—ways that get our writing juices flowing!

This presentation explores how writers generate story ideas by wondering "What If....?," and then planning, researching, and writing to see what unfolds. In particular, we'll discuss what fractured fairy tales are and how we can take established stories and infuse them with a different setting, type of character, and/or voice to create something new and exciting. I take students through the process I used to write Goldenlocks and the Three Pirates and share strategies for finding sources of inspiration and playing with language. We'll also discuss the important roles of beginning-middle-end, and the equally important role of revising, revising, revising to create a vibrant, cohesive story. (I reveal many, many drafts of my text to show that writers at all stages persevere to make their stories the best they can be. Writing is rewriting, mateys!)

If time allows, I engage the students in completing a group organizer in preparation for writing a fractured fairy tale of their own. The program lasts about 45 minutes, which includes time for questions.

This presentation is best for grades 1-6. It supports Common Core Writing Standards 3 and 4 and Reading Literature Standards 4 and 6.