Y07W06WR The Journey Changed by One Person

Part 1

How to Write

Narrative – Short story

A short story draws a reader into a character’s world and carries them through an experience that changes something. It is written for an audience who wants to be engaged and moved — not just informed. The tone is vivid and personal, making the reader feel present in the moment and curious about what comes next.

  • Ideas & content: Give your character a clear situation and a problem or tension that matters. Include specific details rather than general descriptions, and make sure something genuinely changes by the end.
  • Structure & cohesion: Move from orientation to complication to resolution. Use paragraph breaks to shift scenes or time, and connect moments with time words and action to keep the story moving forward.
  • Voice & audience: Find a consistent narrative voice that brings the reader close to the character’s experience. Show feelings through actions and reactions — not just by stating them.
  • Language choices: Choose strong verbs and sensory detail. Use dialogue to reveal character. Vary sentence length — shorter sentences create tension, longer ones build atmosphere.
  • Conventions: New speaker, new line — every time. Use speech marks correctly. Keep your tense consistent throughout.

Common pitfalls: Starting too slowly with too much backstory — get into the situation quickly and let detail emerge naturally. Telling the reader how a character feels instead of showing it through what the character does.

Part 2

Your Task Plan for Today

The brief

Question: Write a story set during a journey that is transformed by the presence of a particular person. You decide who that person is, what happens along the way and how the journey ends differently than expected.

Stimulus: The journey was supposed to be straightforward. You had made it before. But this time, there is someone with you who changes what the journey means.

Task Analysis: This task asks you to write a narrative in which the central idea — that a person can transform an ordinary experience — is shown through the story’s events, not stated directly. The journey is the frame; what happens between the two characters is what the story is really about. A strong response will show how the journey changes, not just describe the journey.

Quick Plan

Before you write, plan:

  • The setting — what kind of journey, where, how long?
  • The person — who are they, and what is their relationship with the narrator?
  • What changes — three or four moments where the person’s presence shifts something
  • The ending — how does the journey end differently than it would have without them?

Characters & want

Give your narrator a clear sense of what they expected from the journey. The person who joins them should feel specific and real — a few precise details will do more than a long description.

Show, don’t tell details

Show the transformation through what happens and what is noticed — not through statements like “the journey was different because of her”. Let the reader feel the shift through specific moments and sensory details.

Turning point

Identify the moment where the journey clearly changes direction — an exchange, an event, a realisation. This is the core of the story. Give it space.

Tone & voice

Find the right emotional register for this story — it could be warm, quiet, funny, bittersweet. Maintain that tone consistently rather than shifting between moods.