Y08W22WR The Small Decision That Changed Everything

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 about a character who makes a small, ordinary decision — one that seems too minor to matter. But it turns out to be pivotal. Show how this small decision creates large consequences.

Stimulus: A character makes a small choice — the kind that seems too minor to matter. It could be about what to wear, where to sit, what to say or not say, who to spend time with. The decision seems ordinary. But as the story unfolds, its consequences become clear.

Task Analysis: This narrative task asks you to show how a small, ordinary decision creates large consequences. The challenge is making readers understand the significance of something that seems trivial at the time. A strong response shows the decision moment clearly and then reveals, through subsequent events, why it mattered.

Quick Plan

Before you write, plan:

  • The small decision — what is it, why does the character make it?
  • Why it seems minor at the time
  • The consequences — what unfolds as a result?
  • The realisation — when does the character (and reader) understand its significance?
  • What changes because of this one choice?

Characters & want

Make the character’s world clear. What are they navigating?

The decision moment

Show the moment the character chooses. What are they thinking? Is it deliberate or casual?

Consequences unfolding

Show how one small choice creates a chain of events. Let the reader see the domino effect.

Show, don’t tell details

Use specific moments to show rather than tell the reader why this choice mattered.

Turning point

Identify when the character (and reader) realises the significance of the small decision.