Narrative Composition Planner
Year 7 English • Fantasy Composition • Week 4-5 • 45-55 minutes • Independent
A planner, not a prompt sheet. You use this to think before you write, and you use it again to check your draft.
Success criteria
- I can plan a setting with rules that shape what happens.
- I can create a character with a want, a need, and a flaw.
- I can structure a plot with a clear turning point.
- I can choose language that matches my world and my narrator.
1. The world
| Question | My plan |
|---|
| Where does the story happen? | |
| What is normal here that would be strange elsewhere? | |
| What rule of this world shapes the problem? | |
| What does the world cost or demand from the character? | |
| One concrete detail that shows the world (not tells it) | |
2. The character
| Question | My plan |
|---|
| Name and role | |
| What do they want? (external) | |
| What do they need? (internal) | |
| What flaw gets in the way? | |
| Who or what opposes them? | |
| What will they be like at the end? | |
3. The plot spine
| Stage | What happens | Why it must happen here |
|---|
| Opening image / hook | | |
| Problem revealed | | |
| First attempt | | |
| Complication or reversal | | |
| Turning point | | |
| Resolution | | |
| Final image | | |
4. Language and narrator
| Question | My plan |
|---|
| Who is telling the story? | |
| What does the narrator want from the reader? | |
| Three words that describe the tone | |
| One image or comparison I will reuse | |
| One sensory detail per section | |
5. Self-check before you hand it in
- The opening makes the reader want to continue.
- The world is shown through detail, not explained in a paragraph.
- The character makes a choice, and the choice costs something.
- There is one clear turning point, and it changes what the character does.
- The ending resolves the want or the need, and it is not simply a happy accident.
- Every paragraph earns its place.
- Spellings, punctuation, and capital letters are checked.
- The work is my own, and I have followed the rules for this task.
Sentence frames
The world of [place] works because [rule], which means the character must [compromise]. This choice [costs] something, so the story moves forward.
Exit ticket
Read your opening two sentences and your turning point sentence to your partner. Can they tell you what your character wants and what it costs them to get it?
Your teacher will give you the task sheet and the marking criteria for the assessment. This planner is the preparation, not the task.