Planning a Story: Beginning, Middle, End
A short plan helps you write smoothly and finish with confidence.
Three-Part Planner
- Beginning: Who? Where? When?
- Middle: What goes wrong? How does it get worse?
- End: How is it solved? What changes?
Prompts and Structures
Character + Problem
A shy explorer loses the map in a storm.
Setting First
A midnight museum where exhibits whisper.
Try It
- Pick a prompt and write a B-M-E plan (one sentence each).
- Draft a 10–12 sentence story using your plan.
How to expand a one-line plan
- Take your beginning sentence and add one detail (who or where).
- Turn the middle sentence into two sentences: the problem and a small setback.
- Change the end sentence into two sentences: the solution and the last feeling or thought.
Planner template (copyable)
Beginning: (one sentence) Who is the main character, where are they, and what are they doing?
Middle: (two sentences) What problem happens? What makes the problem harder?
End: (two sentences) How is the problem solved? How has the character changed?
Practice with hints
- Prompt: A lost map. Hint for beginning: show who finds it.
- Hint for middle: add a place where the map gets stolen or blown away.
- Hint for end: the map leads to something unexpected (not always treasure).
Expanded example (from one-line plan to story)
One-line plan:
A child finds a lost map that leads to a surprising place.
Expanded 10-sentence story (model):
Jamie spotted the edge of a rolled paper under the hedge and pulled out a crinkled map. It had strange drawings and a dotted path marked with a tiny sun. Jamie ran to the playground to show Noor, who traced the path with her finger. The map pointed to the old willow by the stream — a place no one went anymore. As they followed the path, a gust of wind scattered last year's leaves and something glinted in the grass. It was a tiny wooden key, carved with a sun. The key fit a small chest hidden in the willow roots; inside were notes from children long ago and a few bright marbles. Jamie and Noor decided to keep the chest in the school library for everyone to read. They felt proud to have found a piece of the past and to share it with others. At home, Jamie pinned the map on the wall and smiled whenever they thought of the willow.