[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-emirates-flight-time-stories-reeves-top-tips-for-writing-a-story":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"If you have a \u003Cb>child between the ages of four and ten\u003C/b>, have you thought about encouraging them to submit a travel-themed story and cover image for the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.emiratesflighttimestories.com/\">Emirates Flight Time Stories competition\u003C/a>? The deadline is \u003Cb>midnight, 6 Nov\u003C/b>, and you can check out the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.emiratesflighttimestories.com/about-and-prizes\">prizes\u003C/a> and view some of the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.emiratesflighttimestories.com/story-library\">stories already submitted here on their new website\u003C/a>! (One of them's about Colin the Crab, possibly inspired by the character in \u003Ci>Oliver and the Seawigs\u003C/i>!)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https://www.emiratesflighttimestories.com/storytelling-tips\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/148225_original-27c9a31a70.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nEmirates asked my co-author Philip Reeve and me to share some secrets to coming up with awesome tales. Here are some of \u003Cb>Philip's Top Tips for writing a story!\u003C/b> \\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"3490\"/>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>1. Write about something that really interests you \u003C/b>- a setting or an idea that you really love (or maybe really hate!) If you're interested in it, hopefully the readers will be, too.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>2. Start with your main character wanting something\u003C/b> - they need to go somewhere, or get something, or escape from something, or meet someone. Maybe they're just lonely and need to make a friend, or maybe they want to find some buried treasure. How they get what they want will be your story.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>3. But they don't get what they want straight away!\u003C/b> There are problems to overcome along the way. Perhaps they meet other characters who help them, or try to stop them. It's like a board game: there's a start point and an end point, and what makes it interesting is the obstacles along the way.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>4. Don't worry too much about the words. Just tell the story.\u003C/b> Then, when you've finished, go back and see if you can tell it better. Does it make sense? Could it be shorter? Can you make it funnier (if it's a funny story) or sadder (if it's a sad one)?\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>5. Enjoy yourself. Have fun. Surprise yourself!\u003C/b> Writing a story should be a bit like reading a story - you'll want to find out what happens on the next page.\\r\n\\r\nCheck back soon for my top tips about \u003Cb>drawing a story\u003C/b>! And find out more about the competition at \u003Cfont size=\"3\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.emiratesflighttimestories.com\">emiratesflighttimestories.com\u003C/font>\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https://www.emiratesflighttimestories.com/story-library\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/148610_original-e5d0f9a137.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\u003Ci>Read the rest of 10-year-old William Miller's story \u003Ca href=\"https://www.emiratesflighttimestories.com/story-library\">here\u003C/a>\u003C/i>","2016-10-20T16:30:00.000Z","emirates-flight-time-stories-reeves-top-tips-for-writing-a-story",[],"emirates flight time stories: reeve's top tips for writing a story",1776628728684]