Helpful tips and workshop exercises for classroom use on how to write and adventure story with children's and young adult author, Jeni Mawter.

1. Presented by
Jeni Mawter
www.jenimawter.com

2. ‘Life is a daring adventure or
nothing’
Helen Keller

3. Are you an adventurer?
 Do you dream of being stranded on a desert island?
 Would you like to live in a tree, or adventure on the
high seas?
 Battle mysterious creatures or stop a crime ring?

4. Then adventure writing
is for you!

5. Use Exotic
Settings

6. More Exotic Settings

7. Think of an exotic setting for
a…
 Mystery adventure
 Fantasy adventure
 Historical adventure
 Romantic adventure

8. Excitement
Danger
Action

9. Danger

10. Dangerous Situations
Being vulnerable to …
 injury Think
 loss of more
 evil examples
 risk

11. Fast-paced action

12. Story Beginnings …
Start with
action

13. Elements of Adventure Writing
A likeable protagonist

14. Elements of Adventure Writing
An unlikeable antagonist

15. Start the story with a quest
The quest is a long and difficult search for something.

16. The quest is something
we can all identify
with, or want.
Examples???

17. The hero meets obstacles
Human Institutions
criminals, corrupt people Army, government, secret
service
The Elements Internal
ocean, jungle, desert, ice greed, fear, pride, physical
weakness

18. and more obstacles …
 Don’t avoid the risks and obstacles
 Make life really difficult for the
person on the quest

19. If you’re confronted
with great fear and danger
all you need
are imagination and courage.
R.L. Stevenson

20. Use your imagination to work
out how to escape from this
situation.

21. Use your courage to work out
how to escape from this
situation.

22. Introduce twists and turns in
the plot

23. Keep sentences short and lean
 Jamie grabbed the rope and started pulling till her
arms ached and then the boy appeared over the cliff
edge and then she got a shock and almost lost her grip.
 Jamie grabbed the rope, pulling till her arms ached.
When the boy suddenly appeared she almost lost her
grip.

24. Story Ideas
setting protagonist quest
 bullfighting arena detective money
 dilapidated house orphan save a life
 ghost town astronaut find missing medal
 hidden cave athlete solve a mystery
 mountain top princess make friends
 military base dragon find the truth
 riding academy boy/girl freedom
 wildlife sanctuary refugee catch a thief