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What Makes a Good Story?
The following tips were adapted from http://www.aaronshep.com/youngauthor/elements.html.
An (indirect) introduction
You can tell the reader what your story will be about, but you don't have to say "Now I will tell you …" (a direct topic sentence). Let your reader know the topic and make him/her want to read on (e.g. ask a question: "What was the scariest day of your life? In my case, it was …").
Setting
Choose a place/time that will be interesting for the reader. Use descriptive adjectives and past continuous (e.g. "hot", "cold", "it was raining" for the weather) to set the scene.
Plot
The plot is the conflict or struggle that the main character (you) goes through. It often involves a conflict (problem) with another person or situation. You should try to solve the problem and, as a result, learn or grow from the experience. What the character learns is the theme. The basic steps of a plot are: conflict begins, things go right, things go WRONG, final victory (or defeat), and wrap-up (conclusion). The right-wrong steps can repeat. A short story can have several conflicts to solve but it is probably easier if there is just one big problem.
Theme
A theme is something important the story tries to tell us—something that might help us in our own lives. Not every story has a theme, but a good story does. You can say what the moral (lesson learned) is but you do not have to: the reader can figure it out.
Story Structure
Move in chronological order (start to finish). Finish quickly, preferably with a surprising ending, or one that brings the reader "full circle" (back to the beginning). Write your story mostly in the simple past. Use the past continuous for description and longer actions and use the past perfect for actions in the distant past and reported speech. Using more verb forms – correctly – makes your story more interesting, can increase your word count, and raise your band.
Vocabulary
Use language that feels right for your story. It's ok to use simple words and simple sentences. That way, your writing is easy to read and understand. However, try to use different words and not repeat the same ones all the time. Always use the best possible word or phrase — if you can’t think of the right one, use a thesaurus (find a synonym). Carefully check each word, phrase, sentence, and paragraph.
This page was adapted from http://www.aaronshep.com/youngauthor/elements.html.