A pair of students have an assignment to create and tell a fairy tale to the class and are in serious dispute as to the direction the plot will take. The girl wants it traditional; the boy wants it cool.

Kevin O’Malley, Walker and Co, 2005, ISBN 10: 0-8027-8947-1

The Cliff Hanger Game

Divide the class into teams of 4 or 6.   Each team starts with a “cliff-hanger”―Once upon a time there was a boy named John who was very happy until the day he stepped off…―The next student takes over and keeps the plot going for a few sentences ending in another “cliff hanger”.

Encourage students to jot a few notes about good plot turns so that they can take the best parts and individually write a story.

Once Upon A…

Another book with the same premise of a boy and a girl wanting different turns in the plot is Once Upon a Golden Apple.

Read both of them to the students and ask students to create their own scenario for a “conflicting collaboration” on a story. They could be making up an excuse for why they came home late from school, explaining how it was that the teacher happened to give them a detention, throwing a birthday party, washing a car, or even creating a different fairy tale, etc.

For 5 creative writing ideas, click Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude to download.