Perhaps there had been the sound of an explosion, a party, a storm, perhaps something very funny happened, perhaps something strange.

This could be anything, for example “ On Saturday morning on the way to...” 

It could be a time in the past such as Roman Times or Victorian times or “just last year we saw....”. 

Perhaps it is set in the present time or even the future. 

This is a description of the place. or places. in the story. It might be somewhere you already know, or an imaginary land or even planet. 

The more you are able to describe it the better we can imagine ourselves there. 

The people or creatures or things that were there what they looked like and how they behaved and what they said or thought.

Can you tell us why you think the problem or happy event came about.

You will have read many times "... and they all lived happily ever after". 

Well did they?

Make sure that you describe everyone who is involved and explain a little bit about each of them, and always tell a bit more about the main characters. 

Your character or group of main characters may be people, animals, made- up creatures, or even objects for example ” the brush had lost the dustpan, where could it be? They had been together for many years”. 

What do your characters look like, have they favourite things that they like to do or special places they love to visit, are they funny or clever or naughty? Perhaps they are brave or very timid. 

In your story you may want to tell not just what they were doing but also what they were thinking, which will help the reader to understand what is going on.

Really good stories allow the reader to imagine being there so make sure that you describe where the story happens and include as many of the senses as you can to make it more interesting:

Sight - it is important to describe what the characters look like, as well as where they are and what they are seeing around them, especially what colours and whether it is light or dark, as this will really help the readers imagine the situation.

Sound - in a story often a sound is the first sign that something is about to happen, for instance a dog barking in the distance or the creak of a door opening or maybe even: growling, sqeaking, laughter, crying, howling, clucking, moo-ing, music, wind, or birdsong.

Touch - Perhaps they have found a strange object or animal is it rough or smooth, cold or hot to touch, perhaps it was gooey or slimy. Maybe furry, feathery, leathery,scaley.

Smell - perhaps they were following a scent, wood smoke perhaps or perfume, food cooking, the seashore or flowers.

Taste - describe if you can what anything tasted like if food was in the story, bitter, sweet ,sour,  creamy, watery horrid or delicious. 

The plot is what actually happens. It is also the sequence of events - remember that a good story has:

A beginning, where you introduce everyone and everything including the situation or problem that the story is really about

A middle, where lots of things happen

An end, where we find out how things turn out for everyone.

Do not think that it matters in which order your story is written- If you have a great idea for an ending you can work it backwards or from the middle to the beginning or which ever way you choose- this is your imagination and it is you who are creating and creativity should not be constrained by any specific recipe for what works these are just guidelines for the components.

What kind of story is it ? happy, sad, exciting, funny, or even a mystery - often one story can be more than one of these.

This is all about who is telling the story. Of course you are writing the story, but you could chose to do it:

In the first person - that means you are telling the story, for instance "One day I went to the seaside".

In the third person - that means someone else is telling the story, for instance "One day James went to the seaside".

As a narrator - that means ... for instance "John went to the seaside, I never understood why he did that"