During National Novel Writing Month, writers all over the world attempt to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. There is a division of National Novel Writing Month for school-age children called the Young Writer's Program. It provides resources for students and teachers to participate in National Novel Writing Month. As a class, participate in the Young Writer's Program by helping students write novels during November as part of a writer's workshop, or work together as a class to write a novel.
Instead of trying to come up with a whole story from nothing, students can draw from their own life experiences to create a story. Direct students to write a story about their own lives or an event from their lives. Give the students a worksheet to fill out that highlights major events in their lives as a starting point. One student may write a memoir-style story that explains what's important to them while another may write a whole story about her seventh birthday party or a week at summer camp. The worksheet gives students a foundation for their stories, but still lets them use their own creativity.
To help kids learn characterization, assign students to create a story about a person through an interview. Let the students choose who to interview and give a list of questions to ask. The questions should address basic information such as age, family and hobbies. Let the students add their own questions to help guide their stories. The students should then decide what parts of the interview are important and create a story about the subject of the interview. The story can be biographical, or students can use the character in a fictional story.
As a class, help the students come up with some details about a new world. It can be as elaborate or plain as you want. Have the students write a story set in the world you created. Let students add to or change the world if they want to encourage their creativity and imaginations.