Free lesson 3 of 3
Ahoy Me Hearties
Draw a treasure map, fill it with danger, then send someone brave to follow it. A pirate adventure to finish on.
This week you'll draw a treasure map, then use it to plot a rollicking pirate adventure. Grab a pencil and some paper before you start.
Start with the map
You'll need a starting point. A desert island, maybe, or a busy port. This is where your main character finds the map.
Now think about each place on the map, how your main character will get there, and what will happen to them when they do. Each place should be more dangerous than the one before. Give them interesting names, like Smugglers Creek, Blackbeard Gully and Dead Man's Rock.
Who is your main character?
How do they stumble upon a treasure map? Do they want to find the treasure? Why?
The pirate captain
The villain in your story is the pirate captain, chasing your main character because he wants the treasure too. Or you could twist the plot and let the captain act like a good guy, the way Long John Silver becomes the father Jim never had in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Read Treasure Island if you get the chance. It's free online and it's a rollicking adventure. Everything happens at breakneck speed: the isolated inn, the arrival of Billy Bones, Blind Pew tap-tapping through the mist, the unseen one-legged man, the delivery of the Black Spot.
The climax of Treasure Island comes after lots of adventure, when the pirates discover the treasure has already been found and taken. What will the climax of your story be? Where will it happen? Draw it on your map.
How do pirates talk?
Make sure you put some dialogue in your story. What sort of things would your pirates say? Here are some words to get you started.
Try this
- The pirate captainImagine you're hiding from the captain of a pirate ship. What sort of pirate is he? Does he have a wooden leg and a parrot on his shoulder? What does he look like? What kind of person is he? Why is he looking for you?
- The crewNow think about his crew. Who is the first mate? Do they have any distinguishing features or unusual clothing? Are they mean and nasty, or secretly good? Describe them.
- Draw a treasure mapThe pirates are after you because you've stolen their map. What does it look like? Where did you get it? Where does it lead? Draw it. You'll use it to plan your story, so make it interesting.
- ConflictThe pirates want the map and they'll make you walk the plank to get it. But you need it to find your great-grandfather's secret key. Without the key you can't open the mysterious chest hidden in the dungeon of your castle. What will the pirates do? How will you escape? What happens if they find the key first?
- Plot your adventureFollow your map and plan your encounters. You reach Devil's Rock first. You outrun them at Fisherman's Ridge. They catch up at Blind Man's Gully. Choose three places on your map and write down what happens at each one. Think of the worst thing the pirates could do, then work out how you'll outsmart them.
Your story challenge
Jack has escaped from the orphanage and stowed away on a merchant ship bound for the West Indies. As they round the cape, pirates attack. Oh no! Jack is taken prisoner and must serve as cabin boy to the terrible Captain Mulligan. But all is not lost. Hidden below decks, tucked inside an empty rum barrel, Jack finds an old treasure map ...
What will happen in your story? How does your main character find the map? Where does it lead? Write your story this week.
I can't wait to read it.
Karen xx
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This is one week out of eight in our Young Authors Club. In our small weekly classes, your writer gets a new adventure like this every week, plus feedback on their stories from a published author.
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