Free lesson 1 of 3
Lost in Space
You've crash-landed on a planet 23 light-years from home. All you have is a notebook. Tell the story one diary entry at a time.
This week you're an astronaut who has just crash-landed on a distant planet. Luckily you have a notebook and a pen, so you can keep a diary of everything that happens.
Why a diary?
A diary is personal. You can write whatever you like in it. And it's a wonderful way to tell a story, because the reader feels like they are having the adventure with you.
Think about where you are and what you might find there. What does the planet look like? How will you live? What will you eat? Imagine how it would feel to discover a whole new world.
Write about your feelings
A diary is a great place to share how you feel. Are you lonely? Do you miss your cat? Write it all down.
Keep it personal. Your diary is your only friend on this new planet, so write your entries as though you're writing letters to your best mate. You could even give your diary a name.
23 May, 2045
Dear Clarence,
I'm feeling really sad today. It's my cat Sookie's birthday and I can't even give her a hug ...
Dates set the pace
Put the date at the top of each entry. This shows how much time has passed. Maybe your astronaut writes every day. Maybe once a week. Maybe only when something interesting happens. The dates will set the pace of your story.
Find your voice
Think about the kind of voice you're writing in. Are you happy and chirpy, always looking on the bright side? Are you sad and gloomy, certain everything is terrible? Think about your astronaut's personality and stay in character the whole way through, just like an actor in a play.
Plotting and planning
- Write at least six entries.
- In the first two, describe where you are and how you're living. Use all five senses to bring the place to life. What can you see, hear, smell, taste and touch? How do those things make you feel?
- In the next three, things get exciting. Maybe you meet aliens, or see bizarre animals. Maybe you go exploring and can't find your way back to the cave. Make it dramatic, and build up to a moment of real danger.
- In the last entry, you escape the danger, or save the aliens, or work out a way home. How will you end it?
Try this
- Leaving EarthImagine you're an astronaut being sent out into space. What do you feel as your rocket blasts off? Who are you leaving behind? Will you miss them?
- Crash landingYour rocket crash lands on a strange alien planet, exactly 23 light-years from Earth. Luckily you can breathe without a helmet. Take a look around. What can you see, hear, smell, taste and touch?
Your story challenge
May 18, 2056. Dear Diary, the sky is rushing past my tiny porthole. I can't believe this is finally happening! I've been training my whole life to ride in a rocket ship, and now here I am. My heart is thumping. I can hardly breathe.
May 29, 2056. There has been some kind of malfunction with the engine. I don't think we're going to make it to Planet K-16. The computer says we have only a day of fuel left before we have to crash land. This could be my last entry.
June 3, 2056. I have crawled out of my smashed-up rocket ship and I'm hiding in a cave on this strange little planet. Nobody else made it out alive. The sun never sets here. I think I can hear running water. I'm going to take a look around and see what kind of place this is. I wonder if there are people here ...
Write your six diary entries this week and see where your astronaut ends up.
I can't wait to read it.
Karen xx
Liked that?
Our term program is eight weeks of small live classes on Zoom, where your writer takes on a new challenge each week and gets feedback on their stories from a published author. Join a term and the full ten-lesson Young Authors Club comes with it, to work through at home whenever they like.
See our weekly classes