Children, much like adults, sometimes need a little kickstart to get their creative juices flowing. When it comes to writing a story, the blank page can cause panic in anyone – this is where open-ended story starters come in handy. A story starter is all about giving the child the first sentence to lead them on their journey.

Here we’ve come up with 37 of our favourites which will help lead your class toward all sorts of weird and wonderful stories. Once they’ve got the hang of it, move onto our list of KS2 story starters for more complexity.

Perfect story starters for KS1

1. I pushed the creaky door and peeked inside…
2. She woke up quickly, something/someone was in her room…
3. I looked outside of my bedroom window, what I saw was…
4. There were only two of them and they had finally made it to the island…
5. He opened the safe, but it was gone! Who had taken it?
6. It was a dark and frosty morning, we stepped outside…
7. I could just make his eyes out through his helmet, what was he thinking?
8. It was there and then it was gone! As quick as a flash…
9. This was it! I now had the power to change anything…
10. A million pounds sat there in the suitcase, “what should we do with it?” I said…
11. He woke up and he was an inch tall! “It’s time to start exploring.” he said…
12. When the clock strikes twelve, amazing things are going to happen…
13. It fell from the sky into next door’s garden, we had to go and see what it was…
14. “Are you ready?” “Three…two…one…go!”
15. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door…
16. The name’s John, and I know what you’re thinking…
17. Clank! Something hit me hard on the head…
18. I could see something approaching fast, but what was it?
19. I picked up the phone. “Hello?” I knew who it was…
20. Carrie looked up and saw a brightness in the sky…
21. Morning, I’m Freddie, and there is one thing you should know about me
22. When Frankie came back to the safe, it was gone.
23. The boat was rocking around the high waves, but we were on our way to…
24. It took me a minute, but then I realised…
25. It was nearly 9 o’clock, and that can only mean one thing…
26. “Ok, you were right. We shouldn’t have come here.”
27. The name’s Ali. I’m just like most other people, except for one thing…
28. “Stop!” I heard from behind me. “Don’t go in there.”
29. It was one of those days where everything went right…
30. Ok, let me start from the beginning.
31. It was probably the best gift I’ve ever been given…
32. I was walking round to my friend’s house, when suddenly…
33. Holly rode through the park when she heard a noise…
34. Then it ended. A dream I will never forget…
35. And with that, the wish was granted…
36. The dog’s name was Ben, but this was no ordinary dog.
37. “SCREECH” What was causing all the noise?

Story writing ideas: 5 approaches

Hopefully, there are plenty of ideas for you there, but with a little imagination you can probably come up with a whole load more yourself. Just take these five approaches to starting a story and you’ll soon find those creative juices flowing.

Approach 1: Ask a question

Example: What was that noise coming from upstairs?

Approach 2: Start with speech

Example: “It’s time to get up,” Mum shouted, “we’re going to be late”

Approach 3: Main character introduction

Example: Hi, I’m Sophie. It’s nice to meet you.

Approach 4: Set the scene

Example: The sun was bursting through the clouds, and the air was full of Dad’s freshly cut garden.

Approach 5: Create some action

Example: Crash! The boy came hurtling round the corner and straight into his neighbour’s fence.

Story starters are a fun way to engage the class in writing lessons, the ones above are a good basis to play around with. We also stock a quality range of story writing and story exploration products! Take a look and keep sharing those stories with us @hopeeducationuk.