Fiction writing begins with a story idea. In this audio story, the idea comes from a young Arab-American girl who is a fan of mysteries. She works with an adult Arab-American writer to develop her original story idea into the first draft of a cliffhanger–a story that stops at a suspenseful moment, leaving the characters in a desperate state. Listen to learn more about the fiction writing process as well as how authors sometimes give readers an invitation to imagine what might happen next in the story.
Story Length: 11:42
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Reading a good mystery is like solving a puzzle. Readers have to pay attention to the characters and events in order to solve the mystery. In The Westing Game, the millionaire Samuel Westing has died, and it is time to read his will. Sixteen people are invited to the reading, and the will reveals that one of them murdered Samuel Westing! Now it is up to the group to determine which one of them did it. Listen to find out more about Samuel Westing’s will and the characters working to solve the mystery.
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Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian sculptor, painter, engineer, and inventor who lived during the Renaissance period. Though he had many talents, da Vinci is perhaps best known for his marvelous pieces of art. After being commissioned to create a portrait of a silk merchant’s wife, he produced the Mona Lisa. The painting is currently located at the Louvre Museum in Paris, but it wasn’t always hanging behind bulletproof glass as part of the museum’s collection. Listen to hear the story of how the Mona Lisa was stolen, and learn why it eventually became the most popular painting in the world.
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Since ancient times, people around the world have used fairy tales, fables, and folktales to capture the imagination of and entertain an audience. However, these tales were meant to do more than entertain: they were used to teach morals. Fairy tales, fables, and folktales share other elements, such as talking animals, mythical creatures, and/or inanimate objects that think or feel emotions. Such tales are still being written and enjoyed today. Listen to hear how a professional writer transformed one boy’s story idea into a fantastic fable, complete with three edible houses and one hungry wolf.
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