How to write Mini Saga




Start with the story:

The Cobbler – First Draft (233 words)

Once upon a time there was a man named Roddy Biggs, who was a bank robber. One day he took a pair of shoes to a cobbler to get new soles put on them. The cobbler gave him a ticket, which he put in his pocket. The next day Roddy was arrested by the police for a bank robbery he had committed the week before.Time passed slowly and 20 years later Roddy was released from gaol. As he was walking away form the prison, he put his hand in his jacket pocket, and found a piece of paper. Pulling it out, he saw the cobbler’s ticket and remembered taking his shoes there all those years ago.“Why not?” he thought, and went off to see if, just by chance, the cobbler was there and still had his shoes. When he got to the address on the ticket he saw, sandwiched between a supermarket and a multi-storey car park, the cobbler’s shop. He went in and found an ancient man working in the dark little room. He gave him the ticket. The old man examined the ticket closely and then took down a huge ledger from the shelf. Blowing of the dust, he opened it and ran a shaking finger down the columns of names and dates inside. His finger stopped at an entry. Looking up, he said, “They’ll be ready next week!”

Take out words you don't need:

The Cobbler – Second Draft (100 words)

A man named Roddy Biggs took a pair of shoes to a cobbler. The cobbler gave him a ticket, which he put in his pocket. Next day Roddy was arrested for a bank robbery. He was sent to gaol. Twenty years later Roddy was released from gaol. He put his hand in his pocket, and found the ticket.He went to see if the cobbler still had his shoes. When he got to the address he went in and found an ancient man. He gave him the ticket. The old man examined the ticket and said, “They’ll be ready next week!”




Take out words you don't need, and change some words to leave exactly 50 words:

The Cobbler – Final Draft: the mini-saga (50 words)

A man took his shoes to a cobbler. Next day he was arrested and sent to prison for robbery. Twenty years later he was released, found the cobbler’s ticket and, just in case, took it to the cobbler’s shop. Examining it closely, the old man said, “Come back next week”.




MORE EXAMPLES OF MINI SAGA:

My beloved country

It happened so rapidly – when I took my seat, we unexpectedly set out with an enormous speed. Everything around us was moving so fast that I started getting sick. I was praying for the end of this crazy ride. Then we stopped. Thank you God, it was my bus stop!

Marta Wieczorek 2B

My beloved country

Welcome to my beloved country! I saw there lots of stunning sights. The trees and the grass were so green. Everything was very clean. People were smiling, because they were really happy. But suddenly a terrible ring of tram woke me up. I saw my horrible country. Welcome to Poland!

Claudia Cynajek 1A


The corpse was found in a shady alley. Chief inspector Ralf approached it slowly. "What was the cause of death, doc?" - he asked. "Nicotine overdose." the forensic scientist replied. Ralf mulled it over for a moment. "Cigarettes kill..." - He muttered, pointing at the stub, gripped tightly in the victims hand.
Ralf Lewandowski, 1e


He was sitting comfortably on an electric chair. Right afer the prosecutor read the death sentence loud and clearly, he could hear prison guard's low pitched voice: "Hey, prisoner. Wanna your last smoke?". He glanced at a packet of cigarettes and with and absolutely serious look, responded: "No, thanks. Cigarettes kill".
Adam Cisło, 1a

I went to a party. There were about sixty people smoking. While I was dancing, a man offered me a cigarette. "No, thanks," I said, "cigarettes kill". He replied that he had been smoking for years and he was still alive and kicking. The next day I saw his obituary.
Łukasz Maciejewski, 3b LOTS

I am so lonely... Nobody wants to talk to me, take me in their hands. It is very hard when I see how bad people look at me... They do not want to give me a chance. The first thing I always hear is "No thanks - cigarettes kill". I'm out.
Jagoda Basta, klasa 3 A kucharz, Zespół Szkół nr 6 w Szczecinie
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