CharactersAges 4–6
Meet My Character
Draw a brand-new character, then give it a name, a favorite food and a superpower.
Story Studio · free story writing for kids
Draw it first.
Draw it first.
Then write the story.
Kids who say “I don’t know what to write” nearly always know what to draw. Start with the comic story starter below, then print story sheets, story starter cards and a fold-up mini-book, all with Kevin Coulston’s characters.
Your comic story
1 · Beginning
A Crusty Goober wakes up and finds it has grown a third eye overnight.
“Uh-oh.”Draw it here!
2 · Middle
Suddenly, all the Goobers start to float.
TA-DA!Draw it here!
3 · Twist ending
How does it end? You decide!
The big finish
Draw in the boxes with a finger, a stylus or a mouse, or print the comic and draw on paper. The speech bubble and sound effect are just ideas: use them, change them or make up your own.
Story writing by age
Ages 4–6 · grades PreK–1Draw and tell
One big picture and one sentence. Kids can tell the story out loud while a grown-up writes it down.
5 sheets, plus the mini-book and certificateAges 6–8 · grades 1–3Draw and writeBeginning, middle and end in three boxes, with sentence starters to lean on.
9 sheets, plus the mini-book and certificateAges 8–11 · grades 3–5Build a storyCharacter files, villains, maps and stories where the reader chooses what happens.
8 sheets, plus the mini-book and certificate24 free story writing sheets
Each sheet is one page, prints well in black and white, and starts with a drawing. Filter by age or by the part of the story you want to work on.
Characters Every story needs someone to care about. Invent them first.
Places and maps Draw where the story happens before anything happens there.
Comic strips Tell a story in boxes, with speech bubbles and sound effects.
Story starters A push to get going when the page looks very empty.
Endings and twists Finish strong, surprise the reader or let them choose.
Make a book Fold it, design the cover and sign it like a real author.
CharactersAges 6–8
Hero and Sidekick
Design a hero and the sidekick who always has their back. What can each one do that the other can’t?
CharactersAges 8–11
Top Secret Character File
A detective-style file on your main character: portrait, facts, what they want, what they fear and their secret.
CharactersAges 8–11
Villain Planner
Every good story needs trouble. Design a villain with a lair, a plan and one big weakness.
Places and mapsAges 4–6
Who Lives Behind the Door?
Draw who lives behind a little door, then tell where it is and what their favorite room looks like.
Places and mapsAges 6–8
Where Does It Happen?
Draw the setting of a story, then use your senses to describe it: what can you see, hear and smell?
Places and mapsAges 8–11
Story Map
Draw the map of your story world, mark the danger and the secret spot, then plan the route from start to finish.
Comic stripsAges 4–6
Bubble Talk
Two friends meet in a two-box comic. Fill their speech bubbles, then draw what happens next.
Comic stripsAges 6–8
Three-Panel Comic
Beginning, middle and end in three comic panels, with a sentence starter under each one.
Comic stripsAges 6–8
Six-Panel Comic
A longer comic with room for a real adventure, plus a word bank of sound effects to drop in.
Comic stripsAges 6–8
Design a Comic Book Cover
Make the front cover of your own comic book: the title, the hero in big trouble and a line that makes people want to read it.
Comic stripsAges 8–11
The Silent Comic
Draw a four-panel comic with no words at all, then write the story it tells underneath.
Story startersAges 4–6
One Picture, One Sentence
The first story page: a big box for a drawing and writing lines for one sentence about it.
Story startersAges 4–6
What Hatches Out?
A bird has found a giant egg. Draw what hatches out of it and say what happens next.
Story startersAges 6–8
Uh-Oh! Problem Planner
Plan a story around a problem: who is in it, where they are, what goes wrong and how it gets fixed.
Story startersAges 6–8
Roll a Story
Roll a die three times to pick who, where and what goes wrong. Then draw and write the story you rolled.
Story startersAges 8–11
Dear Diary
Write a diary entry as your character, about the strangest day of their life, with a picture of them writing it.
Story startersAges 8–11
Story Mountain
Plan a whole story as a mountain: the beginning, the build-up, the big problem at the top, the fix and the ending.
Endings and twistsAges 6–8
Twist Ending
The story is started for you. Draw and write a surprise ending nobody saw coming.
Endings and twistsAges 8–11
Three Ways to End It
Write a happy ending, a funny ending and a surprise ending for the same story, then pick the winner.
Endings and twistsAges 8–11
Choose Your Path Story
Write a story where the reader decides what happens: one start, two choices and four different endings.
Make a bookAll ages
Fold-Up Mini-Book
One sheet of paper becomes an 8-page book: a cover, six story pages and an “about the author” page on the back.
Make a bookAges 6–8
Design Your Book Cover
Design the front cover of your story and write the blurb for the back, without giving away the ending.
Make a bookAll ages
Official Author Certificate
A certificate for every finished story: the author’s name, the title of their story and room for a self-portrait.
No sheets match both filters. Try “Every age”.
Story starters with our characters
Crusty GoobersWeird, wonderful little creatures with big feelings and very strange habits.12 starters
RobotsBolts, beeps and big ideas: stories about robots who don’t quite work the way they should.12 starters
MonstersFuzzy, slimy and mostly friendly: monster stories that are more silly than scary.12 starters
DinosaursStomping, roaring, egg-hatching stories from long, long ago (and some from right now).12 starters
Unicorns and mermaidsSparkly, magical stories with a little bit of mischief.12 starters
Aliens and spaceBeam-ups, crash landings and very confused visitors from other planets.12 starters
Alexis and the T-RexesNew adventures for Alexis and her baby T. rex friends, Snap and Daisy.12 starters
HalloweenSpooky (but not too spooky) stories for the last week of October.12 starters · Halloween
ChristmasCozy, funny stories for the busiest week of the year.12 starters · Christmas
108 story starters in 9 story worlds
Pick a world, draw one of its characters with a free step-by-step lesson, then choose a starter. Each world has printable starter cards and a ready-to-go comic.
Crusty GoobersWeird, wonderful little creatures with big feelings and very strange habits.12 startersRobotsBolts, beeps and big ideas: stories about robots who don’t quite work the way they should.12 startersMonstersFuzzy, slimy and mostly friendly: monster stories that are more silly than scary.12 startersDinosaursStomping, roaring, egg-hatching stories from long, long ago (and some from right now).12 startersUnicorns and mermaidsSparkly, magical stories with a little bit of mischief.12 startersAliens and spaceBeam-ups, crash landings and very confused visitors from other planets.12 startersAlexis and the T-RexesNew adventures for Alexis and her baby T. rex friends, Snap and Daisy.12 startersHalloweenSpooky (but not too spooky) stories for the last week of October.12 starters · HalloweenChristmasCozy, funny stories for the busiest week of the year.12 starters · ChristmasMake a bookFold a mini-book from one sheet of paperEight pages, three minutes of folding and one real book with the child’s name on the cover. Kevin makes books; now kids can make one too.See how to fold it
Comic stripsComic strip templatesBlank 3, 4, 6 and 9-panel pages, plus comic sheets with speech bubbles, sound effects and a silent comic.Get the templates
Six tips for writing a great story
- Draw firstIf you don’t know what to write, draw. A picture of your character always knows what it wants to do.
- Start with somebodyPick one main character and get to know them: what they love, what they’re scared of, what they want.
- Then add an uh-ohNothing happens until something goes wrong. Lose something, break something, or let it rain pudding.
- Make it worseBefore the fix, make the problem a little bigger. That is the part readers remember.
- Show feelings on facesEyebrows, eyes and mouths tell the reader how a character feels before you write a word.
- Finish itA finished short story beats an unfinished long one. Give it an ending, then make the next one longer.
For teachers and homeschool
A story writing center, ready to print
- Writing center kit: every story sheet in one PDF, plus an author certificate for every finished story.
- Three 45-minute lessons for grades K–1, 2–3 and 4–5 on the story writing lessons page: draw a character, plan, write, share.
- Fits narrative writing goals for grades K–5 (Common Core W.K.3 to W.5.3): sequencing events, describing characters and settings, and writing an ending.
- Morning work and early finishers: story starter cards, the roll-a-story sheet and the comic story starter on the board.
- Plain draw-and-write paper: a drawing box over primary lines (K–2) or regular lines (grades 2–5).
- More for the classroom: thinking sheets, the lesson plan builder and draw then write prompts.
Story writing lessonsGrades K–5 · 45 minutes each
Draw the characters, then tell their stories
Every How to Draw book by Kevin Coulston is a cast of characters waiting for a story. His Alexis and the T-Rexes picture books are stories you can keep going.
How to Draw: Crusty Goobers
How to Draw: Cartoon Robots
How to Draw: Cute Cartoon Monsters
How to Draw: Cartoon Dinosaurs
How to Draw: Mermaids, Unicorns, and Other Cute Stuff
Alexis and the T-Rexes: Birthday SurpriseAs an Amazon Associate, FirstArtBooks earns from qualifying purchases.
Questions parents and teachers ask
How do I get a child to write a story?
Start with a drawing instead of a blank page. Ask them to draw a character, then ask three questions: who is it, what goes wrong, and how does it end? Write down what they say. The three-panel comic turns those three answers into a story.
What age can kids start writing stories?
Four and five-year-olds can tell stories with pictures and say a sentence for a grown-up to write. Most six to eight-year-olds can write a beginning, middle and end in short sentences. By eight to eleven, kids can plan characters, settings and twists on their own.
What is a story starter?
A story starter is the first line of a story, like “A robot starts sneezing bolts and can’t stop.” The child decides what happens next. Story Studio has 108 of them, sorted into story worlds with Kevin Coulston’s characters.
Are these printables free for classrooms?
Yes. Print as many copies as you need for your own kids, your class or your homeschool group. Please share a link to the page instead of re-posting the files.
All Story Studio printables are free for home and classroom use.
Free for subscribers
Get the free Story Writing Pack
12 printable story writing pages (comic strips, a character file, a villain planner, a story map, a choose-your-path planner and an author certificate) sent with your welcome email. After that, new free pages and book news.