Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then

Use a five-word frame to write a clear story summary.

A handy way to summarize a story is the frame Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then. Somebody names the main character. Wanted tells their goal. But names the problem. So tells what they did about it. Then tells how it ended. Let's try it with an original story. A shy girl named Wren wanted to join the school choir, but she was too nervous to sing in front of the director.

So she practiced every evening by singing to her younger brother, who clapped loudly every time. Then she auditioned, got a spot in the choir, and sang a short solo at the spring concert. Notice how much the frame leaves out: what Wren wore, what songs she practiced, what day the audition was. The frame forces you to keep only the story's backbone.

• 1Somebody = main character; Wanted = goal.
• 2But = problem; So = action; Then = ending.
• 3The frame keeps the backbone and drops extras.