Grade by Grade
C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Stories, Opinions and the Francophone World

Le processus d'écriture: Writing and Publishing a Short Story

D1 D2 C2About 55 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can plan a short story with a schéma narratif before I write.
  • I can write a draft that mixes the imparfait and the passé composé, with qui / que and pronouns.
  • I can punctuate dialogue in French with « guillemets » and dashes (—).
  • I can revise (improve ideas and style) and edit (fix errors) using a checklist and feedback.
  • I can publish my story for a real audience.

Words to know

le processus d'écriture
The writing process: plan, draft, revise, edit, publish.
le brouillon
The rough draft.
réviser
To revise: improve the ideas, details, order and style.
corriger
To edit: fix spelling, grammar and punctuation.
le dialogue
The words characters say to each other.
les guillemets « »
French quotation marks.
le tiret (—)
The dash that shows a new speaker in a dialogue.
une rétroaction
Feedback.

Putting it all together

In Grade 6 you went through the writing process with a personal narrative. In Grade 7 you will use it to write a short story (un court récit) and use everything from this unit: the schéma narratif and the two past tenses (lesson 4), qui / que (lesson 6), pronouns (lesson 5) and figures of speech and adverbs (lesson 11).

First, read a model story. Then watch how a draft becomes a polished text.

Worked example

Let's read a model story

Les traces dans la neige

C'était un samedi matin de février. Le ciel était bleu et la neige brillait comme des diamants. Mon grand-père, ma cousine Maya et moi, nous marchions dans le bois derrière le chalet.

Soudain, Maya a crié : « Regardez ! Des traces ! »

Dans la neige, il y avait de grandes traces qui allaient vers la rivière.

« C'est un loup ? a demandé Maya. — Non, ce sont des traces de sabots, a répondu Grand-papa. Suivons-les, mais doucement. »

Nous avons suivi les traces lentement. Mon cœur battait comme un tambour. Près de la rivière, nous avons vu un énorme animal brun qui mangeait des branches. C'était un orignal !

Grand-papa a chuchoté : « Restons loin de lui. On peut le regarder, mais on ne le dérange pas. »

L'orignal a levé la tête, puis il est parti tranquillement dans la forêt.

Nous sommes rentrés au chalet pour raconter notre aventure à Grand-maman. Maintenant, chaque fois que je vois des traces dans la neige, je pense à ce matin magique.

Glossaire: une trace = a track · briller = to sparkle · le bois = the woods · un chalet = a cottage · des sabots = hooves · suivre → nous avons suivi = to follow → we followed · le cœur = the heart · battre = to beat · un tambour = a drum · un orignal = a moose (used in Québec and other parts of Canada) · chuchoter = to whisper · déranger = to disturb · lever la tête = to raise its head · tranquillement = calmly · rentrer = to go back home · raconter = to tell (a story)

  1. Schéma narratif: beginning (a February morning in the woods) → trigger (Maya sees tracks) → actions (they follow the tracks) → solution (it's a moose, which walks away calmly) → ending (they tell Grandma; the narrator still remembers).
  2. Tenses: the setting is in the imparfait (C'était, brillait, marchions); the events are in the passé composé (a crié, avons suivi, avons vu, est parti); the last sentence is in the present (Maintenant ...).
  3. Style: two similes (comme des diamants, comme un tambour), adverbs (lentement, tranquillement, doucement), qui (des traces qui allaient, un animal qui mangeait) and pronouns (Suivons-les, le regarder).
  4. Dialogue punctuation: « opens the dialogue, a dash (—) shows a new speaker, » closes it. Little phrases like a demandé Maya and a répondu Grand-papa tell who is speaking.
  5. Suspense: short sentences and Mon cœur battait comme un tambour make us wait before we find out what the animal is.
  6. Safety detail: Grand-papa keeps everyone at a distance: wild animals should never be disturbed.

The narrator, cousin Maya and their grandfather follow tracks in the snow and see a moose by the river. They watch it from far away, then go home to tell the story.

A line of moose tracks in fresh snow leads to a brown moose standing near a partly frozen river in a sunny winter forest.
Des traces de sabots dans la neige! Like the model story, notice the setting (sunny, snowy, calm) and imagine the sudden event when the animal appears. AI-generated image
planifierrédigerrévisercorrigerpublieron peut reveniridées, planbrouillonaméliorerles erreurspartager
The writing process. You can go back to an earlier stage at any time (for example, from revising back to drafting).
Revise (réviser): Is it interesting and clear?Edit (corriger): Is it correct?
Does my story follow the schéma narratif?Imparfait for background, passé composé for events?
Is the beginning catchy? Is the ending satisfying?Passé composé with être: agreement (nous sommes rentrés, elle est partie)?
Did I add details for the senses (see, hear, feel)?Adjectives agree (une grande trace, des traces noires)?
Did I use at least one figure of speech and two adverbs?Accents (é, è, à) and capital letters (but no capital on months or days)?
Did I join short sentences with qui, que, et, mais, parce que?Dialogue punctuation: « », dashes, colon before speech?
Did I replace repeated nouns with pronouns?Spelling of verb endings (-ais / -ait / -aient, -é / -er)?
Revising and editing checklist. Revise first (big changes), then edit (small fixes).

Feedback: deux étoiles et un souhait

When a family member or classmate reads your draft, ask for two stars and a wish:

  • ⭐ J'aime ... (two things that work well)
  • 🌠 Je souhaite ... (one thing to improve)

Good feedback is kind, specific and helpful: J'aime ta comparaison avec le tambour is more useful than C'est bon.

Worked example

Let's revise and edit a draft

Draft: Hier je marchais dans le parc. Il a fait froid. Soudain je voyais un renard. Il etait beau. Le renard a couru. Je suis allé a la maison.

  1. Edit the tenses: Il a fait froid is background → Il faisait froid. Je voyais un renard is a sudden event after soudain → j'ai vu.
  2. Edit accents and punctuation: etait → était; a la maison → à la maison (à = to); add commas after Hier and Soudain.
  3. Revise: join sentences with qui: un renard. Il était beau → un renard roux qui traversait le sentier.
  4. Revise: add a figure of speech: Il était beau comme une flamme dans la neige !
  5. Revise: avoid repetition with an adverb and a pronoun: Le renard a couru → Il a couru rapidement vers les arbres.
  6. Revise the ending: give a reason or feeling: Je suis rentré(e) à la maison pour le dessiner. (rentrer uses être; add -e if the writer is a girl.)

Hier, il faisait froid et je marchais dans le parc. Soudain, j'ai vu un renard roux qui traversait le sentier. Il était beau comme une flamme dans la neige ! Il a couru rapidement vers les arbres. Je suis rentré(e) à la maison pour le dessiner.

Brouillon (draft)Version finaleIl a fait froid.Il faisait froid.background → imparfaitSoudain je voyais un renard.Soudain, j'ai vu un renardsudden event → passé composéIl etait beau.qui traversait le sentier.join with qui; add accentLe renard a couru.Il a couru rapidement.pronoun + adverbJe suis allé a la maison.Je suis rentré(e) à la maison.à = to (accent!)
The fox draft becomes a final version. Some changes edit (tenses, accents) and some revise (joining sentences, adding detail).
Just for fun

Writer's secret: a first draft is called un brouillon in French. Messy, scribbled and full of arrows? That's exactly how a good brouillon should look!

Hands-on activity

Write and publish your short story

You need: paper or a device, coloured pencils, a reader (family member or friend). Plan to spend 2 or 3 short sessions on this.

  1. Planifier: choose a real or imaginary event (an animal encounter, a storm, a lost and found object, a surprise). Fill in a 5-box schéma narratif with notes in French.
  2. Rédiger: write a 12- to 15-sentence draft. Skip lines so you have room for changes. Don't stop to fix every error yet.
  3. Réviser: read your story aloud. Use the left column of the checklist. Get deux étoiles et un souhait from a reader and make at least 3 improvements.
  4. Corriger: use the right column. Check one thing at a time (first verbs, then agreements, then accents and punctuation).
  5. Publier: write or type a clean copy with a title and an illustration. Share it: read it to a family member, record it as an audio story, or give it to a younger child who is learning French.
  6. Réfléchir: write 2 sentences: Ce que j'ai bien fait... / La prochaine fois, je vais...

Your turn

1

What are the five stages of the writing process, in French?

2

In the model story, what is the élément déclencheur?

3

Find one sentence in the imparfait that describes the setting.

4

What does the dash (—) show in the dialogue?

5

Find a simile in the story.

6

Revise or edit? Adding a detail about the weather.

7

Revise or edit? Fixing etait to était.

More practice: warm-up

1

What is un brouillon?

2

What are « » called?

3

Translate: Maya a chuchoté.

4

Which stage comes after réviser?

5

What does Grand-papa say to do when they see the moose?

More practice: on your own

1

Fix the tense: Il a neigé et je lisais quand soudain le téléphone sonnait.

2

Join with qui: Nous avons vu un orignal. Il mangeait des branches.

3

Edit: Nous sommes rentré au chalet en Février.

4

Punctuate this dialogue in French: Léo asks: Where are you going? Sara answers: To the rink!

5

Give helpful feedback on a classmate's story (one star and one wish) in French.

Challenge

1

Write a new ending for Les traces dans la neige in 3 sentences: the tracks belong to a different animal.

2

Revise this flat paragraph to add suspense, a figure of speech and an adverb: Il faisait noir. J'ai entendu un bruit. C'était mon chat.

3

Explain why it is better to revise before you edit.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which stage comes first?

2.

Revising means...

3.

In a French dialogue, a dash (—) shows...

4.

Nous sommes ___ au chalet. (a mixed group)

5.

Which sentence uses the tenses correctly?

6.

Deux étoiles et un souhait is a way to...

7.

In the model story, what animal made the tracks?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Your child reads a model story and notices how its features work (C2), then plans, drafts, revises, edits and publishes a short story (D2) for a real audience (D1). This lesson pulls together the whole unit.

How to help:

  • Be the reader: give deux étoiles et un souhait. You can do this in English; specific comments help most (I could picture the snow when you wrote...).
  • Spread the work over several days. Stories improve when the writer takes a break before revising.
  • Let your child choose how to publish (reading aloud, recording, illustrating).

Common difficulties:

  • Trying to fix everything at once. Revise first, then edit one category at a time.
  • Forgetting agreement with être (nous sommes rentrés), or putting capitals on months (février, not Février).
  • Dialogue in English punctuation. In French, use « » with spaces and a dash for each new speaker.

Safety note: in the story, the grandfather keeps the children far from the moose. Talk about keeping a safe distance from wild animals and staying with an adult near rivers and ice.

Canadian French used (used in Québec and other parts of Canada): un orignal.