The Story of a Story

A second-person narrative follows a boy through the early, difficult work of writing a story. He becomes discouraged while trying to find an idea, until observing a chickadee at a winter bird feeder helps one take shape. The bird’s repeated trips for seeds become a metaphor for building a story step by step. An author’s note invites readers to imagine the boy’s finished story and explains beginning, middle, and end, with writing prompts for each part.