Writing Guidelines:

Everyone in Guiding has at least one story to tell. We want you to share your story. Here are some guidelines and writing tips to help you.

What is  the best experience or the most challenging experience you have had in Guiding? Have you had a unique, one-of-a-kind experience? What have you  learned that has helped you be a better person? What have you learned in Guiding that you would not have learned anywhere else?

Why are  you writing about a particular event or experience? How did the event or experience affect you? What is it that you want to share with others?  

Try to  give lots of detail. For example, don’t write: “We went camping and it was  awesome.” Describe the camp. Where was the camp located – on a lake? in the  mountains? in a forest? by the  ocean? What were the facilities like – tents? cabins? a lodge? an igloo? What  made the camp “awesome”? Give details of the activities, the food, the  weather, the people, what you learned and how you felt. Don’t forget to write  about the difficulties, frustrations, and challenges of your experiences. It  is okay to write about your feelings, both positive and negative  feelings.

Writing tip: Gather your thoughts and memories first by making notes on a piece of paper. Then organize all of this information so that it flows. Start your story with the most exciting or most interesting or most humorous piece of information. Try to catch the reader’s attention with a special “angle.”

Don’t worry if you have difficulties with grammar and spelling. Everyone can write. We all have different skill levels in writing, just as we have different skill  levels in painting, music and repairing bicycles.

For this story bank, we have a volunteer editor who will review your story and polish it by correcting little mistakes. The editor will not rewrite your story. Her job is to help your story shine!