This article draws on data from research with six ten-year-old children investigating the role of film and media in developing understandings of narrative. I present an account of one of the children, Connor (his chosen pseudonym), whose experiences represent a telling case of the dissonance found between children's knowledge and experience of narrative and what they were able to express in their school-based writing. I propose that films, games and cartoons impact on children's storytelling in distinct ways that relate to the particular affordances of their form. I present examples of children's experiences of media enhancing what they can express in their own narrative productions. However, I argue that there are some important conditions that teachers need to be aware of, that prompt children to use their experiences of media in their storytelling. I conclude by suggesting that children must be supported to draw on their holistic understanding of narrative in order to move from one media to another when reading and making their own stories.