Exploring A Character – 10/3/20
When I finished my character brainstorming list for my first story, “The Squirrel and the Bear”, I started to explore character ideas. I knew the story would be about a bear, but I had to learn more about bears. Exploring your characters will help you describe them. When I started thinking about my characters, I researched what bears eat, their size, the color of their fur, how they move, noises they make, among many characteristics. I did the same with the character of the squirrel. I researched how squirrels move, their diet, their habitat, and where they find food. This approach also works if your character is a human. For example, if your character is a child, perhaps seven years old, you could research hobbies, habits, and behaviors of a seven year old. This will help you learn about what they are worried about, what kinds of toys they like to play with, games they might play at recess, subjects they excel at in school, among other behaviors.
Explore Setting Ideas – 10/3/20
When exploring settings, you will research places that fit your character. The more your character fits with their setting, the more your reader will believe the story. Again, when I was exploring the setting for “The Squirrel and the Bear”, one of the scenes featured the squirrel’s home. Since the squirrel in my story is organized and hard-working, I decided to make his home cozy – I set him in a room with a fire, with a couch, a reading lamp, and a blue rug. A table in the house was also stocked with baskets of acorns because the collected food was a central part of the story. My setting reflected the busy and hard working character traits of the squirrel. When developing the setting of your story, you may also need to consider the weather and the season. My story which took place in winter and summer use illustrations to show the season change from warm weather to cold weather.
Explore Conflict/problem Ideas – 10/5/20
When exploring the plot of your story, the most important thing is to keep it focused. Ask yourself, what is the one thing your character wants, and why can’t they get it or achieve it. You can refer to your character brainstorm where you list their strengths and weaknesses. For my second book, “Ruby and the Egypitan Museum,” More than anything else in the world, Ruby wanted to see mummies. Ruby’s desire drove the story. Ruby wanted to go on a class field trip to an Egypian Museum, but she couldn’t go because of the lack of money she had. I kept that in mind while writing my story, and I made sure that throughout the plot, everything happens for a reason. That means that all the dialogues, thoughts, and actions of Ruby and the other characters was correlated to the problem of the story.