Learning target: We can name ways to develop my character in my story
Sometimes in order for the magic to kick in at the moment of change in our stories, we have to let viewers or readers know about why that moment is so important and meaningful to the main character of the story. For example, in Harry Potter we don't fully understand or appreciate Severus Snape until we learn about his connection to Lilly Potter, Harry's mother. This makes his last line as he's about to die-- "You have your mother's eyes"--much more impactful.
In the case of a digital story, the character need to know more about is you. This means digging into your past and your relationships, your hopes and fears and pulling up revealing stuff to put in your story. Here are some things you might need to tell your audience to give your story power:
· Giving them information about another specific event or situation
· Giving them details about family or friends
· Giving them personal details, such as your fears or dreams
· Giving them something that is really unique or quirky - that you can play a ukelele or are color-blind
You can provide this background information, otherwise known as "exposition," through either scene or summary. When we move into writing short stories, we talk about ways to get this information out without slowing down the forward momentum of the story. But for now it's enough to know what those crucial pieces of exposition are and how to use them to develop your character.
To illustrate this I found two digital stories on the happier side of things that I want to show you: Baby Bigfoot on Ice by Jim Walsh and Lucinda by Elyse Marsh. Notice how Jim puts his exposition all up front. Elyse gives most of her background information at the end.
After checking these out, you'll have the rest of class to keep working on your story.
Know that the preliminary rubric that I will use to assess your draft scripts will have four elements:
Homework due Friday, September 4th
Bring in a rough draft of your story script
Sometimes in order for the magic to kick in at the moment of change in our stories, we have to let viewers or readers know about why that moment is so important and meaningful to the main character of the story. For example, in Harry Potter we don't fully understand or appreciate Severus Snape until we learn about his connection to Lilly Potter, Harry's mother. This makes his last line as he's about to die-- "You have your mother's eyes"--much more impactful.
In the case of a digital story, the character need to know more about is you. This means digging into your past and your relationships, your hopes and fears and pulling up revealing stuff to put in your story. Here are some things you might need to tell your audience to give your story power:
· Giving them information about another specific event or situation
· Giving them details about family or friends
· Giving them personal details, such as your fears or dreams
· Giving them something that is really unique or quirky - that you can play a ukelele or are color-blind
You can provide this background information, otherwise known as "exposition," through either scene or summary. When we move into writing short stories, we talk about ways to get this information out without slowing down the forward momentum of the story. But for now it's enough to know what those crucial pieces of exposition are and how to use them to develop your character.
To illustrate this I found two digital stories on the happier side of things that I want to show you: Baby Bigfoot on Ice by Jim Walsh and Lucinda by Elyse Marsh. Notice how Jim puts his exposition all up front. Elyse gives most of her background information at the end.
After checking these out, you'll have the rest of class to keep working on your story.
Know that the preliminary rubric that I will use to assess your draft scripts will have four elements:
- the dramatic question,
- the moment of change
- character development
- beginnings and ends (we'll talk about this in more detail tomorrow)
Homework due Friday, September 4th
Bring in a rough draft of your story script