Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity This writing activity is based on a story by 13-year-old Joanna Calogero published in Stone Soup Magazine’s September/October 1992 issue, and also included in the Stone Soup Book of Fantasy Stories anthology. Read the story, “Doll Shop Magic,” on our website here. Joanna’s story is a fairy tale, a story in which a supernatural force rescues a good person from a desperate situation. While it is a fairy tale, it is a modern fairy tale. The action takes place in a big city among people who all act and think like average modern people. In fact, while it is pretty clear that something very magical happens in this story to save the main character, Sam, from his landlord, Mr. Murphy, Sam is never sure what saves him. Maybe it was just luck. Maybe the girl and the doll were a dream. Sam, like most modern people, doesn’t believe in fairies. Notice how thoroughly Joanna develops the reality of Sam’s life and problem. His city has changed, his doll store is no longer in the part of town where people shop, and the new landlord, like the city itself, is no longer friendly or tolerant. The modern city doesn’t encourage romance and magic. And so, throughout this story, the question remains unanswered: Did more than just good luck enter Sam’s life? Project: Write a Story in Which a Likeable Person Is Rewarded Through Magic or Luck Your character does not have to be perfect, just likeable. But your character should be struggling against a mean or uncaring person. In traditional fairy tales the bad person is very bad: typical examples include an ogre, an evil stepmother, or an evil witch. In Joanna’s story, “Doll Shop Magic,” Mr. Murphy, the landlord, plays the role of the more traditional evil fairy tale character. But Mr. Murphy is not really bad, like a criminal or an ogre. He is bad the way the modern world is bad. He is insensitive, uncaring, and inflexible towards a fellow human being. In your story, show us how a kind person who desperately needs help finally gets it in an unexpected way. Whether the unexpected is clearly magical or whether it just seems a coincidence is up to you. Or, like Joanna, you can blur the edges between reality and fantasy so we never really know. Pay attention to the setting in which your story takes place so that no matter what happens you give the reader a sense that at least the place and the main character are real.
story writing
How to Jump Start a Young Writer Who’s Running Into a Wall
I remember as a young writer in grammar school having to come up with my own ideas and topics to write about. In the 1980’s, this may have been a typical scenario, but as a homeschool mom, I am learning with my children that the ways of old, in this case, were not wise. Benjamin Franklin utilized the technique of imitation as a way to train himself to write. His literary texts were articles that he used as models for writing his own work. Because he was dismissed early in his life as a writing failure, he sought the excellence of other work to master the art of writing. This sounds like a logical path to follow and I know that when I get my hands on a piece of literature—essay or short story, or long fiction—I keep them handy as a framework to use to build my own work. It is like a sewing pattern. We need them as guides to know where to cut, where to fold, and how much fabric to use. Likewise, for the young writer, it is most important to start them off this way. A blank sheet of paper with the instruction to write is already a failed attempt. We can have our young writers free-write to prime the pump, but to produce something excellent, we need to start them off by getting them close to another work of literature. This isn’t to suggest that our young writers become counterfeits of another, nor does it imply that this learning model will hinder their creative voices from flourishing. Since the blank page needs to be filled, the young writer needs a jump start. In the homeschool, my fifth grader will read a source text that engages him and has historical value. It could be around a theme of the past, or a theme of the present. It could be a “living book,” as Charlotte Mason (English educator of the 19th century) would put it. For instance, recently he’s read biographical material about Harriet Tubman, Johann Sebastian Bach, Levi Strauss, Dr Seuss, and Florence Nightingale, each with their own set of paragraphs telling the most amazing details of these people’s lives. Then, the young writer may use this source material to create a keyword outline, highlighting the most important details, finding two or three central topics (such as childhood, personality, etc.) that will bring it all together. What I typically do when the outline is completed is have my son do what I call a public speaking drill. He looks at his outline, and in front of his brother, sister, and myself, he reads off his outline– but, the caveat is that he is not just reading word for word, but rather looking at the keywords, then lifting his face up to speak in complete sentences what those keywords are about. It is a very helpful exercise because it not only teaches him to know the material he has read but to learn to speak it publicly. And isn’t that also another beneficial lesson? To be able to speak publicly without reading from a script while mutually having grasped what you have learned? Writing assignments don’t need to be broad. They only require the proper source material to help lead a writer to devise his own outline, to write a composition based from that outline, and to enjoy what he’s learned.
The Making of an Author: Evelyn Chen
Most of the writers we publish in Stone Soup are published only once. This is not a bad thing. Even some very famous authors, like Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird), are known for the one great book they wrote. But over the years the pages of Stone Soup have also featured the work of young writers who sent us one great story after another. Some were published twice, some three times, some even more. The current record [in 2016] – seven times – is held by William Gwaltney, whose stories appeared in Stone Soup between 2006 and 2009. The Girl Next Door is the featured story from our March/April 2016 issue. It is the fourth story by Evelyn Chen to appear in Stone Soup. We can’t help but wonder if frequent contributors like Evelyn, who is clearly passionate about writing and very good at it, will go on to write professionally when she grows up. We love every one of Evelyn’s stories and hope our readers do too. If you look closely, you will start to recognize her literary voice. “Julius’s Gift” [January/February 2014], “No Regrets” [March/April 2015], The Voice of the Seal [May/June 2015], and The Girl Next Door [March/April 2016] are all well-written, entertaining stories, with complex, relateable characters. In addition, each story has a powerful message to convey. Clearly, Evelyn has strong feelings about injustices in the world. She realizes her stories can address those injustices and maybe even change some minds. The narrator of The Girl Next Door is a girl named Hazel. When Hazel’s mom arranges for her to teach piano to the girl next door, who happens to be blind, Hazel’s prejudices come out. Via is a sweet girl who learns quickly. She likes Hazel and would like to be her friend, but Hazel doesn’t give her a chance. She is certain that Via is “different.” The implication is that she thinks Via is inferior. In subtle ways, Evelyn shows the reader that Hazel is wrong. Via is polite and friendly. Hazel, on the other hand, comes off as immature, pouting when she finds out she has to teach a blind girl, plopping down on the couch and glaring at the ceiling. She makes sarcastic comments like “Whatever” when her mom tries to reason with her and “Oh great” when her mom reminds her it’s time to go next door. The reader sympathizes with Via and realizes early on that blind people are no different from sighted people. As we read along, we want Hazel to recognize this fact too. Finally, after a confrontation during which Via tells Hazel how she feels, Hazel wakes up and begins to change. An injustice has been righted. Two of Evelyn’s three other published stories also tackle injustices, from sexism in Ancient Rome (“Julius’s Gift”), when boys learn to read but not girls, to the environmental problem of seals getting trapped in fishermen’s nets in The Voice of the Seal. “No Regrets” has a message of a different kind. Rhonda is fiercely competitive, and she’s rude to the other girls on the track team. Bailey dislikes her, even though Bailey’s mom tries to help her understand that Rhonda’s behavior has a lot to do with her family’s problems. Rhonda’s brother is gravely ill and needs an operation her family can’t afford. Rhonda doesn’t just want to win the Oregon State Championship Race, along with the prize money. She needs to win. In the surprise ending, Bailey learns two big lessons: 1) there are more important things in life than winning, and 2) sometimes when people aren’t nice it’s because they are struggling and need our compassion. Evelyn Chen will turn 14 in a couple of months, so, sadly, we may not see more of her stories in Stone Soup. But we hope she keeps writing. Maybe one day we’ll be picking up a copy of her new novel at our local bookstore. Is there something you feel passionate about? Maybe you’ve been the victim of bullying, or you’ve watched someone else get bullied, and you wish you could stop it. Maybe you’re caught up in the presidential campaign, and you agree or disagree with some of the candidates’ positions. Perhaps you’re an animal lover who feels strongly about how animals are treated when they are kept in zoos or raised for their meat. Wouldn’t it be great if you could persuade others to see the world the way you do? Like Evelyn, you could make a difference in your readers’ hearts and minds with a well-written story. Think of a group of characters. Give them personality traits that make them believable, but show us their weaknesses too. Some of their thinking is off. What will it take for them to change? This could be the beginning of your next great story.
