Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing and Art Activity An island of one’s own… fields and forests and streams… a well-stocked kitchen with stove and refrigerator… riding bareback on a stallion, powerful yet gentle leader of a band of horses… and best of all, three months alone during a beautiful summer to enjoy it all. For those who love horses, nature, and independence, Christy’s story describes the most wonderful of dreams. If you ask yourself, how original is this wonderful dream, I think you might say, not very. But originality of plot is only one feature that indicates whether a story reflects an author’s thoughts and experiences. Also important are the ways an author develops the plot—the accuracy and strength of the descriptions, the complexity of the characters, the truth with which characters are shown to act and to experience feelings. Judged by these standards, Christy did a terrific job, and through the care she took in writing this story, she succeeded in transforming a fantasy of a perfect summer into an original and interesting tale. Project: Making Your Dream Vacation Real Summer vacation is coming soon (or maybe just over). You may not be able to make your dream of the perfect vacation become a reality in real life, but, through the magic of words, you can create a story that will make it real. Christy does this with her story. In addition to accurate and moving descriptions of places and feelings and riding technique, she ties her fairy-tale island life to real things we don’t expect to read about in a pure fantasy. For instance, she discusses how much the island cost and where the money came from. Her parents, though not present in the dream vacation, stay in touch and do such useful things as provide electricity and food. Your dream vacation may be similar to Christy’s or very different. But whatever it is, unique or very common, do your best to include observations and feelings drawn from the world around you so that a stranger who reads your story will say, “Wow, what a lucky child that was to have such a wonderful summer.” Princess and the Island Stallion By Christina Lynn Myers, 11, Peoria, Arizona Illustrated by Heidi Hanson, 13, Florida, New York From the May/June 1986 issue of Stone Soup I could hear the hoofbeats of Princess as we galloped along. The cool air of the morning hit my face. The island made a perfect arena, yet the trees and bushes were the only spectators of a finely made running horse and its rider. I was very content to be with my horse. The island we were on was where I lived in the summer. It was fun to be here, and I looked forward to coming here every summer. Not many people knew about this island, and those who did never came. It was where Princess and a small band of beautiful horses lived. Since no one had ever wanted it, my parents had agreed to buy it for me, and I would slowly pay them back. They had bought it for only a small sum of money. The island was very beautiful, with green grass everywhere, trees, though not too many, and quite a few flowers. It also had streams, waterfalls, pools, and a very beautiful large pond. I sat back, and Princess obediently slowed down at my signal. We reached a stream I knew well, and Princess splashed through it with no hesitation. I rode bareback, with no bridle. I guided the powerful horse under me with legs, hands, and voice only. I pulled Princess to a walk as we neared the band of horses. The stallion gave a loud, shrill neigh at the approach of one of his mares. Princess snorted and sidestepped lightly. I put a hand on her neck and spoke softly. Then, I gently slid off. I laid my hand on her neck and then let her go. Quickly she ran back to her band, whinnying to me as she went. I watched Princess until she had settled down and begun to graze, and then, smiling, I turned toward my small cabin. I never felt crowded in it. It just seemed perfect. It had a small kitchen with a stove, oven, and a refrigerator. My parents had electricity brought to my cabin underground. It also had a table on which to eat. The table had a large window in front of it so that I could look out at the island, and often I would get a glimpse of grazing horses. The cabin’s other room held my bed, dresser, clothes, and a few other things. When I reached the cabin, I unpacked my clothes, for I had gotten to the island only that morning, and I had immediately gone out to see Princess. Later, I went out to watch the band of horses. I spotted different horses and found all the ones I knew, as well as several new foals. Then my gaze turned to the stallion. He was scarlet red, his coat a satiny sheen of elegance. He was extremely tall, although his long legs seemed almost delicate at times. His head was the head of a beautiful Arabian, small and finely shaped, also having the dished nose of an Arabian. But even with all those Arabian characteristics, he was too big to be pure Arabian. His whole body was the picture of complete grace, beauty, and power. I was now friends with the stallion; he knew me well. I had not ridden him, but I was someday going to try. Suddenly I thought, why someday? Why not today? What are you waiting for? You know he has complete confidence in you. So I decided to give it a try. That afternoon, I set out to find the band. It was not hard, for I knew their favorite pastures well. The stallion had learned to come at my call, so I whistled. An answering whistle came
writing
Character, Plot, and Setting, Oh My! (Part 2)
Developing the Elements of a Story, Part 2 I can’t even count how many times I have read Thomas’s Christmas Delivery or Little Bear’s New Friend. My children never tired of hearing about Thomas’s and Little Bear’s adventures. Though as adults we may not read the same book as many times as our children reread their favorites, we can appreciate the draw of a good story. It’s that connection we have with the story that keeps us up to the wee hours of the night turning page after page and lingers in the periphery of our minds, wooing us as we go about our day. But what makes a story one to treasure, and how can we help our kids develop a tale beyond a sequence of events? The glue that holds a story together is character, plot, and setting, and when children understand and develop them, a great story is born. “You may wonder where plot is in all this. The answer—my answer, anyway—is nowhere,” according to Stephen King. He, along with few other famous writers, claims that plotting a story hinders creativity. Our children though, like most of us, aren’t Stephen King and aren’t experienced enough writers to just throw plot out the window. You might be asking, “But what is this plot you speak of?” It is the map of a story. A basic understanding of plot can help children organize, develop, and focus their writing. In the simplest of terms, plot is what happens in the story. Pretty simple right? Not really. Children often get sidetracked while writing. They might include irrelevant details or add more and more ideas until the story goes off the rails on a crazy train. It’s also a challenge for them to isolate their main details and sequence them in a logical and interesting way. However, plotting can help them take control of what happens in the story. Plot includes exposition (beginning), where the main character and primary conflict (his or her motivation) is introduced; rising action, which is the series of events that affect the main character and his or her achievement of a goal; climax (middle), where the main character succeeds or fails at his or her goal; and falling action and resolution (end), where the story wraps up and provides closure. A plot diagram is a great way to help children see this progression, and they can use it as a guide to plan their stories. Basic mapping of their story will help them organize their thoughts as well as develop and focus their ideas. They can write in their story points on a larger copy of the diagram or use the interactive plot diagram at ReadWriteThink.org. Here kids can type titles for their scenes with a brief description and place them into the diagram to be printed when through. The graphic organizers at Teaching Ideas have a user-friendly format for younger children. Another fun way for kids to plan their stories is a storyboard. These planners have comic strip-like blocks where writers provide a brief description and sketch of their scenes. Many children like the old standby—outlining, where the first main topic represents the exposition, the next few main topics represent the rising action and climax, and the last main topic represents the resolution. Once the story has some focused scenes, characters can be developed further as children decide how they will respond to the situations within the story. But where does all this take place? Next week we’ll have some fun with setting.
Character, Plot, and Setting, Oh My! (Part 1)
Developing the Elements of a Story, Part 1 I can’t even count how many times I’ve read Thomas’s Christmas Delivery or Little Bear’s New Friend. My children never tired of hearing about Thomas’s and Little Bear’s adventures. Though as adults we may not read the same book as many times as our children reread their favorites, we can appreciate the draw of a good story. It’s that connection we have with the story that keeps us turning page after page into the wee hours of the night. But what makes a story one to treasure? And how can we help our kids develop a tale beyond a sequence of events? The glue that holds a story together is character, plot, and setting, and when children understand and develop them, a great story is born. Who remembers Charlie Bucket, Cassie Logan, or Wilbur the pig? These characters are memorable because they have connected with us in some way. Readers want to bond with the characters of a story, particularly the main character (protagonist), and it is what ultimately keeps them reading. Bringing a character to life, however, making characters real and multidimensional is not always easy. Here are a few tips to help your children develop characters to remember. The most important thing a writer needs to do is make the character genuine. This means the character has speech, thoughts, emotions, likes and dislikes, and responses that are lifelike, not contrived. The first step to meeting this goal is to make a character profile that provides basic physical and personality facts. These include but are not limited to species (i.e. human, animal, alien), accent (if any), gender, age, hair, skin, and eye color, ethnicity, height, weight, date of birth, scars, birthmarks, piercings, clothing style, favorite foods and activities, fears, skills, and hobbies. A fun way to create a character sketch is by creating a “Wanted” poster or “mug shot.” However, if your child prefers graphic organizers, there are fun options for a younger child at Permanently Primary as well as a wonderful collection of downloadable organizers for older children at Daily Teaching Tools. Perhaps your child is happy making lists or filling out charts; detailed worksheets can be printed from Capstone Kids. After the basic profile is complete, your child can further develop his or her character by brainstorming personality traits and how that character would express those traits through actions or speech. Character trait charts, like those found at Education Oasis or Daily Teaching Tools are convenient methods that will help your child make his or her character come to life. More than this, it emphasizes to them the need to show rather than tell the readers who the character is. Although much of the information collected may never be integrated into the story itself, fleshing out the character makes him or her more authentic. In turn, your young writer will be more likely to present the character in a convincing way and have fun in the process.
