In Children's Book writing class this week, we had to write down five flaws we had as a child. I wrote:
1) Bossy
2) Show-off
3) Impatient
4) Short-tempered
5) Fibber (but maybe a great story teller?!)
After we wrote down these five traits, our teacher asked us to write
about a character (not ourselves) who has that flaw. Our goal was to show the flaw, not tell it. Meaning we had to describe that flaw through action, dialogue, appearance, etc. Here is my short, in-class story.
Dylan stumbled into the lunch room giddy from gym class and hungry.
He picked up tacos from the line (his favorite, yes!) and sat at the
usual table in the back of the cafeteria with his friends.
"You guys, the amusement park was so cool this weekend!" Josh exclaimed. "Nitro was wicked fast! I was..."
-- "Yeah well check this out guys." Dylan interrupted.
"I
once rode Nitro in the front row and slipped out of the seat belt when
the seat belt police weren't looking. Once the roller coaster started
going up the hill I climbed up out of my seat and faced backwards.
Everyone was freaking out, ha! I rode the whole ride backwards. Did YOU
do that, Josh?"
"Oh come on, Dylan," said Trevor. Dylan didn't see him enter the cafeteria.
"They
stopped the ride and some guy had to climb the stairs and take you off
the ride. We barely moved." Trevor started laughing, "I think I even
remember someone booing."
Dylan rolled his eyes while his friends chuckled. "Crap," he thought. He forgot that Trevor was at the amusement park that day.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Redux
The same assignment as the prior post, but now I'm down to 506 words.
Once upon a time three little boys lived in a hippie commune with their mom. She had not enough to keep them, so she sent them off to seek their fortune.
The boys wandered for days and eventually found themselves in a big city with bright lights, loud noises and lots of yellow cars. They quickly decided that they wanted to live the high life – as in they wanted to live in really tall skyscrapers.
The youngest boy encountered a man carrying lots of straw and said, “Please sir, give me your straw so I may build the best home this city has ever seen.” The man squeezed the boy's chubby cheeks and gave his straw away.
The boy built in Central Park. One day, a menacing-looking man in a suit stopped by. He called himself an Investment Banker from Wall Street.
The Investment Banker knocked and said, “Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“Never! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” the boy replied.
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!” And he blew the boy’s house down and ate him.
The middle boy encountered an old lady on the Upper East Side carrying lots of clay in a bag that said “Michaels.” “Please miss, I need your clay to make the tallest home in this town.” The elderly woman was reminded of her own grandson and gave the clay away.
The boy built in Chelsea. Pretty soon, he received a knock on his door from the same, scary Investment Banker.
“Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“Never! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!” And he blew the boy’s house down and ate him.
The Investment Banker rang the boy’s fancy doorbell, “Little boy, little
boy, let me come in.”
“Never! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!”
The boy was young, but he knew that even the most intimidating Investment Bankers could not move buildings with their breath. The boy watched as the Investment Banker exhaled…nothing moved but his own, ugly tie.
But the Investment Banker was clever and clambered up the fire escape to look for a way inside.
The boy instinctively thought of the movie Home Alone and set up booby traps on the roof.
When the Investment Banker reached the top he tripped on the traps KABLAM and fell through the skylight, landing on a large pile of fake money.
The boy took the Investment Banker to jail for embezzlement and lived as a happy hippie for ever after.
Once upon a time three little boys lived in a hippie commune with their mom. She had not enough to keep them, so she sent them off to seek their fortune.
The boys wandered for days and eventually found themselves in a big city with bright lights, loud noises and lots of yellow cars. They quickly decided that they wanted to live the high life – as in they wanted to live in really tall skyscrapers.
The youngest boy encountered a man carrying lots of straw and said, “Please sir, give me your straw so I may build the best home this city has ever seen.” The man squeezed the boy's chubby cheeks and gave his straw away.
The boy built in Central Park. One day, a menacing-looking man in a suit stopped by. He called himself an Investment Banker from Wall Street.
The Investment Banker knocked and said, “Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“Never! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” the boy replied.
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!” And he blew the boy’s house down and ate him.
The middle boy encountered an old lady on the Upper East Side carrying lots of clay in a bag that said “Michaels.” “Please miss, I need your clay to make the tallest home in this town.” The elderly woman was reminded of her own grandson and gave the clay away.
The boy built in Chelsea. Pretty soon, he received a knock on his door from the same, scary Investment Banker.
“Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“Never! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!” And he blew the boy’s house down and ate him.
The oldest
boy spent time networking with adults on the Lower East Side. He used his charm
to convince everyone to let him build a high rise downtown.
One year
later, he lived in a skyscraper. He could see the tops of all the other
buildings and noticed that the little dogs looked even littler.
“Never! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!”
The boy was young, but he knew that even the most intimidating Investment Bankers could not move buildings with their breath. The boy watched as the Investment Banker exhaled…nothing moved but his own, ugly tie.
But the Investment Banker was clever and clambered up the fire escape to look for a way inside.
The boy instinctively thought of the movie Home Alone and set up booby traps on the roof.
When the Investment Banker reached the top he tripped on the traps KABLAM and fell through the skylight, landing on a large pile of fake money.
The boy took the Investment Banker to jail for embezzlement and lived as a happy hippie for ever after.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Three Little Pigs - retold
The first assignment for my children's book writing class is to modernize a popular fairy tale, while maintaining the essential plot elements of the original, in under 500 words. I chose the Three Little Pigs and I'm currently at 550 words.
Once upon a time there were three little boys who lived in a hippie commune with their mom. She had not enough to keep them, so she sent them off to seek their fortune.
The three boys wandered for days and eventually found themselves in a big city with bright lights, loud noises and lots of yellow cars. They quickly decided that they wanted to live the high life – as in they wanted to live in really tall skyscrapers.
The first boy encountered a man carrying lots of straw and said, “Please sir, give me your straw so I may build the best home this city has ever seen.” The man thought the little boy was so cute, he handed all his straw away.
The boy built in Central Park, thinking the house would blend into the scenery. One day, a tall, menacing-looking man in a suit stopped by. He called himself an Investment Banker from Wall Street.
The Investment Banker knocked and said, “Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“No, no! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” the boy replied.
The Investment Banker yelled back, “Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!” And he blew the boy’s house down and ate him.
The second boy encountered an old lady on the Upper East Side carrying lots of clay in a bag that said “Michaels.” “Please miss, I need your clay to make the tallest home in this town.” The elderly woman was reminded of her own grandson and gave the clay away.
The boy built in Chelsea. Pretty soon, he received a knock on his door from the same, scary Investment Banker.
“Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“No, no! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!” And he blew the boy’s house down and ate him.
“No, no! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!”
The boy was young, but he knew that even the most intimidating Investment Bankers could not move a building with their breath. So the boy watched as the Investment Banker exhaled – all stayed still but the pigeon feathers on the street.
But the Investment Banker was tricky and climbed up the fire escape to look for a way inside.
The boy saw this and was reminded of the movie Home Alone, so he set up a bunch of booby traps on the roof.
When the Investment Banker reached the top he tripped on the booby traps KABLAM and fell through the skylight, landing on a pile of fake dollar bills.
The little boy took the Investment Banker to jail for embezzlement and lived as a happy hippie for ever after.
Once upon a time there were three little boys who lived in a hippie commune with their mom. She had not enough to keep them, so she sent them off to seek their fortune.
The three boys wandered for days and eventually found themselves in a big city with bright lights, loud noises and lots of yellow cars. They quickly decided that they wanted to live the high life – as in they wanted to live in really tall skyscrapers.
The first boy encountered a man carrying lots of straw and said, “Please sir, give me your straw so I may build the best home this city has ever seen.” The man thought the little boy was so cute, he handed all his straw away.
The boy built in Central Park, thinking the house would blend into the scenery. One day, a tall, menacing-looking man in a suit stopped by. He called himself an Investment Banker from Wall Street.
The Investment Banker knocked and said, “Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“No, no! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” the boy replied.
The Investment Banker yelled back, “Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!” And he blew the boy’s house down and ate him.
The second boy encountered an old lady on the Upper East Side carrying lots of clay in a bag that said “Michaels.” “Please miss, I need your clay to make the tallest home in this town.” The elderly woman was reminded of her own grandson and gave the clay away.
The boy built in Chelsea. Pretty soon, he received a knock on his door from the same, scary Investment Banker.
“Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“No, no! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!” And he blew the boy’s house down and ate him.
The third boy
spent time networking with the parents on the Lower East Side. He used his
charm and wilderness skills to convince everyone to let him build a high rise
downtown.
A year later, the boy lived in a skyscraper where he could see the tops of all the other buildings. He noticed that the little dogs looked even littler.
The Investment Banker rang the boy’s fancy doorbell, “Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
A year later, the boy lived in a skyscraper where he could see the tops of all the other buildings. He noticed that the little dogs looked even littler.
The Investment Banker rang the boy’s fancy doorbell, “Little boy, little boy, let me come in.”
“No, no! Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and puff and I’ll blow your house in!”
The boy was young, but he knew that even the most intimidating Investment Bankers could not move a building with their breath. So the boy watched as the Investment Banker exhaled – all stayed still but the pigeon feathers on the street.
But the Investment Banker was tricky and climbed up the fire escape to look for a way inside.
The boy saw this and was reminded of the movie Home Alone, so he set up a bunch of booby traps on the roof.
When the Investment Banker reached the top he tripped on the booby traps KABLAM and fell through the skylight, landing on a pile of fake dollar bills.
The little boy took the Investment Banker to jail for embezzlement and lived as a happy hippie for ever after.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Coraline
Oh October how you make me feel creepier than usual....
Just finished Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It's true folks, this book was one of, if not the, scariest books I've read as an adult. Thank you to Rookie Mag for the creepy inspiration and thanks to The Cut blog for encouraging adults to devour children's books. Happy Hunting!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
subscribe
Posts
All Comments