Coulisse

As you remember from the previous post, I was talking about the children’s book that we made in English class. It’s about a pumpkin named Joe, who wishes to grow bigger like his older brother. He goes and tries ways to get bigger (standing on a bucket, sitting in a tree) but eventually learns that if you give it time, that you can grow big.

The hyperbole we use is when Joe is when he compares his brother’s size of that to a mountain. Personification is (obviously) Joe, a pumpkin, given life and animation, while in real life, pumpkins are completely inanimate.

Our story is about a small little pumpkin who wants to grow big in time for Halloween so that he can become a jack-o-lantern, like his older brother, whom he is jealous of. So he tries a few ways to get taller (standing on a bucket, climbing a tree), but still is not taller, and goes to bed feeling sad. The next morning he wakes up as a big pumpkin and is happy and becomes a jack-o-lantern, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Characters: 

-Joe the small pumpkin

-Joe’s older brother (whom Joe is jealous of)

-Joe’s mother

Setting:

Some place called “Limbo” with inanimate objects floating around as props for the story.

I haven’t got very far with the project, really. I haven’t finished my story, which is currently only 56 pages, and I think that I won’t finsih until around December at the latest. Though I know exactly what I’m gong to write, I’m in a bit of a block. Okay, it’s more than just a bit of a block, but I’m trying to clear more space to write my story.

My goal is to get to at least page 60 by the end of this weekend. I can probably manage that, and the bar’s not set too high… for me.

The main points in writing a children’s book.

• Theme
  • Keep your theme positive, and offer constructive ways to deal with the main conflict.
  • Don’t immediately spit out your theme. Emerge into it, but don’t make it take forever.
• Plot
  • The conflict often takes form and the main character must resolve it. They should put in effort, and either succeed or fail.
  • Basic sequence of plot stages: arrival of conflict, initial success of the main character, reversals, final victory, and outcome.
• Story Structure
  • In your narration, make a choice between using first person or third person voice. In first, the story’s told by one of the characters. Third person is usually the story described as an invisible force.
  • In the beginning, jump right into the action, and end the story promptly.
• Characters
  • Know your characters well enough before you start writing.
  • Your main character should be one that the reader can relate with. He/she should be around the age of the group of your audience.
• Setting
  • Set your story in a place and time that will be interesting or familiar.
• Style and Tone
  • Write simply and directly, in short words, short sentence, short paragraphs.
  • Use language that creates an atmosphere or “tone” suited to your story.

What types of books do you enjoy?

I enjoy many fantasy books, as well as a few horror stories. Also, I like young adult fiction books, such as the Maximum Ride series. Some books I’ve read that I enjoyed, are Twilight, (the rest of the trilogy yet to be read), Eragon, Eldest, Harry Potter (of course), and other books that I can’t think of right now.

What are 2 issues that you are interested in?

I am kind of interested in the Holocaust and the Mafia.
What are your favorite types of writing assignments?

I’d say… well, not book reports. Those get too boring sometimes. I’d say an original piece of creative writing, because I really, really like to write original stories.

In chapters 5 and 6 of The Pearl, Juana tries to get rid of the pearl. Kino stops her and takes it back, wounding his wife in the process. As he makes his way up back to his house, someone attacks him, tries to steal the pearl, and Kino ends up killing them. Having realized what he had done, Kino took Juana and Coyotito to Juan Tomas (Kino’s brother) and hid there for a day, only to flee the next night. After trekking away from the village, they discover that they’re being tracked. Kino takes Juana and their son into the mountains, and hide in a cave. The trackers show up, and Kino goes to finish them off for once and for all. Kino attacks the first man, kills him, and does so with the others. The following day, they returned with gloom hanging over them. It is revealed that Coyotito’s head was shot off by the gun the previous night. Very shortly after returning, Kino throws the pearl back into the Gulf, and watches it disappear.

1. Kino did win the lottery, but after finding it, he had to face the evil and greed of everyone who wanted the great pearl. For exampl, on page 59, it says, “Greedy fingers went through his clothes, frantic figures searched him, and the pearl, knocked from his hand, lay winking behind a little stone in the pathway.” Also, on page 65, Kino says, “‘…For on the beach my canoe is broken, my house in burned, and in the brush a dead man lies.’” This much has happened to Kino, all because of the pearl, and the greediness of people.

2.  Kino really loved Juana because he wanted her and Coyotito to be safe from danger. On page 77 he says, “‘It is the wise thing and it is my wish.’” Also on page 77, he says, “‘Then, if I can escape them, I will come to you. It is the only safe way.’”

What would you do if you won the lottery? Would you feel lucky? Would you blow it all off? Would you save up? For some, instead of the lottery being a good thing, it bacame a world of disaster.

One man, William “Bud” Post won the Pennsylvania lottery of $16.2 million. He says, “I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare.” His own brother hired a hit man to kill him, in hopes that he would inherit part of the fortune–he was soon arrested. Other siblings pestered money out of him, for investments in a car buisness and a restraunt, that had no luck. To this day, Post lives off $450 a month and food stamps.

Willie Hurt won $3.1 million in 1989. Two years after, he was broke and charged with homicide. His lawyer claims Hurt blew off his fortune on a divorce and cocaine.

Looks like winning the lottery isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. You can find the article here.

Prediction:

Now, what would happen to Kino in The Pearl when he brings news back this lottery (the giant pearl) to his village? I predict that people will start beging and pleading for a share of the money. Or, instead of more civilized ways of getting money, some of the villagers might resort to threats for the money. Either way, no good can come out of this.

Connection:

Turns out that what happened to these people is what’s happening to Kino; people are expecting handouts of the money. Also, people such as the doctor and priest are trying to con or guilt the money/pearl out of him. That reminds me of William Post, because his own family tried to get money from him, some through pestering. Kind of like what people will/are try(ing) to do with Kino’s pearl.

In “Core 3″, Audio62 said a lot of stuff about keeping personal stuff off the internet. I agree, because someone once told me, “If you want to keep something secret, write it down a piece of paper. Not the internet.” Which is true, because once you apply for college, they’re going to go on the internet, and try to find anything that you have out there. That includes blogs, MySpaces, Face Book, etcetera. Those things are traceable, even if you use a fake name. Truth is, once some thing’s on the internet, there’s no hiding it. And eventually, whoever wants to find your profile, whether it’s your future college or the police, they will find you eventually. It sound’s scary, I know, but you need to be careful too.

I wish that I could give a link to Audi62’s post, but I don’t know how to find the URL, the way that Mr. Wilkoff’s page is set up.