NANOWRI PREP

Assignment 3: Protagonist Backstory: Everyone Likes a Winner

Saturday, Oct. 03
Required: Contest Round 1: Protagonist Background Story ▼

Write a story about your protagonist that takes place outside of your novel. Make your readers relate to him or her in such a way that we would be devastated if he or she were to experience conflict (which, ultimately, sometime in November, he/she will.) The object of the contest is to make your judges root for your protagonist! Simply put: the character we like best wins.

EVERYONE LIKES A WINNER
“TAKE IT BACK.” It would have sounded fierce, if his 12-year-old voice had not cracked. Fist clinched, face red, heart racing, Warren would not back down. Joey was twice his size, and no intention of backing down from this pipsqueak. Then he made the mistake of laughing at the squawking sounds coming out of Warren.

“Whatcha going to do about it, Dweeb?”

Warren’s fist connected with Joey’s jaw driving him to the ground. “Take. It. Back.”

“Okay, man, okay.”

Warren scanned the circle of other boys. They all took a step back signifying they did not want to fight.

“My mom is not a – a – a – what he called her. My mom is a – a – a –fine Christian woman. Don’t nobody say anything bad about her. You hear?!” Warren wished it did not sound like he was crying, but the boys did not advance at the weakness.

Mr. Kline was not a very good playground monitor. By the time he waddled over, he did not hear the exchange, and did not see what happened. His demand to know what happened to Joey was met with silence. One by one the onlookers slipped away, knowing Mr. Kline could not keep up with them and probably would not be able to remember who was there anyway. Mr. Kline did not bother to lower his himself to assist Joey, he was not sure he could get up again if he did. Instead, he encouraged Joey to get up and if he wanted to talk about it, he would listen.

Joey got up and extended a hand to Warren. “Sorry.”

Warren accepted the hand, “Sorry.”

Mr. Kline was relieved he got off so easy with these two. Mr. Kline was only good at math. Playground monitor was a punishment that each teacher had to endure once a month. Besides, he could surmise what happened. He was pretty sure that Joey teased Warren about his mother having three kids with three different fathers and not raising any of them. She tried for a little bit, but this last one ended up with the grandparents the same as the other two.

Mr. Kline remembered that he, himself, was sweating bullets with the second boy. Kathryn had a wicked streak. She did not care who she bedded, but she did promise that any child she had would be named after the father. Mr. Kline had enough history on Warren to know that his father was probably an Australian drifter named Warren Thomas Miller. When Kathryn was having the second boy, Mr. Kline joined half the men in town at the local tavern to await the naming ceremony. No one recognized the name Tanner Boyd, each man raised their mug in silent salute to each other.

Because of Mr. Kline’s attraction to Kathryn, he had a special affection for Warren. “Come on, Son, let’s go get your hand looked at.”

“He called my mom a …”

“You don’t have to defend her to me.”

“No one calls my mom names. No one!”

“Okay. Okay. I didn’t even know she was back in town.”

“Ms. Kitty is not my mom! My grandma is my mom. No one calls my mom names.”

Mr. Kline bowed his head slightly to acknowledge the correction. What could he say anyway? Yet he was a teacher and he was expected to come up with something. He went to his old fall back, “We don’t have to talk about that. Say, you know what would make your mom proud? You coming in first at the math contest next month. And I could tutor you if you have trouble with anything. You know winners have an easier time picking colleges and getting jobs? Yes, sir, son, that would make your mom and dad proud.”

Based on Warren’s manner, Mr. Kline did not think his talk had an impact. But that conversation stuck with Warren all through school. As did that fight. Everyone likes a winner. And Warren would be a winner.