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 |   A month-long novel-planning challenge with prizes galore. |
Tuesday, Oct. 02 - OUTLINE #1 The first draft of your outline. Options: Using traditional outline format Ā : Define what happens at the beginning, climax, and the end. Using Index Cards (Paper or Electronic): Define your beginning, climax, and end. As you build your outline throughout October, you can easily shuffle around plot elements. The Snowflake Method Ā : Write a provocative one-sentence description of your story. Example from Randy Ingermanson’s Transgression Ā : “A rogue physicist travels back in time to kill the apostle Paul.” *** SEE ALSO: Outlining Tools in the Writing Tools section at the bottom of this calendar. WRITER'S DIGEST NOVEL IDEA SUMMARY SHEET Working title: Dad Or Devil “Type” of novel best suited to this idea: Mainstream (Describe): Young adult or adult Fantasy Though there are many that know these things to be in their history, there are those that only know the events in movies or nightmares. Horror A family who looses the Identity of their father, and with all the activity in the house (voices, doors opening on their own, toddler playing cards alone) make this a real horror novel. Science Fiction Strange lights, visions, and history of the house helps this novel make the science fiction area too. (Describe): Main Characters (list only up to three major characters) Character #1—the protagonist (the hero or heroine of this story) Name: Bad John Primary Goal: Live his life out as a strong harsh man. Most notable personality trait(s): He is out spoken, likes to fight, thinks little of women, and he controls his three daughters and wife with a high temper and loud-cursing voice. Character #2—the antagonist (the main “opposition” character) Name: Matilda Primary Goal: Hold her family together, protect her sisters, and try to gain her fathers approval. Most notable personality trait(s): The oldest of three daughters. She doesn't make friends. Her focus is on her family and keeping peace between her sisters/mom and her father. She refuses to believe anything but that Bad John loves them the only way he knows how. Relationship to protagonist: Bad John's oldest known daughter. Character #3—a major supporting character Name: Sis Primary Goal: Being a four year old girl. Most notable personality trait(s): Talks and plays to with unseen beings. She always feels safe, and wishes that he big sister would too. Relationship to protagonist: Youngest daughter Setting(s) (If your novel has multiple settings, list only the two main ones) Setting #1: Time frame: Bad John's last years, living in a nursing home. Reason for using this setting: I think that this is the perfect to begin to show Bad John's relationship with his daughter Matilda. Setting #2: Time frame: Matilda's young years (10-18). The haunted across the river. Reason for using this setting: These are the main events that create who each person in the family becomes. What is the main complication of the story (the central problem that must be solved by the main character)? Living with the fear of both the spirits in the family, and the one she feels lives and acts in and through her father. What are the primary obstacles preventing the main character from achieving his or her goal? Family ties can not be broken is a moral that she holds above her own personal safty. How is the story resolved for the main characters (how does it end)? She begins her own family, but still keeps contact with John. She still loves him, and now she sees him as a child himself. Take the rest of this page to summarize in present-tense narrative, your story idea. The story begins with Bad John no longer being able to care for him self. Then it goes back in time to describe who he was with everyone before the time spent in the haunted house and the time after. This is one novel that tells a story that will keep you guessing if it is truth or fiction. Wednesday, Oct. 03 - MARKETING EXERCISE Describe your target audience. Identify a demographic Ā profile including gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, education, income level, marital status, location and other commonly evaluated data. Explain in detail what aspects of your novel will appeal to this particular audience and why. Identify a demographic Ā gender Girls that are looking for their father's acceptance. Matilda works hard to be a “good girl”. race any age 12 and up education John had very little education, and this gives him hardships that he would not have had if he had gone to school. income level poor to middle class because the family in the story is very poor, and have to understand the world around them that is middle class. Thursday, Oct. 04 - DRAMATIS PERSONAE Draft a list of your characters and write a brief profile on each one (first and last name, age, occupation or relation to main character(s) and rough physical description.) Keep your list handy for future updates throughout the Prep. B ad John Main character. His mother is believed to be a witch. His father was a moon shinner. He was the oldest of seven children. Survived from fighting and the land. He grew to love the taste of his own blood. Lost compassion nearly before he could walk. Matilda Bad John's oldest known daughter. She is a peace keeper. She is picked on at school for being so different, and she tries to rationalize reasons that people treated her the way that they did. Rose Second daughter of John. She loves to fight, and as she grows she creates different personalities. She lives in her own world functioning in ours. Sis Bad John's youngest daughter. She is fiery. She controls Matilda. Matilda is four years older than Sis, and Sis sees her as her second mother. Sis fights easily, but very shy. She is tiny, and being cute gets her out of trouble due to her temper. Mother Submissive to Bad John. She loves her daughters, and spends much of there alone time studying the Bible. They sing together, but unable to do much physical play together due to the mother illness. Ghost one She calls for her daughter ADA, and puts a scare in Mother. The family finds out that She had lost nine children, and ADA was her youngest. The only child that lived to be two. He grave and those of her children was right up the road from Matilda's home. Lilly Bad John's Mother. She is believed by her son to be a witch, and the stories were told to his daughters. She told Bad John's wife that he would go mad when he became forty. *** NEED CHARACTER NAMES? See the name generators at the bottom of the calendar. Friday, Oct. 05 - PROTAGONIST PROFILE Complete a character profile of your protagonist. The point of this exercise is for you to get to know your character inside and out before you write your novel. If you don't know your character, how can you expect it of your readers? Flesh out your pre-story character in detail. Keep in mind that your protagonist will grow in some way during your story. Options: By listing his/her attributes Ā Younger years Eyes Deep brown that changes to green when angry and a hay-colored when he is sick Hair dark brown combed up like Elvis without sideburns. Height six foot two inches weight one hundred sixty pounds Personality John is a charmer when he get what he wants (and that is 90% of the time). When he believes that you have crossed him, he is dangerous. He is a big story teller, and as Matilda grew older she found them to have been true all along. Middle years Eyes Deep brown that changes to green when angry and a hay-colored when he is sick Hair dark brown combed up like Elvis without sideburns. Height six foot two inches weight one hundred sixty pounds Personality John is a over protective father. The girls were not allowed to go anywhere alone. They were not to stay with family. He also controlled his wife. He laid down the rules, and that was that. Last Years Eyes Dim gray-blue eyes that appeared empty and without emotion or character. Hair Thinner and all gray, and unkept Height under six feet weight ninety pounds Personality John now is alone. He knows no one except Matilda at times. He now lives his life in the past. He can not walk, but still tries to fight with those around him. He is just a shell of who he once was. By writing a description Ā from the perspective of someone very close to your protagonist. Saturday, Oct. 06 - CONTEST ROUND: 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. If your protagonist is an assassin or someone similarly "unlikeable," never fear! I love Vlad Taltos, the professional assassin Ā . You can make us love your character, too. *Submit your BITEM or ENTRY link by 1200 noon WDC time on Sunday, Oct. 07 to compete. If you miss this deadline or choose not to compete, you may still post your assignment completion for the grand prize, per the standard Challenge guidelines. John after loosing a son at birth six years ago, it was such a surprise to have his first daughter. Eight pounds of daddy's girl at first sight. He was not one to show emotion, but you could find him holding this bundle everywhere he went. Uncovering the pink blanket showing long red hair that stood straight up on her chubby head. There she lay at her dad smiling. “This is my daughter,” He said. “Her name is Ida Matilda. She is named after my grandmother Ida and her grandmother Matilda.” He said as he looked down still not sure he believed his eyes. One day John takes his little baby to his next door neighbor's house. He had not shown his bundle to Ms. Krats yet. Sprinting cross the two yards through the sprinkles of rain, you could see that he was hold blanket child and all under his coat. He knocks on the door. Ms. Krats smiles as she opens the door. She had heard that he had become a father, and missed him coming around to do odd jobs. She knew what he must have under his jacket. “Hello, John,” She says with the same sweet grandmother like voice that she always greeted him with, “Let's see what you have there.” He uncovers the child. As Ms. Krats gets closer to get a good look, she has to give a little giggle. For it wasn't the child's shinning face that she was looking at. She was starring at her tiny legs and sleeper covered feet. Panic sped through John as he realized that he had been carrying his little girl upside down. What damage could he have done with the blood running to her head the last five minutes. S incing the fear griping the new father, Ms Krats reaches and brings the child (right side up) to her arms. “She is just fine. I think that she has your smile.” she adds as she starts to pull her hair from the infants hands. Ms Krats finishes the visit by telling John that he is making a great father, and the baby was lucky that he loves her so much. My words are ways to leave peices of myself behind for my children.
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