Overview of Writing/Illustrating a Story

For LC Students

Creating an Illustrated Story• Main Ingredients:

Take notes on scratch paper about:

– Who are your Character(s)?– What kind of conflict does the hero face?– How does the hero overcome the conflict or

learn from it?

• Create a “Story Board” of the Scenes– What happens first, second, etc.

• Decide how to use Dialogue, Illustration, & Description

Main ingredients

• Characters: create your characters from memorable people in your life.

• Conflict: Is it between a character and her/his environment? Between two characters? You decide! This is the drama of your story…

• Power or knowledge needed to overcome the conflict: Does the character need to learn something to overcome obstacles? Does she or he need get the help of others? Does she or he need tools? It depends on the conflict…

Try This

• Here’s an overview of a story: a girl with really orange hair is sad because she feels that her schoolmates don’t like her. She feels unpopular. Then she meets someone whose even more unpopular: Big Foot! He’s a monster! He talks to her. He tells her popularity isn’t important. He shows a “I don’t care” dance. The next day, some people are rude to her and she does the dance!

• Create a storyboard of this story: divide it into scenes.

• Then, decide how you’re going to tell the story: when you’re going to use dialogue, or just illustration, or description.

Storyboard of the Scenesgirl with orange hair sits alone at lunch table

Other kids laughing

Girl wishes she were different so people would like her more

Girl walks home

Meets Big Foot

Thinks its someone in a costume

Bigfoot tells her not to worry about popularity

Bigfoot shows her a “I don’t care what people think” dance

Girl goes home

Talks to her mother about Big Foot

Next day at school on playground kids leave her out of a game

Does the Big Foot dance. Several people enjoy the dance & clap (:

Illustration, Dialogue or Description?

• Some of your story can be written descriptions of the setting or what happens inside a character’s head.

• Some of your story can be dialogue between characters.

• Some of your story can be illustrations of what’s happening or how a person feels.

Dialogue / DescriptionScene 1: illustration of girl (w/ orange hair) alone

Scene 2: description of kids

Scene 3: description of girl’s thoughts

Scene 4: illustration of walk home

Scene 5: description and illustration of Big Foot

Scene 6: dialogue w/ Big Foot

Scene 7: illustration of Big Foot’s Dance

Scene 8: final dialogue with Big Foot

Scene 9: illustration only of girl walking home [contrast her posture/ face with scene 4]

Scene 10: dialogue b/w girl and mother

Scene 11: description of the events of the next day at school

Scene 12: illustration of a dance

When you Get Your Pen Pal’s Story

• Sketch out the scenes on scratch paper• Do you need to add any scenes to

establish the characters, conflict, problem-solving, or resolution? If so, add them.

• How many background scenes do you need? 3 minimum. Perhaps 6.

• Can you life the background as is from your pen pal’s story? Or will you need to photoshop it yourself?

How will you include text?

• Too much text will not be good for this project so you might have edit down. Or, better: convert exposition into dialogue.

• You can either use the text as written or you can create individual lines of text (or words) as cast members and have appear/disappear OR drift across the stage.

Instead of….

Big Foot was very big.

Big Foot understood that being yourself is more important than fitting in.

The little girl asks: “Why are so you big?”

“You know,” the girl said, “You’re kinda a dork. But so am I and it’s not so bad. Is it?”