Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Characteristics of A Well Told Story

Part 1: Stories are important to childhood because they provide us with alot of entertainment and teach us many lessons in which we carry out through our adult lives. I also used stories as a source of ispiration as a child. I vividly remember being obsessed with Dr. Seuss and trying to make green eggs and ham all the time. It was fun but it always tasted like dirt.
Part 2: I believe that high schoolers and adults read stories to bring them back to their childhood. I think this because childhood is one of the best times in ones life. Although it goes by way too fast I think stories in a way bring one back to those wonder years and allow them to recall many good memories in which they would otherwise have forgotten. Although I have not read a story in god knows how long, I still feel many people do this and it is very effective for them.
Part 3: Stories are so important in our nation becuase they can and often times are very influential. They tell the stories of deprived individuals who often make it large and have wonderful lives. I think they are very motivational due to this aspect and many read stories to gain a sense of confidence within themselves. I also think it is a way to pass time. Lets face it, at some point or another we are always bored and reading stories can prove to be an excellent way to pass some time.
Part 4: Some stories that I vividly remember as a child were anything by Dr. Seuss. I was a very oddball child and the format of his stories were right up my alley. I would always make my mom read me these stories over and over before I went to bed. I remember having a huge selection of his stories and every morning I would alphabetize them for easy access to my favorites later. They were my prized possessions, at one point and time I think I nearly owned every Dr. Seuss publication.
Part 5: I believe there are many characteristics in which make a story excellent. The characteristics I believe are the most important are as follows: The characters need to have something distinguishing about them, the story needs to pull the reader in and want to keep reading, there needs to be many detailed illustrations of what is occuring in the story, the tone needs to be very suitable for the context of the story, there needs to be clear cut evidence of much planning and revision of the story, needs to contain a disntinct beginning middle and end, and ultimately there needs to be a significant amount of suspense. Without these aspects I really feel no need to read a story and would have no desire to continue reading it once started. In my mind, these characteristics can either make or break a story.

1 comment:

Sean said...

I had forgotten the Dr Suess I read as a child until I was reminded from reading your post. I like your ideas on character development and how a good author uses it and makes it