Monday, February 13, 2012

The Secret Language of Stories

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February 13, 2012
THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF STORIES EXPLORES
THE HUNGER GAMES
THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF THE HUNGER GAMES
by Carolee Dean

One of the things I have most enjoyed about using the twelve elements of SLOS to teach story analysis is when I see the lights go on in a student's eyes. Because the steps of the process are so concrete, they quickly begin to see examples in the stories all around them. As they recognize the tools that authors use in their stories, budding writers become more and more aware of the options available to them when they write stories of their own.

As I introduce story analysis, I like to start by contrasting the OLD WORLD, or the world of everyday where the story begins, with the NEW WORLD where the characters will soon find themselves.

Hunger GamesEven in fantasies, the hero begins in what is his or her ordinary world. This may resemble the everyday world of common folks, such as the home of Harry Potter's aunt and uncle on Privet Drive, Dorothy's farm in Kansas, or the city of Phoenix where Bella lives before she takes off for Forks.

On the other hand, the ordinary world of the hero may be something quite foreign to the reader. In the novel, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen begins the story by slipping through the fence that is supposed to keep the citizens securely confined to District 12, a poor region whose main industry is coal mining. She meets her best friend, Gale, in the woods to go hunting, for what looks like a fairly ordinary activity, until we realize that Katniss could be severely punished for going outside the fence. Then we learn that District 12 is part of a dystopian society called Panem, a post apocalyptic world that used to be the United States. It has since been subdivided into 13 Districts run by a corrupt and power hungry Capitol. No one talks much about District 13. They were obliterated when they tried to rebel against the masochistic central government.

The inciting incident and CALL TO ADVENTURE occur when Katniss's sister, Prim, is chosen during a yearly lottery called the Reaping to take part in the Hunger Games. Each of the twelve districts must send two teens to the Capitol to prepare for this brutal ritual in which the participants must kill each other, one by one, until only one contestant remains. The winner gets a new house in the Victor's Village and extra food for their district for an entire year. But Katniss refuses to accept this fate for her younger sister, and insists on taking her place.

She soon departs for the NEW WORLD of the Capitol with Peeta, the son of a baker, who is the other tribute from District 12. There she and the other tributes spend time PLANNING and PREPARING for the games. With the help of the stylist, Cinna, who has been assigned to her, she receives a complete makeover and some cool outfits. The vicious games are going to be televised after all, and the participants receive gifts based on audience approval.

Her assigned MENTOR, Haymitch Abernathy, a man who is the only other person from District 12 to survive the Games, seems like a hopeless alcoholic, driven to drink after confronting the horrors of the Games. In spite of his weaknesses, he offers her sound advice and helps her to secure the sponsor gifts that could mean survival.

Katniss and Peeta finally enter another NEW WORLD, the Arena, where they must learn a whole new set of rules if they are to make it out alive. I won't discuss the midpoint or the climax of the book, because I don't want to spoil the plot, but I will make a suggestion for teachers who plan to read this remarkable book with their students, and for anyone else who wants to read the story on their own.

As you read the descriptions of this dystopian society, make a list of the rules of Panem. On a separate piece of paper list the rules for the Arena. When you've finished the book, brainstorm ideas for your own dystopian world! You might even want to create a game played by the citizens.

To learn more about the twelve step story analysis I use to teach writing and to plot my books, visit my blog at Carolee Dean Books.

 Black Stripes

Meet the Spellbinders
CaCarolee Deanrolee Dean has made numerous appearances as a guest poet/author at schools, libraries, poetry events, and teacher/library conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and a master's degree in communicative disorders, and she has spent over a decade working in the public schools as a
Comfort Paperback Cover
speech-language pathologist.

Her first novel, Comfort,was nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults, was named the Best YA Novel of 2002 by the Texas Institute of Letters, and was on the TAYSHAS (Texas Library Association) reading list. Take Me There is a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.
Take Me There Cover
 
She conducts teacher trainings on inspiring reluctant writers including "The Secret Language of Stories" and "Random Act of Haiku."


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Caroline Starr RoseCaroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. She's taught English and social studies to upper elementary and middle-school students in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. Back in New
Mexico, Caroline now writes middle-grade novels and picture books full time. 
 


To find teacher's guides, writing activities, and information about author visits, go to my website.

  







Kim Bio PhotoKimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the Southwest Book Award, The Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, and the author of the highly acclaimed, The Healing Spell and Circle of Secrets, published by Scholastic Press. Look for her books at the Scholastic Book Fairs, as well Circle of Secretsas two more forthcoming novels in 2012 and 2013.
  
She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has been a speaker at many conferences.

Please visit her website to download free Teacher's Guides and Book Club Guides. 
  
Follow me on Twitter 
  

Upcoming Author Events

Sunday, March 11
Kimberley presents at the 
Tucson Book Festival
  
11:30 -12:30 Panel with Author Will Hobbs: "Opening Minds Across Borders: Characters in Conflict" 
AND
2:30 - 3:30 "Breaking into Children's Novels through Magazine Writing"
  
Each session followed by autographing

Saturday, March 17
UNM Continuing Ed  
Young Writers Conference

Kimberley is presenting "The Creative Diary" - a hands-on Writing Workshop for kids and teens   

Sunday, April 29th 
9-5 Preconference Session  
Author's Panel at the
International Reading Association Conference
Chicago, Illinois
"Rekindling the Reading and Writing Fire"
  
Join us for this all day session
featuring 11 authors including
all 3 Spellbinders
Carolee Dean
Kimberley Griffiths Little
Caroline Starr Rose 
  
Tuesday, May 1
3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
International Reading Association Conference
Chicago, Illinois
"The Secret Language of Stories"
Carolee Dean


November, 2012
YALSA Literature Symposium 
"Author Research Panel"
Carolee Dean
Kimberley Griffiths Little
and two other authors
St. Louis, Missouri

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Spellbinders | 3 YAF Authors | Albuquerque | NM | 87181

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