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Young Writers Society


Teamwork and Storybooks



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Sun Sep 03, 2006 3:53 am
Griffinkeeper says...



Storybooks are difficult to write because they need a lot of cooperation and teamwork to really work.

When anyone works on a team, there are certain things that need to be figured out. Who is the strongest player? Who is the weakest player? What can be done to improve the team? Which members work well together? Which ones don't? Which position are they good at playing? And so on.

When it comes to storybooks, we must ask these questions, because it is a team activity.

The activity is doubly complicated by the fact that not only must the authors get along, but so must their characters.

People get in the most trouble when it comes to characters. Some characters overlap one another. You might have 3 versions of "the mysterious warrior" in a single storybook.

When you form a character, keep the other character posts in mind. If there is already a mysterious stranger, than think of another role for your character. Just because one character is "the mysterious stranger" doesn't mean your character can't be fun, important, or unique.

Having a Storybook with the same character types is like watching an Elvis movie where everyone is Elvis.

One thing that also comes into play is that sometimes characters and their authors just don't get along.

In some cases, an older storybook writer gets angry at a younger storybook writer's inexperience. Other times, one authors character is hopelessly overpowered. The best way to overcome this is through talking with the authors. Whether it is asking them to be patient with the younger authors or if it is asking them if they could explain how their character managed to become omnipotent.

I find myself attracted to storybooks when there is a neat plot line, diverse characters, and friendly authors.
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