Sunday, December 16, 2012

#148 Plot Diagram for Jessie's Journey

     Welcome to our newest reading audiences from Chile and Italy.  You represent the 46th and 47th countries reported on the stats page for my blogs.  Thank you for joining us.     

     In this post I will be discussing the plot plan for Jessie's Journey, my current work-in-progress for young readers. 

     Since, by definition, the plot describes a story's action and the reader's emotional reaction to it, I think it may be  helpful to compare it to a roller coaster ride.

     A diagram of the plot to Jessie's Journey might look like this: 



     1. The Back Story gives the reader needed information about the setting and the main character. The action is moving along without too many bumps until...

     2. A Catalyst changes things. Suddenly there is a need for action.  

     3. Caught in the middle of the Rising Action, the main character tries several things in an attempt to stabilize the rocky situation, but nothing works. In fact, each seems to complicate it more. The reader's heart begins to pound as the main character races toward...

     4. A Climax. This is the peak of the action, and it is followed by...

     5.  Falling action.  The tension dissolves, but the reader still doesn't completely understand why things happened as they did.  That is revealed in...

     6. The Denouement.  The translation of this French word is something like "untying the knot".  Everything is cleared up, and the main character realizes...

     7. In the Conclusion, that she has changed in some very significant ways. 


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     Next time I want to discuss some techniques for improving comprehension in young readers.  The post will not focus on any specific book, but will cover subjects such as adjusting readability and/or interest levels, shared and "mumble" reading, drawing, and mapping.

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     And don't forget to visit my other blog at: www.ebooks4kids.blogspot.com. I have offered some recommendations for Christmas reading on Amazon's Kindles and/or  Barnes and Nobles' Nook devices.     

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     Until then, please keep reading.



     

       

Friday, December 7, 2012

#147 Characters in Jessie's Journey

     The following list contains most of the characters in my developing ebook entitled Jessie's Journey:

     Jessie is the main character.  She is a fourteen-year-old girl who trusts technology more than any of the people in her life.

     Jessie's mother has become increasingly ill and dependent on some kind of medicine.

     Rosie and Daisy are Jessie's four-year-old twin sisters.

     Granny Annie is Jessie's grandmother.  She sometimes takes the twins to her house because Jessie isn't able to care for them and her mother too.

     Cookie is Granny Annie's black and white cat.

     Agent C (Catalyst) takes the role of a worker from the Animal Control Department in Jessie's Journey.  (He takes different roles in other ebooks of this series.)

     Mr. Forester owns a used bicycle shop and also repairs computers in his back room.

     Ran is a sixteen-year-old boy who works for Mr. Forester.  His name is short for "Random".

     Mr. Wolf is the wealthy man who owns Jessie's house and many other buildings in town. He wields enough power to frighten most people.

     Percy is Jessie's friend. The girls have identical electronic journals and communicate long distances with the devices until Jessie's stops working.


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     Readers can expect Jessie to change over the course of this story. Main characters do that.

     Secondary characters mostly support the activities of the main character.  They don't usually develop and change very much.

     This story follows the usual literary pattern with a conflict between the protagonist (in this case the "champion" is Jessie) and an antagonist ( the "bad guy" she opposes is Mr. Wolf).


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     Next time I will discuss the plot structure of Jessie's Journey.  However, don't expect me to fill in too many details.  You will have to read the ebook when it is published to find out how everything turns out.


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     I am able to offer you an opportunity to download a free copy of Pomegranate (Agent C Series) by Lynda for your kindle reading devices on December 8 and 9. Just log on to Amazon.com and enter the ebook title in the search window.



     Pomegranate is the book in which Jessie was first introduced as Percy's friend (in Chapter 5), and this book  will give you a nice connection to Jessie's Journey.


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     Feel free to read the latest post in my other blog too.  I have recommended some Christmas ebooks for kids on www.ebooks4kids.blogspot.com.

     And, as always, please keep reading.