Developing Story Ideas, 3rd Edition

14 Family Story

Next we turn to a story passed down in your family, which means tapping into the mainstream of the oral tradition. In fact, Amanda McCormick’s story about the woman, the baby, and the unwanted horse from the previous chapter made a good introduction to this chapter’s assignment.

Assignment 14–1: A Story Told in Your Family

• Step 1: Take an account handed down in your family, one that:
  • Can be set anywhere and at any time
  • Does not include yourself present at the events
  • Is visual and behavioral and would translate well to the screen
• Describe the incidents and establish the characters, again using scene-outline form. Writing in this compressed form enables you to get the essence down on paper fast. Then you can present it much as ...