Develop a main character who grows throughout the story!🌿| Narrative Writing + THEME

Hi everyone, this is Winnie or Miss Tang. Today we are learning to develop relatable and engaging characters, namely our protagonist, our main character of our narrative. This is because we want to entertain our readers and we want our audience to relate to and connect with our characters. In our previous video, we had a look at how authors develop memorable characters, namely the protagonist. We had a look at the aim of narratives, what is character, why character is important, how authors develop these characters, which characters grow and change throughout the story, why and how characters change, and analyzing character development in literature. Today's success criteria: we are going to identify the key messages and themes you would like to communicate in your narrative. This is going to help us develop our character and have our narrative be character-driven. We are going to develop the protagonist in our narrative, and we are also going to identify how our protagonist grows and changes from the beginning to the end of the narrative. Okay, we are going to start gathering some ideas on the messages and themes we would like in our narrative. So what do you want your story to be about? What message or theme do you want to communicate through your narrative? There is a reason why authors write the stories that they write, so have a think about what you want your message to be. This will help us create memorable characters in your story. So I've had a thought— a think about what I would like my narrative to be. So let me share with you what I have been thinking. So I would like to put out the message that no matter how old you are, you have a voice and the power to make a positive impact around you. I would like to give the message that kids have a voice and the power and the courage to speak up. And I also would like to put some sort of message in there that it's important to take care of ourselves, other people around us, as well as our environment, and maybe just put that in as a hint at the end. And so I'm thinking that my theme is going to be around courage or bravery. So having a think about what your message is and what your theme is, is going to really support you in coming up with your plot and your characters in your story. Okay, how to develop —a relatable and engaging characters. Now, people change in real life, so no one stays the same, and everyone goes through positive and negative experiences which shape who we are. To create a main character that feels relatable and for our readers to connect with, our character has to learn and grow, and they need to change throughout our story. How to develop the protagonist. Okay, to identify how our protagonist grows, we need to know a little bit more about our main character first. So we need to know what they look like, their appearance, their personality traits, their, um, their character traits. We need to know their strengths, and people— our strengths can also become our weaknesses as well. So there's that opposite effect. And characters tend to have a flaw that they have to work to overcome. So that could be a weakness that they have to overcome, and it sometimes gets in the way of their goal. So our characters also need a goal as well for our story to be interesting. They need to have something that they would like to strive for, to achieve, because we, we also as human beings, we want to achieve certain things and we have goals as well. We also need to know their thoughts and feelings about themselves, how they view others, and maybe a little bit about their background, like their family and friends, and especially what they want, what their goals, their hopes, and dreams are going to be, and what they are scared of as well. So their fears will also hinder on— could also be a challenge that they have to overcome throughout the story. Okay, now we are going to develop the protagonist in the narrative. So here are some questions that might help you come up with your protagonist. So all the things that we talked about previously, like their appearance, their personality, strengths, weaknesses, how they view themselves, others, and a bit of background about their family, friends, and what their goals and fears are. So let's actually do one together. My protagonist, her name is going to be Amber and her last name is going to be McLeod. She's going to be 11 years old. She's going to be in year or grade 5, and I'm going to make her a cheerleader because I used to be a cheerleader, so I can draw on that experience. So if you also have sporting background as well, you can also create a character that has that sporting background too. Okay, um, describe their appearance. So what do they look like? I'm going to put red curly hair. I've always wanted to have curly hair, but that— but I'm pretty happy with what I've got. She's going to have freckles. She is going to have a stocky frame. She is going to wear a bow all the time, wear a bow in her— here, in her hair. So this is just a bit of a draft. You can also add on later on. Let's see, personality and character traits. What are they like on the inside? She is, well, since she's a cheerleader, she's going to be cheerful. Um, she will be a hard worker, so she works really hard, and, um, and responsible. Okay, so for our strengths, um, because she's cheerful, her strengths are that she is optimistic. Um, so she's cheerful, she looks on the bright side. Um, her other strength could be, um, she's resilient, or resilience would be her strength because she is adaptable to challenges. So any challenges that come her way, she's able to adapt to them. Now, her weaknesses. Um, now, because— let's see, we could link this to our theme because, um, let's see what the theme was. The theme was courage and bravery. So maybe because, um, I would like the message to be that kids can have a voice and have the courage to speak up, her weakness could be maybe she's not very brave So her weakness is lack of, lack of bravery. Because if I want the theme to be bravery and courage, then the character, the main character, can't be already brave and have courage at the beginning of the story. So she's going to lack bravery, and she, um, she doesn't, or she's scared to speak, speak up for herself, um, and for others. Now, strengths can also be weaknesses too. So if someone is optimistic, what is the downside of that? Okay, if someone is too optimistic, they really, um, want to believe that everything is okay, um, even when it's not. So they, um, they might be in, in denial. So they might deny what is happening. Resilience. Let's see, the downside of being resilient is Zillions. Is that if you are too adaptable to the challenges, maybe you're too tolerant, or you're too, um, you are too tolerant of other people's negative behavior. So maybe because you're resilient and you always try to try to meet challenges, then you, you are too accepting of other people's negative behaviors. Okay, all right. Thoughts and feelings about themselves. Well, uh, this will link to our message and our theme about bravery. So Amber is not confident. Confident in, um, confident with herself or her abilities. How they view others. Okay, so she— let's see, because this story is about bravery, maybe she has to stand up to a bully. So maybe, um, Maybe she's not confident, but her bully is confident. And maybe she thinks that other people's really— other teachers and students like, like her bully. Maybe she— so I'll just put Amber thinks that her bully is confident and that all the teachers and students like, um, like the person who has been bullying her. Now, just because she thinks that doesn't mean that it's true. Um, and I'll also put in that Uh, who is in her family? Uh, her dad. I would say she— let's say she looks up to her dad. So who is in her family? Let's say her dad. Give him a name. Rufus. Okay, who are their friends? Um, friends. So let's say Amber gets along, um, maybe she gets along with her cheer team, but she isn't, isn't close friends with them yet. Well, I think Amber wants to be the best cheerleader that she can be. What is her biggest fear? What is she scared of? Is maybe she, she worries that, um, she's not good enough. Maybe she's not good enough. May, um, which then leads her into not speaking up for herself and not finding that courage. We are going to identify how our protagonist grows and changes. So the main character, or our protagonist, will go through challenges that transform them into a hero by the end of the story, the narrative. So who is our main character before and after they become a hero. Some of the things that we will, um, figure out is what are they like at the beginning of the story, what is their attitude like, what makes them an unlikely hero, and then after, um, so what will they be like at the end of the story, what have they learned, how have they changed, and what are some characteristics that make them seem, um, heroic. So Amber is, um, so at the beginning of the story, she is really determined to work hard, um, and to stay focused, um, on being the best cheerleader she can be. Because that's, I mean, that's her goal. That's what she wants at the beginning. Um, what is her attitude like? Okay, she, um, so Amber works hard but she is not confident. Uh, she avoids speaking up. She avoids speaking up for herself. She, uh, well, because she's pretty optimistic, she might try to deny what's happening. So she, um, she thinks that if she avoids the situation then it's not there and it's not happening. Is determined to stay focused and positive. She, she doesn't want to admit when things are not as they seem. Um, and she doesn't want to deal with— she doesn't want to deal with problems outside her comfort zone. After— what will your protagonist be at the end? So Amber will be more courageous. And brave. She will, um, stand up for herself and, and others. What would they have learned? Amber learns to be confident. And believe in herself. She learns to speak up. She learns to speak up for herself and others and for what is right. Cool. She will be brave. And courageous. She will— well, she'll still be resilient, um, responsible, optimistic, and determined. And there you have it. So now we have our before and after of our protagonist and how she grows and changes. It's your turn! So it's your turn to create some memorable characters for your narrative, to come up with some key messages and themes, to develop your protagonist, their character traits and how they grow. And then you can also come up with your antagonist and some of the other characters in your narrative, like the mentor and your maybe some allies and some enemies. If you'd like a copy of this, you can find it in the link below. So up next, um, we— I'm going to have a video on how authors develop antagonists, um, so the character who is opposing your protagonist, your main character, and how to develop memorable antagonists. And there you have it. That's how you develop memorable characters like the protagonist. See you in my next video. Bye!