In the lecture I learned that children’s books are normally made up of multiples of eight, mainly being either 24 or 32 pages. Therefore, as I had already got a narrative in mind I decided to write up a first version of my story so that I could see how it was going to build and how to plan out my story so that it flowed. I know that I am going to change some of the sentences so that it reads better, but to have this is really helpful and, hopefully, it will allow me to be more efficient when it comes to producing the illustrations.
- This here is Nessie. Her life in the ocean is very stressy.
- Nessie likes to hide and run from everything.
- She is different, and nobody seems to like different. Sometimes she wishes that she wasn’t here
- Her daily routine involves going out into the big, wide ocean; where sometimes she tries to make friends. But she never makes any.
- They all laugh and point. They all stare and judge. And most hurtfully, some cower away when they see her coming, and that upsets Nessie more than anything.
- She is a monster to them. And monsters don’t have friends.
- Inside her home she is safe from them. There are no peeking eyes or monster spies.
- All she has ever wanted was to make friends, …
- … to go on adventures with them, …
- … and to swim through the ocean with someone by her side.
- But that has never come true, so the only company she has is her own.
- Nessie knows her own company isn’t the most exciting or fun. But she’s never really alone.
- Sometimes Nessie sees shadows around corners, as if somebody is following her.
- When she swims through the open waters she can hear whispers calling her name.
- They grow and grow and grow. They become louder and closer, and Nessie can never ignore them.
- She tries not to let them get to her. Nessie tries to smile and forget the monsters.
- But the monsters chase her and surround her.
- They chase and chase and chase Nessie. There is no where for her to hide.
- The worst monster is big and dark. He doesn’t let her swim away so easily. Those are Nessie’s worst days.
- But one day somebody chased those monsters away. She swam out from behind the rocks to say hello…
- … and Nessie couldn’t help but smile at the fish who saved her.
- That day Nessie made her first friend, and she realised something …
- She is one of a kind and she is special. Maybe she is a monster to some people, but she also knows that some people are different. And different is good.
- Without her own monsters taunting her, Nessie is the happiest she’s ever been. She can swim the ocean with her new friend, going on adventures to keep the monsters at bay.
I am happy with the narrative because it follows the key three act structure which most books, plays and films follow. By having a beginning, middle and end the child audience will easily be able to understand the narrative while it still be interesting and exciting for them. I wanted to have a resolution for the ending, but continuing to leave it slightly open, so that it would end on a good note; because all, if not most, end in a nice way.