Story #5

Title of my Story: Quest for Ice-Cream

Genre: Adventure

Logline: I just wanted to have some ice-cream but my dog hindered me.

 

My Story:

It was in the middle of summer, when the temperature shot up and the sun radiated its heat mercilessly. The heat was unbearable and the AC was not working.

I decided that I need to get myself a huge tub of ice-cream and braved myself to step outside onto the hot asphalt that was trying to fry my sandals. The convenience store was a 15-minute walk from my house but it was no problem considering the glorious treat I’ll get there.

Just as I was about to lock the doors, my mom called me.

“Can you walk the dog?”

I frowned. I really loved my dog but I wasn’t really in the mood for her company. She was disobedient and I know she’ll run and drag me around. It won’t be fun at all, especially in this heat.

Yet, the image of her glassy sad eyes when I refused made me gave in. So I took her with me. Maybe, if she behaved well this time, I’ll give her some treat.

But it seemed that she did not care about treats. Once we stepped outside, she bolted to a random direction, not caring about her owner. The handle of the lead that was tied on my wrist pulled me after her and it hurt. I tried to halt her by pulling on the lead and the force made her choke and gasp for air.

People around me shot an accusing stare. I gulped and reluctantly let her run as she wished.

After running around aimlessly for a few minutes, I decided that it was my turn this time. It was payback time. I will let her watch me relish my ice-cream.

I dragged her to the convenience store, careful not to choke her again. At a pole just by the door of the store, I tied her and told her to stay.

I walked in to the store and rushed to the freezer, picking up the biggest tub I could finish. Then I paid and walked outside.

My plan to torture my dog by letting her watch me eat my ice-cream crumbled once I saw what happened to her. What happened to the little boy she was attacking, to be precise.

He was crying and on his feet was a cone of ice-cream which my dog was licking.

I went up to them. I apologized and blamed my dog over and over in front of him, but he did not stop crying.

“I want my ice-cream!” He whined between sobs.

I felt like it was my turn to cry. I don’t have any money left and this is my only tub of ice-cream.

Being the kind person I was, I gave him my precious ice-cream.

The kid grinned and I can only manage to smile weakly as I watched him went off. I went home solemnly with my dog happily leading me.

“So, did you get your ice-cream?” Mom asked.

“No. But she did.” I pointed to my happy dog.

Story #4

STORY #4

Title of my Story: Embarrassing Secret

Genre:

Logline: Jane’s friends were hiding something from her.

My Story:

Since Jane had just arrived at school, almost everyone whom she knew had been giving her a smile. It was not a normal smile you show in replace of a “hi” but it was more of a teasing smile. It was like they knew something that she should’ve known. Or was it something embarrassing about her? Jane’s face froze in horror. Has someone been talking behind her back? Or was it just her imagination?

Jane rushed to the toilet, dismissing her friends’ suspicious smiles on the way, to check her appearance in case if something was on her face. She checked on the mirror from her head to toe but there was nothing out of place.

Suddenly, the door opened and her friends, Sam and Anne, stepped in. They were walking side by side, their gazes fixated on a piece of paper which was in Sam’s hand. When they realized Jane was there, they stared at Jane for a second before they smiled that suspicious smile. Upon seeing that, Jane frowned and she decided to ask them if she knew why.

“Did I miss something?” Jane asked, choosing her words carefully.

“Nope, nothing you need to know, Jane,” answered Anne a bit too quickly. They then glanced at the paper once more time and giggled.

 “What’s on the paper?”

Sam jammed the paper in her bag and smiled. “Nothing.”

Jane narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Then may I see it?”

They darted their eyes to everywhere except for Jane’s eyes and stuttered out a lame excuse. “We should get to class now. We’re late.”

Now Jane was sure that paper had something to do with people’s suspicious smiles.

The three walked out; Sam and Anne side by side with Jane tailing closely behind them. Taking the chance, Jane discreetly tried to slip her hand into Sam’s bag to snatch the paper. It was difficult, since Sam guarded it closely. Growing frustrated by every minute, Jane grabbed Sam’s bag roughly. She did not care about manners since they’re close anyway.

“Are you trying to rob me?!” Sam pulled her bag closer towards her but Jane persisted.

“Give me that paper!”

“Jane, there’s nothing on that paper! It was just Sam’s math test!” Anne explained.

Jane reluctantly let go of the bag, her suspicious stare still not leaving. “Then why can’t I see it?”

Sam hugged the bag protectively. “Because I got a really bad score.”

“She’s embarrassed of it. She didn’t want anyone to see it,” elaborated Anne.

Sam rummaged her bag and pulled out a piece of crumpled paper.

Jane took the paper and inspected it closely. She sighed in defeat and returned the paper.

“Sorry about that. I thought you were sharing something embarrassing about me to people,” admitted Jane with a relieved smile.

“Oh, it’s cool.”

“I’ll head first to class then. Bye!”

Once Jane left, the two snickered and pulled out the paper. It was a piece of cheesy poem written by Jane a year ago.

“I feel bad lying to her,” admitted Anne.

Story #3

STORY #3

Title of my Story: Happy Birthday

Genre: Drama

Logline: Sara and her mom had their last argument.

                        

My Story:

Sara and her mom never fought. Ever since her dad passed away, Sara was too scared of loosing another parent and so she never made her mom angry or sad. She kept her thoughts to herself and treasured her mom like she was her life.

But today, it was a bit hard for Sara to say all those sweet, sugar-coated words. For the first time since her dad left, Sara was upset with her mom.

“Sara, I know I shouldn’t have hid this from you, but dad is still alive.”

Instantly, the girl stopped whatever she was doing and looked into her mom’s eyes. A lot of emotions swirled in her gut, both negative and positive but mostly the latter. This was great news for her. She didn’t know why her mom had to lie about it. She missed her dad so much she couldn’t wait to see him!

“Then where is he??” asked her a bit too desperately.

“Sara, I know this will make you sad… Dad remarried someone.”

And her world crashed.

“That has to be a joke.”

“He got into prison for assault and her new wife left,” continued her not staring back at Sara. “I’m going to take their child under my care.”

Sara couldn’t utter anything but a weak “what?”

Her mom forced a smile and braved herself to look at her heartbroken daughter. “I’ll pick him up tomorrow. You’re going to love him. He’s so little and cute! He’s-”

“No.” With that, Sarah left the room.

The next morning, that boy that Sara hated came. Jim was his name. He looked so innocent and clueless. Sara can’t stand him. Every time Sara tried to tell him that he ruined their lives he would just stare back at her with his big, beady, blank eyes. Then he would say sorry with a small voice like he really meant it but Sara knew he did not understand at all. He was just 7 after all; what would he know?

A few months passed and out of a sudden, her mom got hospitalized. This sent her into a never ending panic. Sara dashed towards the hospital to see her mom once she heard the news.

She got beside her bed and asked her if she needed anything. But her mom reply was just a smile and to take care of Jim.

Sara just nodded weakly. In all honesty, she wanted to cry and ask her mom to say anything but that.

And then the dreaded day fell. Her mom passed away. And it was Sara’s birthday.

Sara felt weak. She was plunged deep into depression. She didn’t know what to do. Her mom’s last request was to take care of Jim. But how can she fulfill that for her?

A knock on her door woke her up from her thoughts. It was Jim. He was smiling. Sara wanted to slap him. But then her eyes moved down to settle on the birthday cake on his hands.

Tears pricked Sara’s eyes and at the same time Jim sung happy birthday.

Sara then realized that Jim was probably the last birthday present from her mom. 

Frasier Season 1 ep 1

Logline: Frasier's father had to move in with him because he wanted to be a good son but he wasn't happy with how his father acts.

Synopsis: Frasier just moved into a new place with a new job. He wanted to start fresh but he had to agree to let his father live with him because he wanted to be a good son. But he did not know that his father would brought his dog, Eddie, and his chair with him. Frasier did not like it. His brother advised him to hire a caretaker for their dad and his dog. Frasier liked the idea and called some candidates to their apartment so Frasier and his father could discuss who they'll pick. But his father wouldn't let Frasier choose and he disliked his father's choice. and through some misunderstanding the caretaker will stay in the apartment too. Frasier finally had enough and they argued. In resolve, his father called him during his work time.

Character Bio - Frasier Crane: a radio psychiatrist, a bit snobbish, well-educated, loves his furniture in order

3 act structure:

ACT 1 SETUP	ACT 2 CONFRONTATION	ACT 3 RESOLUTION
Key character(s): Frasier Must have info:	Confrontation: he wanted both his father and him live together without any problems	Climax (Grand Finale): they argued Resolution: his dad called the radio station he's speaking on and thanked him
MOTIVE: to be a good son	TURNING POINT: his dad brought his chair with him and Frasier did not like it	MOTIVE RESOLVED? yes
Conflict/obstacles: he was not that close with his father	Conflict/obstacles: Up the stakes: his father brought his dog, Eddie. Frasier disliked the caretaker his father had chosen.	Moral of the story if any: Sometimes things don't happen like how we wanted it to be but problems will pass eventually.

Logline: Frasier must let his father move in with him because he wants to be a good son.

ACT1-SETUP - Establish key char & motive

- Key-scene1 radio show (work place)

- Situation-brother tells him dad needs a new home with help

- Turning point-decision to let dad stay with him >> motive to be a good son

- Motive-be a good son by letting dad move in

ACT2-CONFRONTATION -Key Char struggles with motive

- 1-dad

- 2-chair

- 3-eddy

- 4-helper (daphne moon)

- Turning point 2-almost sent dad to an old-age home

- Struggles with 1, 2, 3, 4

ACT3-RESOLUTION - Key Char resolves motive

- Climax-(biggest struggle in story) Frasier & dad argue

- Resolution-dad calls in radio show, make up with Frasier and says thank you to Frasier

- Motive-IS FRASIER A GOOD SON? YES-motive resolved!

Log line and 3 act structure

For the birds

Logline: A big bird tried to befriend a group of small birds who kept on ignoring him.

ACT 1 SETUP	ACT 2 CONFRONTATION	ACT 3 RESOLUTION
Key character(s): Big bird and small birds Must-have info:	Confrontation: Big bird sat on the wire	Climax (Grand Finale): Big bird fell, small birds were thrown off the wire Resolution: Small birds
MOTIVE: Befriend the small birds/get rid of the big bird	TURNING POINT: Wire stretched down because of him	MOTIVE RESOLVED? No
Conflict/Obstacles: The small birds were ignoring him/the big bird won’t go away	Conflict/Obstacles: Up the stakes: Small birds began to peck the big bird	Moral of the story if any: Welcome new friends

Flamingo

Logline: a group of dancing flamingos tried to get another flamingo which kept on playing with his yo-yo to dance with them.

ACT 1 SETUP	ACT 2 CONFRONTATION	ACT 3 RESOLUTION
Key character(s): The flamingos Must-have info: Flamingos never stopped dancing	Confrontation: The dancing flamingos forced the yo-yo flamingo to dance	Climax (Grand Finale): Dancing flamingos were tied by more yo-yos by the yo-yo flamingo Resolution: He gets to play with his yo-yo again
MOTIVE: Flamingo with yo-yo didn’t want to join the dancing flamingos	TURNING POINT: He kept on playing with his yo-yo	MOTIVE RESOLVED? yes
Conflict/Obstacles: Dancing flamingos won’t leave him alone	Conflict/Obstacles: Up the stakes: The yo-yo was thrown onto a tree	Moral of the story if any: Do what you enjoy doing and don’t force others

Jurassic Fart

Logline: Big dinosaur, small dinosaur, and pig had a farting contest.

ACT 1 SETUP	ACT 2 CONFRONTATION	ACT 3 RESOLUTION
Key character(s): Big dinosaur, small dinosaur, pig Must-have info: They’re having a farting contest	Confrontation: Big dinosaur farted big Small dinosaur farted small	Climax (Grand Finale): Big dino fainted from the smell Resolution: Pig won
MOTIVE: Win the contest	TURNING POINT: Pig farted the biggest	MOTIVE RESOLVED? yes
Conflict/Obstacles:	Conflict/Obstacles: Up the stakes: Huge cloud of fart filled the air	Moral of the story if any:

It’s my Life, Bon Jovi, MTV

Logline: A guy had to get to a concert in 5 minutes but he kept running into obstacles.

ACT 1 SETUP	ACT 2 CONFRONTATION	ACT 3 RESOLUTION
Key character(s): The guy Must-have info:	Confrontation: Got chased by dogs	Climax (Grand Finale): Rolls underneath the truck Resolution: Reached the concert on time
MOTIVE: Reach the concert in 5 minutes	TURNING POINT: Jumped off a bridge	MOTIVE RESOLVED? yes
Conflict/Obstacles: He had to throw the trash	Conflict/Obstacles: Up the stakes: Almost got hit by a truck	Moral of the story if any: Don’t let obstacles make you stop

Story #2

STORY #2

Title of my Story: Hush

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Logline: A man found out if a rumor was true or just a rumor.

 

My Story:

In a small village where I lived at, there was a rumor circulating about a boy who died of unknown reasons. With no relatives nor friends, no funeral was held for him.  Since his tragic death, there had been reports from the cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Cordell, about a boy wandering about the cemetery on midnight. When Mr. Cordell went up to confront the boy, he disappeared mysteriously. The man thought that the boy was just clever in hiding but he can’t deny that he suspected that he was the ghost of the late boy.

Eventually, poor Mr. Cordell grew scared and he quit his job. Anyone brave enough to take the job quit after a short period. They said they witnessed the same thing.

Nobody was sure who that boy was. But more than half of the village was convinced that it was the ghost.

I myself don’t believe it. The pay for the nightshift for being the groundskeeper had gone high since nobody dared to take the job so I thought why not?

“Uncle, are you sure you’ll be fine by yourself? Do you want me to come with you?”

I smiled as I ruffled my worried nephew’s black hair. “Don’t worry, James! I can handle this.”

With that, I exited the house.

By fifteen minutes of walking, I could see the rusty metal gates of the cemetery. The gates made a creak as I pushed it and my vision was met with untidy rows of gravestones clouded by thin wisps of mist.

I had to admit, the scene looked eerie as a whole.

Brushing it aside, I walked to the post where I was supposed to watch the grave from, turned on the dim lights and sat at an old chair.

The cemetery remained quiet and nothing happened like how it should be. It was when the clock struck twelve that something, or more like someone, showed up.

From my position, I could see a boy with a mop of messy black hair wandering around the gravestones. This must be the boy everyone was talking about.

I clicked my tongue and walked over to the boy. The boy’s hair, height and silhouette looked awfully similar to my nephew’s. I grabbed his forearm and spun him around before he could run. Concluding that it was indeed my worried nephew, I scolded him. “James, you shouldn’t be here.”

James remained silent and motionless. Did he felt guilty for sneaking around?

“Can you go home by yourself?”

He shook his head.

“Fine. I’ll take you home. Nobody dared to come to the grave anyway.”

On the way, no words were exchanged. He must have been very embarrassed for getting caught. On the doorstep, I searched for the house key but I couldn’t find it. I knocked on the door, hoping that my brother was still up.

It wasn’t my brother who answered the door. To my horror, it was my nephew that showed up from the other side of the door. It was James.

I whipped my head to my side, where James was supposed to be. My eyes widened and I froze in shock. There was no one there.

 “Why are you here?” asked James.

“…Holy cow.”

Story #1

STORY #1

Title of my Story: Caterpillar Doll

Genre:

Logline: It was my favorite doll that I will never throw away no matter what.

 

My Story:

On my 6^th birthday, my dad gave me a caterpillar doll as a present. It was pretty long, about a head shorter than my full height, and its pudgy body was divided into colorful segments with a pair of legs at the side of each segment. Its face was wide; a huge smile was stitched onto it along with a pair of big oval eyes and a red, hard round nose. On its head, two antennas protruded out and at the tip of each antenna was a small yellow ball of cotton. I used to think that it was cute and it had been my favorite ever since I got my hands on it. Every night I fell asleep holding or hugging it. I won’t be able to fall asleep fast without it. When my family and I went for a trip out of town, I always made sure to bring it along.  

 

Years passed and my caterpillar doll dulled in color. Its nose along with its antennas had fallen off. It looked dirty and ugly. Even so it still felt the same when I hugged it. My mom kept on urging me to keep it in the storage room or worse, to throw it away. Both my mom and I know that it’s not happening. I had grown too attached to it. In response, I’ll either hide it in my wardrobe or I’ll straight out say no and the argument usually stopped there. But one day, I made her really mad. I was playing around with my siblings and our room became dirty. My caterpillar doll happened to be in the room as usual and some of the dirt had stuck onto it. My mom grew furious and she forced me to throw it away. I was scared of her but I don’t have the heart to leave it in the trash. So I decided to pretend that I got rid of it but I actually hid it somewhere in the house.

Not long after, I was over with my exams for that year. The results were quite impressive and my mom promised to get me one thing that I really wanted as a reward. I thought long and hard about it but I couldn’t decide. There were a lot of things that I wanted that time! Then my mom asked if I wanted a replacement for my caterpillar doll. That made me froze. My mom had not found out where I hid it! I felt victorious with a tinge of guilt. Since I was a good kid I couldn’t bear hiding something from my mom. I realized that I can’t hide it forever so I mustered up the courage to spill it out to her.

Her reaction was flat, as if she knew I was lying. I felt somewhat relieved. In the end, the reward I got for the exams was my beloved caterpillar doll back in my room.

Terms in Storytelling/Scriptwriting

Genre:  the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment, e.g. music, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria.

Cliche: an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, or effect, and even, to the point of being trite or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel.

Stereotype: a thought that may be adopted about specific types of individuals or certain ways of doing things, but that belief may or may not accurately reflect reality.

Antagonist: a character, group of characters, or institution that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend. In other words, an antagonist is a person or a group of people who oppose the main character(s).

Protagonist: the main character (the central or primary personal figure) of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, who ends up in conflict because of the antagonist.

Supporting character:  a character in a narrative that is not focused on by the primary storyline. Sometimes supporting characters may develop a complex back-story of their own, but this is usually in relation to the main character, rather than entirely independently.

Comic relief: the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.

Characterization: the art of creating characters for a narrative, including the process of conveying information about them. It is a literary element and may be employed in dramatic works of art or everyday conversation.

Concept/Conceptualization: an abstract or general idea on what the story is about.

Theme: the central topic a text treats. Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject".

Pitch: a writer's description of a potential story to an editor. A pitch can be delivered verbally -- if you're on staff pitching to your editor -- or sent via email.

Logline: a brief summary of a television program, film, or motion picture often providing both a synopsis of the program's plot, and an emotional "hook" to stimulate interest.

Character bio: a list of details about a character to help with the progress of the story.

Synopsis: a brief summary of the major points of a subject or written work, either as prose or as a table; an abridgment or condensation of a work.

Storyline: the plot or subplot of a story.

Treatment: a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline (or one-page synopsis), and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits.

Development hell: a period during which a film or other project is "trapped" in developmen. A film, video game, television program, screenplay, computer program, concept, or idea stranded in development hell takes an especially long time to start production, or never does.

What makes a good story?

• engaging plot line
• interesting characters
• originality
• hidden message that the viewers can relate to
• an ending that satisfies viewers