Episode Details

3PP 20: The Stories That We Tell

Stories are as old as civilization itself, and as humans we can't help but tell stories. In this episode we share common plots, themes, and ways to understand and better come up with good stories. We also share some of the stories that have been influences on us and who we are as artists and storytellers.

Current Projects:
Lee, Is continuing on his book cover series; he also worked on creating 50 patterns to give to his agent to take to a convention in New York for licensing.

Will, Still working on the sequel to Bonaparte, and is working on a new Kickstarter, to be released in February or March. Stay tuned for details! Sidenote: in case you didn’t know, Kickstarters are exhausting!

Jake: Is all finished with his Skyheart Kickstarter and is still just rounding up any stragglers, so if you are a backer and haven’t filled out your survey yet, log onto Kickstarter and fill it out so we can get your reward to you!

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What stories do you want to tell? That is the question that we want to dive into with today’s topic.

The Stories That We Tell

In illustration there are some recurring stories and themes that come up with similar plots and basic story details. Lee did a deep dive on the internet to learn more about what stories keep coming up in the world of children’s books and here are the results from the first website he found:)

Basic Themes, Plots, and Actions

10 Basic Themes in Children’s Books:
Courage
Friendship
Belonging /Identity
Family
Loss/ Grief
Growing Up
Anger
Suffering
Jealousy
Love

Lee did a little more research by clicking on the next Google result, and found this:
(The 7 Basic Plots, Christoffer Booker)[https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Basic-Plots-Tell-Stories/dp/0826480373/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1546027154&sr=1-1&keywords=the+seven+basic+plots]
Overcoming the Monster, or overcoming some big thing
Rags to Riches: follows a rise to happiness.
Voyage and Return
The Quest
Comedy
Tragedy: riches to rags, follows a fall.
Rebirth

Jake’s 4 Different Plot Categories:
Winning
Escaping
Stopping
Retreating
These are the modes of action of the main characters.

I.e. Where the Wild Things Are, Max is escaping.

Little Bot and Sparrow It’s all about a robot that becomes friends with a sparrow and they grow in their friendship together, until one day the sparrow has to leave for the winter. The story is all about: Friendship, Belonging, and Dealing with Loss and Grief.
A subtle version of rags to riches.

Plot applies more to bigger, longer stories, stories with a 3 act structure. Children’s books can have a 3 act structure but often times they don’t.

Most stories: a problem that needs to be solved and then they find a creative solution.

The late Rick Walton: Come up with an interesting problem with a creative solution.

Are there things that you like to create?

Are there things that you like to create? What are you naturally drawn to creating?

If you are a student in school you should be creative enough when you get an assignment, you should be able to fit what the assignment is with what you want to paint or create.

Some themes that come up in