Writing my narrative

1/2. One day Millie’s dad got a new job. This meant that Millie, her mum and her dad all had to move house.

“You’re going to love it!” her mum told her “It’s a big house with lots of room to play.”

2/3. When they arrived Millie looked up excitedly at the house. She couldn’t wait to explore.

(Millie will be standing looking up at the house)

4/5. Millie and her mum spent the day unpacking her room and by bedtime Millie was very sleepy.

(Millie’s mum will be hanging a coat on her wardrobe. There will be a cat in the background.. maybe on the bed)

6/7. Her mum tucked her into bed and turned off the light.

8/9. But once it was dark the house changed. Millie heard scratching and turned to see claws at the window trying to get in.

10/11. As soon as it was morning Millie ran to tell her mum and dad.

“It’s just your imagination sweetie” her dad told her “There are no such thing as monsters.”

12/13. That night Millie lay in bed scared. In the dark she could just see the shape of a monster standing by her wardrobe. She pulled the covers high up over her head and tried to remember what her dad had said.

14/15. Then Millie heard a noise. She peaked out from under the covers to see two glowing eyes looking back at her from the corner of the room.

16/17. Millie ran to her parent’s room.

“It’s just the floorboards making noises. There are no such thing as monsters” her mum told her “go back to bed.”

18/19. Millie decided she needed to do something about the nighttime monsters if no one would listen to her. So the next day she made herself a monster catching kit.

20/21. As soon as it was dark Millie got ready to catch some monsters.

(Have claws in window in background on this page)

22/23. The claws started scratching at the window again but this time Millie was ready! She shone her torchlight onto the claws… only to discover that they were only tree branches moving in the wind.

24/25.  She heard a noise and spun around to see the glowing eyes staring at her again. Quickly she caught it in her net, only to find that it was just her cat.

26/27. Out of the corner of her eye Millie saw the monster by the wardrobe again. She charged at it with her bike helmet on her head. With a loud crash she hit it.

28/29. The lights came on

“What are you doing in here?” her dad asked.

Millie looked around only to find that the monster by the wardrobe was actually just her coat.

“It’s okay dad” she said, “all the monsters have gone now and I’m going to bed.”

The End.

How does this follow Todorov's narrative theory -

Referring back to an earlier post I said, that like I had for writing my narrative for a previous unit in level 5, I wanted to use Todorov's narrative theory to create my new children's book. Although it is a simple structure it is one I have discovered to work effectively. I also think it works particularly well for children's books as having equilibrium  either restored or a new equilibrium created at the end leads a child to feel safe. This is what you want for children, especially in bed time sorties. As children get older, more towards their teenage years, it could be more appropriate then to not always end on an equilibrium but leave an open ending that they can interpret how they choose.

So back to making sure my narrative fits this theory....

Equilibrium : Millie is happy in the beginning of the story and even excited about moving to her new house. She is still happy once she gets to the new house and is unpacking in her new room.

Disruption : My disruption occurs during the night time when the new house becomes scary to Millie. I have decided to carry this underlying theme of night and day representing different emotions the majority of the way through the book until a new equilibrium is found at the end. 

Recognition : This comes when Millie runs to tell her parents that she thinks at night the house has monsters, of course her parents tell her it's just her imagination and the disruption remains.

Repair : Millie takes matters into her own hands. I like having a main charter that children can relate to, although Millie is just a little girl she is resourceful and brave when deciding to tackle to monsters herself. 

Restoration : Equilibrium is restored at the end of the book when the 'Monsters' are revealed to be nothing more than harmless things and the new house is no longer scary.