CREATING YOUR HERO Use your imagination to create an original hero. On a separate sheet of paper, sketch your image of a hero. Label unique characteristics and give him or her a meaningful name. In the right column, use the prompting questions to brainstorm ideas for a story.

The hero:
The Story Exposition
Use these questions to spark ideas. Is the hero male or female? Young or old? Well liked or misunderstood? Conspicuous (obvious) or nondescript (ordinary)?

Setting: (In what kind of place does your hero live? Does he or she live in the past, present, or future?)

Character: (What are the hero’s strengths and weaknesses? Who are the hero’s family and friends? What does the hero do every day? What does the hero want in life? What do others want from the hero?)

Conflicts: (What challenges might the hero experience? How might the hero transform into someone stronger?)

The Hook
Nobody wants to read a dull story or one that goes on for several paragraphs before it starts becoming interesting. That’s what makes the hook important. A hook is the opening sentence or sentences that capture the reader’s interest. Hooks come in many forms. In a narrative, hooks often introduce a character or setting.

Introducing a Character: “Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.” (Green, The Fault in Our Stars) or “I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid.” (Palacio, Wonder)

Introducing a Setting: “In the April night, more than once, blossoms fell from the orchard trees and lit with rustling taps on the drumskin.” (“The Drummer Boy of Shiloh”) or “It was one of those super-duper-cold Saturdays.” (Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham)

Think about possible hooks for your Hero’s Journey narrative as you proceed.

The Departure
Now, think about the hero you just created on page . What might the hero experience in the Departure Stage of his or her journey? Draft the beginning of a narrative using the three steps in this stage (The Call, The Refusal, and The Beginning) to guide your structure and development. Be sure to:
Begin with a hook that helps establish a context and point of view (first-person or third-person).
Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, and description to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Make use of complete complex and compound-complex sentences.
Use details and imagery to create mood.
Think about graphic novel elements needed to illustrate this portion of the journey

The Initiation
Think about the hero you created in the previous activity. What might the hero experience in the Initiation Stage of his or her journey? Draft an event using your understanding of the Road of Trials to guide your structure and development. Be sure to:
Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, and description and develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Use diction, detail, and imagery to create tone and mood.
Sequence the event logically and naturally and use transitions to connect ideas.
Think about graphic novel elements needed to illustrate this portion of the journey
Think about the shapes, shading, and expressions used in the visual depictions of the Odyssey and how the artist uses these devices to evoke a certain mood. What scene from your narrative would make a good visual?

The Return
Revisit your hero narrative. What might your hero learn by the end of the Return Stage in his or her journey? Draft an ending to your narrative using your understanding of the Crossing/Return Threshold to guide your development. Be sure to:
Make sure the ending to your story follows the previous events logically and naturally.
Include some reflection in the ending and answer the question: What does the hero learn?
Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, and description.
Incorporate sentences that use the different verb moods you have learned about in this lesson.
Think about graphic novel elements needed to illustrate this portion of the journey

Practice
Post a part of Embedded Assessment 1 for Unit 1 that is problematic to the PEER REVIEW. Be certain to include the specific problem with as many details as possible.
Respond to at least two of your peers with specific feedback to help their problematic areas of Embedded Assessment 1 for Unit 1.