Mrs. B - # 4 - Characteristics of a Well Told Story

Part 1: Stories are important to childhood because that is how children learn life lessons. Not only life lessons, but other important aspects of life as well. People read stories to kids to entertain them and calm them. They also read stories to them to enable them to become an active thinker. Kids enjoy reading stories. They get the joy of having someone pay attention to them. Usually when parents read children stories, the child is sitting in their lap or is close to them. This comforts the child. The children learn new words from story reading. They hear their parents say the same words over and over, so eventually, it builds their vocabulary.

Part 2: Older people read stories for pleasure and fun. Sometimes people are forced to read stories for a specific class, but usually it's just for fun. Reading as you get older helps you learn even more than you already know. These readers get to learn more and build their knowledge and vocabulary. Older readers learn life lessons from the stories. Older people reading is different from younger people reading because when you read when you're younger, you usually read to learn new words or new concepts. When you read when you're older, you read for enjoyment and interest.

Part 3: Stories are important to our nation because they bring everyone together. There are many legends that are read and passed on from generation to generation. People like sharing their books to make other people happy. Stories fit into the fabric of our national identity because they are woven inbetween generations and shared among many people. Stories people write create a forum for the discussion of concerns and issues in our nation because some stories that are written are very controvercial. People don't agree on everything, so after reading some stories, people like to discuss their thoughts and ideas about it. Stories allow people to be entertained and enjoy life. They are fun to read and they bring people from all over the world together.

Part 4: I remember the story "I'll love you forever" (I think that is the title--I'm not one hundred percent sure...). I remember this story because every night before I went to bed, my mom read me that story. Her words were so calming and soft. It was a good story, too. There is one line that sticks out in my mind--still today. "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as your living, my baby you'll be." Whenever I think of those words, I will always think of my mom.

Part 5: Stories should have excitement. An exciting book engages the reader and leads them to read more of the book. The characters must be deep and well rounded. Flat characters don't create diversity; all stories should have diversity and well rounded characters to make it more interesting. A story should show knowledge on certain aspects of life. Stories that have life lessons but no thoughts or knowledge behind it are not very fun to read. Stories need to make you feel like the author knows what s/he is talking about. Stories should be comforting. A writer should make the reader feel like they want to read the story. In order to do this, the author must reflect a little bit of comfort in their writing. Stories should have some sort of message at the end of them. When the message is sort of hidden, it makes the story more interesting and makes the reader want to read it again. Stories should stand out from other ones of it's kind. I know it isn't easy to do, but when authors are writing, they should ask themselves, "How can I make this story better than the rest of them? What aspects must I include to break my story apart from the rest?" Stories should be able to reflect upon the readers life in some way. Whether it is the readers' mom's best friends dog's cousins breeder, or the actual person who is reading, all stories should be able to connect to the reader's life. Stories are more fun to read if you can relate it to your life.