Genre

Our assignment from my writing class last week was to begin creating the story that will become our writing project for the term. It was a fairly basic assignment, but I was having a really hard time with it. I actually put it off for several days after my first attempt because I was feeling so frustrated with it. We were given the character's name and told that they were going to find a message of some kind at Heceta Head lighthouse. All I had to do was determine Jess's sex, age, basic physical features, reason for being at the lighthouse, and what the message was.

Ok...so Jess is a female...probably in her twenties...blond and pretty...lives at the lighthouse...finds an old message somewhere in the lighthouse...and the message says...

I hated where this was going.

So I started over. A lot of the details stayed the same, but Jess was now younger (about 10). And suddenly...

I'm writing a children's fantasy.

That's not really what I expected, and I can already see the challenges I've inherently put in front of myself, but it feels so much more natural than the dramatic adult story I was trying to do something with before.

Our assignment for next week is to work on our character. Characterization is something that I have a hard time with, but I'm ready for the challenge. My class is really supportive, and it's been fun to hear what other people have come up with using the same basic details. I love the imagination!