Topic-
The key to writing any good story starts by you discussing a topic that you are passion about, for mine I chose how war hurts the ozone layer
1st- Exposition
Next you must choose the setting for your story to take place as well as the “Protagonist” (The major leading character in the story) and a “Antagonist” (A person who is actively opposing or is hostile to someone or something) and a few minor characters to get the story set in motion. In addition to this, you might want to draw a picture or write a description of what they look like as well as any hidden talents and or specific traits they have so that you can use this information to incorporate it in your story so that you can convey this to your audience. Moreover, you could add an element of curiosity in the beginning of the story that could hold the key as a possible resolution like the door in my story that had not been open.
My characters for:
Sunday – Main character
Max – Sunday’s brother
Amelia– Sage’s mom who take care of them
Sage– Sunday’s friend
—— Further info. About them is in the story—–
2nd – Raising action
The raising action of the story can be defined as a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build towards the point of greatest interest. So in general create a situation that adds tension to your story and causes a series of events to happen as a result of it. Mines was the mayor announcing the raise of food prices, which anger the majority of the people in my story.
3rd – Climax
The climax of the store is the most intense, exciting, or important point of something in the story. Furthermore, it is the result of the earlier created situation. For my story it was the chaos of the people opening the vault to find their food source depleted and be attacked by gigantic mutated rats.
4th – Falling action
The falling action of the story is the part of a literary plot that occurs after the climax has been reach and the conflict is being or has already been resolved. For my this is Sunday deciding that the only way to restore order to the city is by opening the forbidden doors.
5th- Resolution
The resolution is the result of solving the problem and is the very segment of the story. It also tells the wishes of what the main character would like for the future, which for my character would be one of peace.
My story:
Armageddon
In the world that we currently live in during the year 3015, underground that is. The air is unnaturally humid with an increasing intensification of the haunting stale snitch of death from the mile high pile of rotting trash in the square of our cave city. It awakes around the corner of every twist and turn the never ending tunnels seem to make, with promise of suffocation for anyone who dares to breathe almost like a cat does to a mouse that has wander too far from its hole. The rocks block out our only source of light from above that we all once came to know but by now forgotten making the rooms eerie and dim with a feeling of depression as if we were criminals lock away forever in a penitentiary prison but, it didn’t always use to be like this. Before the abrupt shift of living quarters the world, believe it or not was once filled with joy and laughter along with little boys and girls set on being actors and firemen. There were no sad days that impact others emotionally and or physically, and everyone had enough money left over after they paid their bills and replenish their everyday needs from the store to live their life in as much luxury as possible. Life was going well, until our government in Iran successfully created the first nuclear weapon that man had ever seen. Even though they first started off with good intentions, wanting to create an alternative source to gain electricity without burning coal as fuel. They soon went bad when they use it against the Americans just months after we warned them, when their leader got into a fight at the U.N. with our leaders about the scientist from our country’s efforts of using uranium to improve reactors. At first I did believe they deserve it and were glad they were all blown off into Bolivian for their unwise decision especially since my father had once serve for them because, instead of taking heed to our warning and removing the reins away from our government like they do to other countries in need of guidance, they retaliated and fought fire with fire.
But deep down in my heart I knew I could never truly wish harm or death upon my worst enemy or another country’s civilization, especially one that I have come to love. Consequently thereafter the two country’s exchange blows, the world itself just seemed to have crumbled to pieces after that and as a result, everyone else took sides and joined in on the fight. In the efforts of my stepfather trying to protect my mother and I he spent his entire life savings that he began when he was no more than five years old to buy us the last two train tickets that promise us spaces in the emergency underground shelter built below the community in case of a large scale nuclear attack. I had always rejected him for marrying my mother as well as my mother for remarrying so quickly after my father’s death in the U.S navy as a seal and then getting pregnant again. But, I soon regretted it as I saw in his ocean blue eyes how much he cared for us and our safety as well as his bold decision to stay behind and die alone. I even hated myself even more when my mother died in the process of having my brother Max and I didn’t even get to tell her good-bye. Just days after our section was released from our individual capsule that was created to put all 570 of us in partially frozen deep slumber for almost a thousand years to maintain order and save supplies by releasing only a few designated sections at a time. Now the only two things I have left to remember them by are the last words my step father said which were, “I will always love you Sunday no matter how much you hate me”, as he push my purple hijab scarf away from covering my entire face so that he could see the Iraqi Abric accents of my mother in me as he stared into my green eyes for one last time. Along with the bundle of joy my mother left me that she mange to call, Max who is now six years old and has the exact Brazilian and Arabic features of his mother as well as his eyes like his father. In addition, he has also shows a high interest in ribbon twirling and learning other country’s languages. Thankfully one of my best friends, Sage and her mother Amelia are here and happily took us in with open arms saying that we are the best children that anyone could ever have. But, even though everything is going great so far if not better than it was when we were above ground I know that even the sun sets in paradise.
I said into the camera of my Apple laptop before pressing the end transmission button on my iMovie program and closing its top before neatly pushing it in-between the two blankets under my bunk bed. “SUNDAY! It’s time to eat,” Amelia scream in a high pitch annoyed voice for the seventh time which made me speed my pace up at the amount of irritation I brought her, to the kitchen and dining room that look more like a nook I had once seen in one of the American home designing magazines when I visit the U.S a long time ago. As I rounded the corner Amelia had just finish placing the mats around the table with Sage encircling the numerous sticks of chicken kebabs sticking out of a yellow upright cylinder bowl in a way that reminded me of a hedge hog with its head stuck in the tub drain, along with two square shaped red bowls overflowing with Persian sour cherry saffron rice and another with Kuften meat balls. “Are we having dinner or a party?” I asked Amelia in a state of confusion as I gazed upon the abundant of expertly executed food.
“Both! On this day in history, October 15th to be exact marks the day that Nuclear War World III finally ended”, happily replied Amelia as she finally pushed her seat under the table after fixing Max’s plate, and pushed up her sleeves on her shirt. “An why is that so exciting?” said Sage blandly aside to herself as she pushed her meatball back and forth repeatedly on her plate. “Well it’s the day that the world finally rested from its seven year long battle and cleansed itself with a silent cold winter.” “But, were still unable to go back up to our homes and been living in shelter for about as long as anyone around here can remember!” I shouted more than causally said back to Amelia. Surprise at myself about how much I actually cared about our current situation when I used to always be too shy to even speak up for myself and let my opinion be heard, and apparently so was everyone else around the table as they look up at me. “That’s true but, why in heavens would you want to return back to the surface when the ozone layer, which is the protector of life, has been complete demolish by the terrible gasses of the war.” Amelia then said before stabbing a meatball with her fork and eating it while trying to keep her red hair from falling out of her black head scarf into the plate. “But can’t we just take a little peek together to see if it’s safe to go back outside”, squeak Max as he gazed up at Amelia with his wavy blonde hair swaying side to side from his seat next to me across the table. “Not even a peek Max,” replied Amelia lowering her head to meet his eye level. “Why not and what role does the ozone layer play that has to do with us living outside again?” I asked with a stern tone confused of the reason why we weren’t allow go outside, let alone open the doors that sat at the peak of the stairway to the north of town square that everyone called “المدخل الى الجحيم على الأرض” meaning, entrance to hell on Earth, as Max had once translated for me. That I always saw and was dared along with my other classmates as we walked to the schoolhouse to go and see how close I could get to opening its doors since they always sat unlock, before chickening out or getting caught by one of the guards. However, it wasn’t the colossal size of the silver doors that scared the living day lights out of us along with the rest of the surviving population of people.
But, the engraved images of children and adults be burnt alive that supposedly told the story of the war. “The ozone layer is a strainer that allows only a certain volume of the sun’s rays through, and keeps out the ultra-violet rays that could harm every living thing that is present on Earth. But since its demise, from what I’ve heard, the very last time that we opened the door and sent out a group in the same high hopes you had to check everything out. The sun’s rays had incinerated nearly half of them as they came in contact with it as well as everything around it turning the land into a desert when the clouds from the four year long nuclear winter season cleared.” Amelia finally said after she chow down her stick of chicken kabob. “But, don’t you think that ozone layer perhaps repaired itself by now since its been roughly fifty-six year since it been open again”, Sage said filled with as much curiosity as me now since it was related to science. “Every day but it’s going to have take something really divesting to happen before anyone around here begins to start thinking that same idea again.” Amelia replied this time getting up from the table, taking her plate to the dishwasher. “Now since everyone else doesn’t seem to be hungry as much can you girls help me clean up and store the leftovers so I can get to work on time for once please?” said Amelia when she came back from the kitchen clasping her hands together in front of us. Together we effectively cleaned up and put away all of the leftovers at great speed while Max pretended he was a professional male ribbon twirler from the past previously recorded clips of the Olympic Games in the living room. There before Amelia finally put him to sleep, kissing each of us on the check and headed off to go work to begin her twelve hour shift at the medical facility as an orthopedic surgeon and nurse for the evening crew workers. That traded shifts with the day crew workers to continue their previous work of mining space to build buildings, rooms and tunnels to be used as stores, entertainment, homes and more for the fast increasing population.
“What do you mean food prices are going to go up? We already pay five seventy-five for milk?” holler a man from the back of the auditorium. “Forget about the prices going up, what do you mean were almost out of supplies”, yelled a women near the front this time closer to the stage where our Mayor was standing behind the podium on top of three phonebooks. During the public announcement meeting that we had every day before everyone fully started their day to keep people in the know of what’s going on or changing. “Calm down everyone, please!” said mayor Huffington in a shaking voice that hardly no one could hear. The room fell silence as he took a fairly loud gulp in the microphone before he continued. I’m sure he probably felt like a fawn that had had wander accidentally into a wolves den. “Currently as I’m speaking we have a few greenhorn electricians trying to rig up a lighting system in the library so that we can begin growing our food like we had in the past. But, until we harvest this month’s food the price for the natural grown remaining food will be slightly higher than usual. However, our wonderful scientist have invented this an alternative food source, you see!” He said with force enthusiasm, and a mile wide smile that reminded me of the clowns that I always hated see at the circus because, they scared me. As he stood up now straight and tall holding what seem to be a small white cementer long pill up close but, probably a speck from a far away stand point. By the long moment of pause you could tell that a majority of people were torn between whether or not they should feel angry if not worried that our supplies were near depletion, and trying to feel excited for something no bigger than ant was going to save them supposedly from starvation. To end the unexpected awkward moment of silence he then said, “The remaining survivors of our strong willed country, Iran I present to you the pill of life! There’s one for breakfast, lunch, and even dinner giving you a different full course meal with drink included that’ll leave you belly up. Plus they come in red, blue, pink, rainbow, and purple all for the price of just $4.99 each.” I couldn’t decide which was more shocking, the fact that Mr. Vixen still thought this would settle over well with the people by turning into a sell man or that the government was still trying to make money despite the sudden progressing crisis. “Or… we can eat the emergency pouches, which are just crushed up nutrients that can be eaten through straw out of a bag”, he finally then said desperate for some type of reaction from the audience. “You’ve got to be kidding”, said someone sarcastically near the middle of the auditorium which sparked the fused for everyone else to join in with their comments while calling the mayor vicious names. “Can’t we just all go back up to the surface”, came a small but highly noticeable voice that I identified as Max behind me when suddenly a gun shot went off in the air blasting a stalagmite hanging from the ceiling into a thousand pieces as it fell on top of the people below running around in fear. “QUITE!” boom a voice that belong to no one else except for Mr. T, who is the commander of the guards, as he put down his shot gun to the side of him but not fully releasing his hold just in case someone tried to do something uncalled for without thinking properly. “Little boy, not only should you already know why we cannot go back outside but, also why children need to stay out of grown folks business.
As for the rest of you who are running around like a bunch of panicky cockroaches that just lost their head, yall need to recompose yourself because; this isn’t the first time a situation similar to this has happen,” He then said with a country accent. I wanted to speak up and tell him that he had no right speaking to brother like that when he was giving a good suggestion and also that this conversation is as much as our business as it is to the next guy over because, it decided how our future was going to be. But I decided that it wasn’t the time or place to do it and instead just held my brother close. “Anyway, all of you scat this meeting is officially over”, he said before leaving back through the side door he came through leaving his guards to take control of the flow of people going to start the rest of their day. After school though me and Sage went up into the forbidden observation deck that we made our secret hide out when Max decided to stay behind to play soccer with his friends. It was so high in the air that the only two things you could really see through its panels and panels of windows were the clouds and sun if not rain during the day and the millions of stars at night. It’s incredible to see how many stars there really is when there are no sideline lights overpowering it. “Sage”, I said while mesmerize by the view. “Yes. Have you been having those dreams again about what behind those doors at the peak of the stairway?” she replied without looking up from her notebook of weather observations. “Yes! It’s almost like their calling my name wanting me to open them, like in my dream that I had last night. I had started off at the bottom of the stairway before I had finally jogged to the top. But, when I reached my hand to open it I just woke up.” I said rolled over on my stomach towards her now. “Well then maybe it’s a?” Was all Sage managed to say before numerous voices of earring pricing screaming and squeaking stop her mid sentence.
We bolted back down the ladder zig zagging through the maze of connected tunnels back to the spot where we left Max at. Only to find the group of boys he was playing with gone as well as Max with the city in shambles and an inferno brewing on the trash heap sending sparks of orangey red darts across the sky beginning need fires in buildings. To add on to the chaos, people were clumsy running around bumping into others and breaking into homes and stores looking apparently for shelter but, from what exactly. Then suddenly I spotted one of the little boys that Max was playing with, named Zach hiding under a bench, and drug Sage with me in that direction. “Zach!” I said holding my hands up showing that I was nothing to fear as I came closer to him when he looked at me with wild eyes. “What happen?” I asked confused and sincere. “The… the … the mutant rats! They came out of the food storage vault.” He replied back hysterical. “How and when?” Sage said getting down on her knees closer to him. “The adults riot against the officer outnumbering them saying something about that they were going to disrupt the foods among themselves and leave them nothing to eat as they tied them up individually after they made them take their clothes off. Then they open the vault and these huge rats came sprinting out and attack the first people they saw. Then everything just got crazy.” He said flailing his arms. “O.k. but, what happen to Max and the others”, I asked almost pleading. “I sorry but I don’t know, after that we all just seem to split up, I’m sorry.” He said over and over again. “It’s ok just calm down alright.” I said back to him in a calm voice before saying, “Sage, take Zach with you and go find the others and Amelia.” I said in a demanding voice this time. “Why, where are you going?” she replied back shaking her head and blinking her eyes at me. “To open the doors, if there are mutated rats in here there not going to leave unless they see an exit to escape confrontation.” I told her back as she nodded her head and left with Zach.
Then I moved swiftly across the once chaotic baseball field town square that had turned dead silent with my head duck hoping that what Zach had said about the rats weren’t true. However, as I inch closer and closer to the stairs that would lead me to the Silver doors I got my first glimpse of the mutated rat. It looked to be the size of a small microwave with red beady eyes, pitch black fur that had missing patches of hair, two intertwining pinkish tails, crop ears, and a beaver tooth in a shape of a rhino’s horn. Thankfully it was too busy digging in the nearby trash can to notice me as I inch closer to the staircase railing, until I accidentally step on a piece of glass and it turned its head my way. For a moment that felt like eternity we just stood there staring at each other intently before it bent its head back and let out a screamed that signaled the other rats to come after me. I then raced up the stairs tripping over my feet a few times as the pitter pattering of the rat’s feet with three inch long claws gain on me. At one point when I fell down on the solid rock stairs I wanted to just give up and lay there while the rats came and killed me slowly. But, not because my entire body hurt from falling down on the stairs repeatedly but because, mankind had really brought this upon themselves and if they saw that they could get out of it with a few scrapes and bruises who’s to say that they won’t do it again. Then I got up and thought as I saw how close I was to the door that maybe we could start a new life out of peace, and that we could learn from our mistake. When I finally got to the door I shoved it open as the thousands of rats that must have been harboring in our vault for quite some time ran straight passed me into the shelter of the beautiful forest that stood right in front of me, it was breathtaking. Soon the people who had been in hiding also came out slowly along with Sage, Amelia, and Max as we all stood for about an hour taking it all in. Sage and I were right, the ozone layer had repaired itself although it took a long time and with it, the forest came back opening up a whole new world with different species to us. By the wide open mouthed smiles on all of our faces for both the young and old you could tell that everyone had learned their lesson and was ready to restart with peace instead of violence this time.