Humor: Small Character, Big Ambition

Have you ever watched an ant drag a bread crumb across the sidewalk? The bread crumb is three times the ant's body size, but somehow the little ant persists!

That's called Small Character, Big Ambition. The idea of a small creature trying to do something big is funny. And it's fun to write. 

Think of five "pipsqueak" characters:

• An ant
• A worm
• A baby chick
• A pebble
• A newborn baby human 

Now let's exaggerate. Think of five HUGE, pie-in-the-sky ambitions:

• To save Planet Earth from Intergalactic Giants
• To win every gold medal at the Summer Olympics
• To sail to Antarctica 
• To rescue the president's cat from the Feline Space Invaders 
• To build a castle on top of a volcano 

Choose one of your "pipsqueak" characters. Next choose one of your ambitions.

An ant who wants to sail to Antarctica? 
A worm who wants to win every gold medal? 
A pebble who wants to save Planet Earth? 
A baby chick who wants to lead an army? 

Give your small character a name. What will your ant or worm or pebble or baby chick (or the character you make up) do to achieve his or her ambition? 

Small Characters. Big Ambitions. Exaggerate and have fun! 

Write a Goofy Newspaper Article

Identical Twins Find Rare Coin in Sandbox!

Extinct Turtle Appears at Shopping Mall!

Neighborhood Tree Tells Fortunes!

Clown Finds New Career As Bus Driver!

Senator Invites Martians to Alien Lunch! 

These are some goofy headlines you can have fun with. Try writing a story like a short newspaper article. The more outlandish and exaggerated, the better!

Newspaper writers report the facts: Who, What, When, Where, Why. In our case, we get to make up the "facts."

Here's my "article." How about yours? 

Identical Twins Find Rare Coin in Sandbox!

Ben and Billy Smith, of 1674 Sycamore Drive, discovered a rare coin in their backyard sandbox. According to experts, the coin dates from the Roman Empire, approximately 250 A.D.

The seven-year-old identical twins, who are in second grade at Park Hill Elementary School, were playing in their sandbox Saturday morning when they made the discovery.

"We thought it was something the cat buried," Billy said. "He's always bringing junk home."

"But now we think the coin was buried by a Roman explorer," Ben added.

The rare coin is believed to be worth $1,483, 295. The twins will sell the coin to the National Museum of Rare Stuff in Orlando, Florida.

"I can't wait to get the money," Ben said. "Of course I have to split it with my brother."

"I'm two minutes older," Billy pointed out.

In the past, the twins have found a discarded dog collar, a banana peel, and a broken truck in their sandbox.

"This is our most exciting discovery," Ben said. "With my money I'm going to Disneyland."

"Me, too," Billy added. "But Mom and Dad said something about a college fund."

The Smith family has lived on Sycamore Drive for five years. The sandbox was discovered under an old, moldy tarp when they moved in. 

A Character Box

A couple of years ago I wrote about the Idea Box. 

I think the Idea Box is a great way to get ideas for stories. Place objects into any kind of box you want. When you need an idea to write about, randomly pull out two or three objects to place in your story.

For example: a marble, a seashell, and an old bookmark. What kind of story can you create with those three objects? 

The Idea Box works for characters, too. Instead of placing objects into your box, you can put characters into it. No, not real human people. Cut photos of people from old magazines (make sure you ask if everyone is finished with them).

Find all kinds of people--of different ages, from different countries, and boys and girls. Try to find photos of people doing interesting things--washing a dog, singing on a street corner, or playing with balloons.  

When you need a character for your story, randomly pull one from your Character Box. For example, what is the boy on this page doing with the balloons? Is he giving them to someone? Or is he trying to sell them? Will someone steal his balloons? How will he get them back? 

Create a Character Box and dip into it for great character ideas. 

Writing about Friends

Jennifer K. Mann's debut picture book, Two Speckled Eggs, is one she both wrote and illustrated. This lovely, quirky book shows that friendship can come from unexpected places. And speaking of friendship, I'm lucky that Jennifer is my friend and critique partner. 

Ginger wants to invite all the girls in her class to her birthday party—except Lyla Browning. "Lyla Browning was weird: she smelled like old leaves, she didn't talk much, and she even brought a tarantula in a pickle jar for Show-and-Tell." 

But Mom says Ginger has to invite all the girls, or none of them. Lyla arrives at the party early and brings a plain, brown box. The other girls show up, and the party begins! But it’s not the fun party Ginger expected. 

The other girls create chaos, wreck the party games, and don’t like Ginger's silver-and-gold birthday cake. 

Meanwhile, Lyla is exploring the house with her magnifying glass. When a ladybug lands on Ginger’s nose, she laughs. Lyla does, too. And when Ginger opens Lyla’s gift in the plain, brown box, it’s something special that none of the other girls would have thought of. 

Have you found a friend in an unexpected way? Or do you have a special friend? Write about him or her. How and where did you meet? What does your friend like to do? What do you share? 

Remember to include details. Did your friend bring a tarantula to Show-and-Tell? Or was there something else that made you think, I like this person! 

Two Speckled Eggs shows how being a little bit different can lead to wonderful things. It also celebrates friendship. 

Which special friend will you write about?