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Steeping Myself in the Culture of the Story's World: The Role of the World in Shaping Characters and Plot . Critically acclaimed author, Donna Jo Napoli, is often credited with putting fresh perspectives on classic tales; however, she refutes this idea. Instead, the author describes her process as “steeping herself in the culture of the story’s world.” In Napoli’s own words: I try to go back to the roots of the tale, looking for the oldest version I can find. If that version stirs my soul, I work from it. If not, I go to more recent tales, moving up through the years till I find something I'm passionate about. I do not try to put a fresh perspective on classic tales, even though that's what people often say I do. Instead, I work hard to understand the tale within the world that it takes place in. So I steep myself in the culture of the story's world. And I take every event of the original tale as gospel, working to make a coherent path from one twist of the plot to the next -- where coherency means not just (psycho)logical, but appropriate to the time and place of the story. In this videoconference event, students will hear Napoli read from her newest book, Hush, and participate in an interactive dialogue with the author about how elements of the world shape character and plot. The session will be a discussion of the role of the world in shaping character and plot. Together, students and the author will ask which elements of a story force it to be in the world Napoli placed it in, and which elements of a story allow it to be in other worlds, such as modern times. In order to participate in this event, students should be familiar with one or more of Napoli’s young adult classic tale novels (there are many and we've listed them below!). This event is available on a first-come first serve basis and is limited to six sites.

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