The Mountains Are Calling Preptober

THE ELEVATOR PITCH

The year after their mother's death, seven brothers come of age in the Tennessee mountains, learning lessons about family, poverty, faith and hard work from the people around them.

THREE THINGS I KNOW

1. This story takes place in Greenbrier in Tennessee, in the 1950s on a mountain farm run by a widowed father and his (seven) sons.

2. The mother dies in the prologue, but the story is really about the family living life without her. lowk just wanted a justification to why there wasn't a woman in their home life

3. A major theme of this story will be the pain and the beauty of life in poverty (not homeless, they just have financial hardships) and family and community and the mountains.

THREE THINGS I HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT YET

(this lowk was being worked on, and I wrote the answers to this prompt before I wrote anything else below.)

1. Which brother is the narrator?

2. If there's going to be tragedy in the story that changes the family during the course of the year.

3. Who all are in the community and what stores/businesses/places. (I'm not doing a historically accurate story)

Reducio

Appalachia in the 1950s looks like..

Animals to feed, fences to mend, wood to cut, tobacco to tend, school to attend, church on Sunday and of course, brothers fighting over who did and didn't pull their weight.

Greenbrier through the pov of males, not women- your days would be filled with work and family, you would be farming and community would mean everything. Schools, churches, storytelling, music and farm labor were all major parts of life as well. Farming families commonly raised livestock, grew gardens (or full on farms), relied heavily on neighbors and kin. In addition, storytelling and bluegrass/music were important forms of entertainment, but also cultural expression.

Things you might do or see
- Feed livestock before school
- Walk long distances (or if you had roads and busses, which existed but were not quite common for those like the ones in this story)
- Fish in creeks... and bathe.
- Hunt squirrels and rabbits
- Work hay fields and crops in the summer
- Help cut firewood for winter
- Attend church socials and revivals
- Listen to older folks tell stories
- Go square dancing with your family in the barn
- Go swimming in mountain streams
- Dry apple slices on a string from the front porch

My sources for some of this

- Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Heartsong (1993, Jack Rouse Productions)
- 1950s Roadtrip (kinolibrary)
- Disappearing Appalachia (Fred Brown)

Locations/Places (fictional)
- Town Name - Greenbrier. A small mountain community made up of scattered farms connected by dirt roads, footpaths, churches, and creeks. Named for the green beans that grow well in the valley soil.
- Family Property - The Ownby homestead sits on a hillside overlooking a creek. A weathered one-room cabin, root cellar, tool shed, small garden, chicken coop, hog pen, and blackberry thickets surround the property. The path leading home is little more than wagon ruts through the dirt.
- Brother's Property - William Ownby's farm sits down the holler and is one of the largest properties in Greenbrier. It boasts a tobacco barn, hay field, pasture, mules, cattle, and enough land to make the Ownby boys jealous.
- General Store - Hensley's Mercantile. The only store in Greenbrier. Sells everything from flour and coffee to nails and shotgun shells.
- Church - Greenbrier Missionary Baptist Church. A white clapboard church sitting on a small hill overlooking the cemetery.
- School - Greenbrier School. A one-room schoolhouse with a wood stove at its center. Children from six to sixteen attend together.

Characters
- Wiley Ownby (10) - [The Narrator] Small for his age, skinny as a fence rail and has dark brown hair with brown eyes. Caucasian.
- Henry Ownby (42) - The father of the boys. Broad-shouldered Caucasian man with a thick graying beard and brown eyes. Weathered face and rough hands.
- Carlo Ownby (18) - Oldest brother. Tall, lean and broad-shouldered with dark brown hair and brown eyes.
- Rex Ownby (17) - Brother. Lanky build with light brown hair, brown eyes. Freckles across his nose.
- Wyatt Ownby (15) - Brother. Quiet boy with light brown hair, blue eyes and a sturdy frame.
- Clay Ownby (14) - Brother. Stocky and muscular for his age with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a square jaw. Often has a bit of dirt on his face.
- Ripp Ownby (12) - Brother. Thin, quick moving and long legged with messy light brown hair and hazel eyes. Usually barefoot.
- Samson Ownby (8) - Youngest brother. Round-faced with light brown hair, freckles and blue eyes. Smaller than the others.
- William Ownby (39) - The brother to Henry Ownby. Larger man with an auburn beard, broad chest, brown eyes and a weathered smile.
- Roy Ownby (67) - The father of Henry and William Ownby, pastor of Greenbrier Missionary Baptist Church. Tall and thin with silver hair, blue eyes and a neat mustache.
- Evelyn Carter (26) - A strict but fair schoolteacher from Pittman Center. Dark hair usually pinned in a bun, hazel eyes and wire-framed glasses.
- Elias "Eli" Hensley (58) - A broad-shouldered man with gray hair, spectacles and a talent for knowing everyone's business. Owns Hensley's Mercantile.

Boys Appalachia Names: Arion, Bazzel, Boyd, Harris, Harrison, Luther, Thos, Larkin, Boling, Morkum, Mortimer, Theodopolis, Claiborn, Tyre, Theopholis/Theophilus, Simpson, Euclid, Mehetible, Leonidas, Elgin, Wetzil, Zebedee/Zebe, Micajah, Hankin, Alonzo, Crick, Rassie, Donal, Arvey, Prissiller, Garland, Denvil, Whitt, Huston “Hugh”, Loyd, Cloyd, Solen, Elhannon, Abijah, Cread, Hardin, Noal, Izarah, Elisha “Eli”, Basil, Tank, Rosco, Hankins, Dallie, Ellender, Marion, Leslie, Reed, Hardin "Hardy", Thaddeus, Moses, Ambrose, Wiley, Asa, Benoni, Caldwell, Brazil

Girls Appalachia Names: Philadelphia “Delphy”, Isabanner “Banner”, Darkus, Pleasant, Mahaley, Demaris, Phoelia, Meribah, Velmar, Permilla "Milly", Lucinda, Rutha, America, Silbe, Paraba, Lulie, Lahoma, Geneverie, Edith, Myrtle, Malvina, America, Lesta, Arizona,Annia, Azalene, Armina, Drucilla, Alianora, Thomassin, Elzira, Keturah, Orga "Orgie" (!!), Tillet, Waneada, Parthinia, Delphia, Vina, Ellender, Theodica, Palmyra "Pallie", Naoma, Zerelda, Malvinia, Mallie, Twrsie, Maurine, Jerusha, Dealia, Massie, Vianna “Vina”, Elcie, Gennia, Sanca, Rosannah, Jannie, Winedrey "Winnie", Keziah, Dixie, Elisabeth

Appalachia Surnames: i'm not typing all of this

THE PROMISE

Complete the following phrase: "I want this story to make the reader feel ______." Then explain why.

I want this story to make the reader feel nostalgic for a place they've never lived. Greenbrier is hard work, muddy shoes and clothes, empty pockets and long days. However, it is also family, community, laughter, music and stories. I want the readers to feel as though they're growing up alongside the Ownby boys and leaving a piece of themselves behind in the mountains when the story ends. After all, the mountains are calling.

CHALLENGE

Steal This Prompt: Pick one of these 10 elements and incorporate it somehow into your concept. (Selected: A story within a story)

Well dearies, welcome to the Great Smoky Mountains. Your songs tell stories, your stories tell stories, your eyes tell stories. Whether you intend to or not, there's a story waiting to be told. A story that will be told within a story. Come a session before church when Samson Ownby whines about having to put on his Sunday Best and having to sit on the tough pews for hours, when he wants to go play and have fun. His father gets him to go with a story from when he was a child way back yonder in the olden days, the early years of the 20th century, a story that'll make him want to go.

Main Character Interrogation

Carlo Ownby
- Who does your character envy?

- What would you never forgive?

- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?

- What secret would destroy your most important relationship?


Rex Ownby
- Who does your character envy?

- What would you never forgive?

- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?

- What secret would destroy your most important relationship?


Wyatt Ownby
- Who does your character envy?

- What would you never forgive?

- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?

- What secret would destroy your most important relationship?


Clay Ownby
- Who does your character envy?

- What would you never forgive?

- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?

- What secret would destroy your most important relationship?


Ripp Ownby
- Who does your character envy?

- What would you never forgive?

- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?

- What secret would destroy your most important relationship?


Wiley Ownby
- Who does your character envy?

- What would you never forgive?

- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?

- What secret would destroy your most important relationship?


Samson Ownby
- Who does your character envy?

- What would you never forgive?

- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?

- What secret would destroy your most important relationship?


Henry Ownby
- Who does your character envy?

- What would you never forgive?

- What do you desperately want people to believe about you?

- What secret would destroy your most important relationship?

Want / Need / Fear

Carlo Ownby
- What does the character consciously pursue? (WANT)

- What does the character actually needs, whether they realize it or not? (NEED)

- What is the character trying to prevent? (FEAR)


Rex Ownby
- What does the character consciously pursue? (WANT)

- What does the character actually needs, whether they realize it or not? (NEED)

- What is the character trying to prevent? (FEAR)


Wyatt Ownby
- What does the character consciously pursue? (WANT)

- What does the character actually needs, whether they realize it or not? (NEED)

- What is the character trying to prevent? (FEAR)


Clay Ownby
- What does the character consciously pursue? (WANT)

- What does the character actually needs, whether they realize it or not? (NEED)

- What is the character trying to prevent? (FEAR)


Ripp Ownby
- What does the character consciously pursue? (WANT)

- What does the character actually needs, whether they realize it or not? (NEED)

- What is the character trying to prevent? (FEAR)


Wiley Ownby
- What does the character consciously pursue? (WANT)

- What does the character actually needs, whether they realize it or not? (NEED)

- What is the character trying to prevent? (FEAR)


Samson Ownby
- What does the character consciously pursue? (WANT)

- What does the character actually needs, whether they realize it or not? (NEED)

- What is the character trying to prevent? (FEAR)


Henry Ownby
- What does the character consciously pursue? (WANT)

- What does the character actually needs, whether they realize it or not? (NEED)

- What is the character trying to prevent? (FEAR)

Bad Decisions Department

What's the single worst decision your protagonist is likely to make during this story and why will it seem completely reasonable to them at the time?

Carlo Ownby -

Rex Ownby -

Wyatt Ownby -

Clay Ownby -

Ripp Ownby -

Wiley Ownby -

Samson Ownby -

Henry Ownby -

The Skeleton

Identify just five moments: Opening Image → First Disaster → Point of No Return → Everything Goes Wrong → Ending

Opening:

First Disaster:

Point of No Return:

Everything Goes Wrong:

Ending:

Twenty Possibilities

Set a timer for 10 minutes and write 20 things that could happen. They don't have to be good. The goal is to get past the obvious ideas.

text

The Disaster Ladder

Identify one problem your character faces. Then make it worse three times.

Problem:

New Problem:

New Problem:

New Problem:

Meanwhile...

What is your antagonist, or whatever force opposes your protagonist, doing while the protagonist is busy with Chapter One?

Text

Post in 5 other threads and comment at least 3-4 sentences on your thoughts, not "this is great", real thoughts.

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Post in 5 other threads and comment at least 3-4 sentences on your thoughts, not "this is great", real thoughts.

This is the part for y'all to post. Go ahead, post below if you have thoughts!