I have a partial script done for Sunnyville Stories #11. It’s quite a challenge as doing the tenth story took a lot out of me. I also had to review my story treatment several times. Anyway, I just have a cold open for this story. Let’s take a look at what I have so far, okay?
SUNNYVILLE STORIES
EPISODE 11: The Artful Dodger
By Max West
Copyright 2014 – Different Mousetrap Press LLC
All Rights Reserved
As always, the general store in Sunnyville was busy. It was the only real store in town that sold everything. While there was a candy shop, a used bookstore and two junk shops, the general store was the only place where you could get anything from fabric to groceries to dry goods to maps.
Magnolia and Alexander Talbot, the elder children of the family were minding the store that morning as Rusty and Sam came in.
“Rusty! Sam! Welcome!” Magnolia bubbled as she saw her friends enter the store.
She was at the counter. Alex was stacking up some soup cans.
“Good morning, Magnolia,” Sam said as she came up to the counter.
“Magnolia, I need potato chips and pretzels,” Sam said as she grabbed some bottles of soda.
“Sure. Are you having a party?” Magnolia asked.
“No, we’re having company,” she explained, “My older brother Rolf is visiting. This time, he’s bringing my cousins for a visit.”
Magnolia beamed as she scooped up loose potato chips out from a large wooden barrel.
Rusty spotted a nearby candy machine.
“Hey, the candy machine’s filled with Mike & Ikes!”
Rusty helped himself to some of the candies.
“How do those stay fresh?” Sam asked.
“They don’t,” Alex answered her.
Rusty found this out when he made a face and spat the stale candies out.
One of the challenges that I face on this story is to make the world of Sunnyville seem more “real”. I’ve always had it in my mind that Sunnyville is an actual town that has stood for years before you read the pages and it will continue to exist after you finish reading. A goal for these opening pages will be to show some silent panels of some of the stores mentioned above in the script.
I’ll be using a type of transition I normally don’t use in my works – Scott McCloud refers to it at as an “aspect-to-aspect” transition. This type of transition is intended to convey the mood of an idea, place or thing. I want to show the handful of shops that exist in this remote village and a handful of the townspeople that frequent them. (On another note, I will be working in a cameo by the Flaming Carrot into this opening!)
Also, I have a funny gag that involves Rusty eating something he shouldn’t. Next time, I intend to show more of the script and I also want to talk more about worldbuilding.
