Two interesting literary elements in my novel is setting and conflict. The setting is a major part of this story. It takes place in Harlem, New York, which is made up mostly of African Americans. Drew is the main character, and his favorite sport is basketball, which keeps he and his friends out of trouble in their bad neighborhood. He is the main player on his all-black team, and believes he has what it takes to go to the NBA. This is his dream, and he won't let anybody get in the way of it.
The conflict is another big part of the story. Two white guys from another country join Drew's team and get all of the coach's love. The just got on the team, and they are already starting without having to earn it. Drew runs the team, which makes him mad when they get all the attention from the media. Coach House decides he wants to run the team a different way, which is to have the guys down low to score the majority of the points, instead of the guards. One of the new players, Tomas, is the new center and all the plays are run to him. Coach starts sitting out Drew when he begins doing good and doing his own thing, because he isn't doing what coach wants. Drew and Tomas end up becoming good friends and realize they have a lot in common, even though they came from totally different lives.
It sounds like the setting of the novel is a main element of the story. Do you think the kids would experience the same conflicts (kids vs. coach; kids vs. each other) if they were in another major city (maybe Chicago?) or even a suburb (like Garfield Heights)?
ReplyDeleteThese conflicts, too, are very relatable. Have you ever experienced an argument with a coach or team member? Or even a team or a classmate? Authors sometimes have a very difficult time creating "real" conflicts. We see them every day; readers experience them all the time. Therefore, if an author doesn't create a BELIEVABLE conflict, then we as a reader know it! How does the author do? Do you believe him or no?