Designing Principle/Theme line:

Courage and perseverance

Theme Line Techniques

Two techniques that I will choose to deploy in my story are repetition and symbolism. Repetition will be used in Terrys attempts to escape the desert that he’s stuck in, and the dead creatures and skeletons will be used to symbolize death and failure.

Moral Choice

He must choose to attempt to fly in the violent winds during the night time, or risk being stuck in the desert forever.

Moral Problem

Self-doubt.

Characters as Variations on a Theme

Terry must face his self-doubt head on, while the Desert preys on his vulnerabilities.

Values in Conflict

Terry: Naive, foolish, optimistic

Desert: Deceptive, strong, selfish

Hero’s Beliefs and Values

Terry has an intense desire to survive the desert and reunite with his family. He is strong-willed in that way, which will ultimately help him overcome his doubts.

Moral Weakness

Terry doubts his ability to survive, and is constantly falling for the desert’s tricks.

Moral Need

Terry must learn his true capabilities, and the value of perseverance.

First Immoral Action

Terry stays up too late the night before his family flys over the desert, leading to him falling asleep and crash landing.

Desire

Reunite with his family.

Drive

Sleeping in skeletal remains to protect himself from the elements, finding sustenance in peculiar places to survive, and competition against the Desert. Terry does not want to let the Desert win.

Immoral Actions 2

Somewhat immoral, Terry must eat the remains of the animals/creatures that have died in the Desert before him, he must do this to survive.

Attack by Ally

I have not thought of any allies that accompany Terry.

Obsessive Drive

After Terry realizes that the Desert has been toying with him, it becomes personal. Terry becomes desperate to escape and will do anything.

Battle

This far into the story, the reader understands that the Desert is malicious, and is trying to kill Terry. Terry tries to outsmart the Desert by flying away, but the Desert uses its strong winds to prevent that from happening.

Final Action Against Opponent

N/A

Moral Self-Revelation

Terry learns what he is capable of, and has defied his expectations. He did not think he was going to survive the Desert, but prevails in the end.

Moral Decision

Does the hero make a decision between two courses of action near the end of the story?

No.

Thematic Revelation

In some way, the reader understands the importance of perseverance. This can be applied to the human psyche, as I think a lot of people deal with self-doubts.