The Sculptor
by Scott McCloud (Author/Illustrator)
Booktalk: David Smith is giving his life for his art–literally. Thanks to a deal with Death, the young sculptor gets his childhood wish: to sculpt anything he can imagine with his bare hands. But now that he only has 200 days to live, deciding what to create is harder than he thought, and discovering the love of his life at the 11th hour isn’t making it any easier!
Snippet:
DAVID: Harry, what’s happening??
HARRY: When the sun comes up, you’ll get your wish.
Six Traits Mini Lesson
Trait: Organization Most fiction stories are divided into three acts. In Act 1, the curtain opens and readers see the story setting. They meet the main character and find out what the story problem is. David wants gets his childhood wish: to sculpt anything he can imagine. In order to do that, he has to agree to die in 200 days.
This scene happens after David has made his decision with Death (in the form of his dead Grand Uncle Harry) in the restaurant. Now they are out on the street in New York. As they walk from one place the next, the story moves from one act to the next.
Now the story moves into Act 2. (On the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, this step is called Break Into Two.) The long middle of the book has now begun. The main character has left his familiar world. No one knows what will happen next–but we keep reading to find out!
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