Storytelling for conservation action

Topics:

Conflict and characters of your story

Exercise 4: What is the conflict of your story?

To get us interested, the main character must struggle to reach his goal. The balance must be disturbed by a conflict. Storytellers get their key point across through conflict and its resolution.

Download our tool Defining conflict and characters and make the jump

Describe the conflict of your story: ………………………………..

OUR STORY OF REZVIN: Conflict of the story for the Rotary Club

As the population in the Sundarbans explodes, the habitat of the magnificent tiger shrinks. More and more often, hungry tigers enter villages and wound and kill people. The villagers fear the tiger and kill stray tigers. WildTeam has the solution to save both men and tiger. No tiger, no Sundarbans. Save the tiger and the Sundarbans are here to stay.

Exercise 5: Who are the characters of your story?

Fill in the characters of your story: who is the hero of the story? And who is the adversary?

Describe your main characters in detail. You don’t have to mention all traits in the final story, because the listener will fill in the blanks. But it helps you give life to the story, the traits of the character also show through their actions and relations.

  • What are their physical traits? Examples of physical traits are: tall-short, strong-weak, fat-thin, blue or brown eyes, black or blond hair, young or old.
  • What are their psychological traits? Examples of psychological traits are proud, ambitious, smart, honest, shy, witty, introvert or bold.

Hero: ……………………………….

Adversary: ………………………..

(The adversary can also be an event like ‘reduction of the habitat of the tiger by expanding villages and poaching’.)

OUR STORY OF REZVIN: Characters of the story for the Rotary

Storyteller Rezvin

– What are her physical traits?

She is young, has black hair, smiles a lot and has good looks.

– What are her psychological traits?

She is very accurate and shows an enormous willingness to learn. Rezvin is cheerful, extrovert and makes easy contact with the villagers living in the Sundarbans.

-Relation to the mission of WildTeam?

Rezvin fell in love with nature when she was a child, always watching the playful birds in her garden, listening to their songs. She is really proud to work for WildTeam, a childhood dream come true.

Hero: Adam

-What are his physical traits?

Strong, tall and handsome. Brown hair.

-What are his psychological traits?

Dedicated, ambitious. Passionate about tigers. A bit shy and introvert, but willing to step over that to reach his conservation goals.

-Relation to the mission of WildTeam?

Adam feels that animals like tigers are a big part of the magic and adventure that makes life worth living so for him WildTeam is a passion rather than a job. He has been hooked on tigers ever since he read too many tiger books in his local library, and since his first steps into a tiger forest twelve years ago he never looks back. He knows everything there is to know about tigers. He can tell instantly from a footprint how long ago the tiger was there, if the tiger ran or walked, if it was big or small. And much more.

Adversary who turns into a hero: Rashid

– What are his physical traits?
He has black hair and bright, shiny eyes. He is slender and runs very fast. He can move without making any sound.

– What are his psychological traits?
He is keen on getting attention and praise. He wants to be a leader and make a difference. But he is open for innovative solutions for the problems the villagers face.

-Relation to the mission of WildTeam?
Rashid is a tiger killer. He hates them. His grandfather was killed by a tiger. He is the leader for the crowd when a stray tiger comes in the village. He also poaches deer, his nick name in the village is deer hunter. But deep in his heart, he loves the Sundarbans and knows that the tiger is its guard.