Or “Exaggerated Storytelling”

 Began in the 1800’s as a way for Americans to come to terms with the vast and inhospitable lands they’d come to inhabit – thick, dark forests filled with bears and panthers; treeless, arid deserts and plains; towering mountains; and uncharted seacoasts.

 Like the land itself – gigantic, extravagant, restless, and flamboyant.  Their exaggerated feats of courage and endurance helped the backwoodsman face the overwhelming task of developing such a land.  They were developed from various combinations of historical fact, the storytelling of ordinary people, and the imagination of professional writers.

One of America’s fondest legends is that of Johnny Appleseed, a folk hero and pioneer apple farmer in the 1800’s. There really was a Johnny Appleseed and his real name was John Chapman. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts in His dream was to produce so many apples that no one would ever go hungry. Although legend paints a picture of Johnny as a dreamy wanderer, planting apple seeds throughout the countryside, research reveals him to be a careful, organized businessman, who over a period of nearly fifty years, bought and sold tracts of land and developed thousands of productive apple trees.

Pecos Bill is a cowboy hero with superhuman abilities. He is the embodiment of superlatives: strongest, meanest, greatest. He is attributed with the invention of calf roping, the practice of cattle branding, and the creation of the six-shooter. He could ride any horse, but he also rode a panther and a tornado in his time. He was popularized by Edward O'Reilly in 1923.

After the Civil War, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company laid hundreds of miles of railroad track through West Virginia. The tunnels were created by blasting through the mountain shale. This work was done by “steel drivers,” men who drilled steel spikes into the solid rock. Once the holes were drilled, they were packed with dynamite. Since the early West Virginia tunnels had no safety regulations, these tunnel workers were exposed to an early death from the dynamite explosions, falling rock, and lethal dust created by the blasts. Starting in the 1870’s, a black steel driver named John Henry became the subject of many of the work songs sung by railroad-tunnel gangs. Like most work songs, the John Henry songs consisted of a few short lines repeated several times with pauses in between for the stroke of a pick or hammer. Whether John Henry was real or mythical, he was a strong, enduring character to many southern black railroad workers.

Paul Bunyan is a larger- than-life folk hero who embodies frontier vitality. He is a symbol of might, the willingness to work hard, and the resolve to overcome all obstacles. He was popularized by newspapermen across the country in 1910 and has been a part of the American culture ever since.

 Tall tales are stories that have heroes that can do anything. The heroes might be real people or they might be imaginary. Tall tales are usually funny and are filled with lots of exaggeration.

 When you’re writing a tall tale, the first thing you have to do is choose a hero. You should use lots of exaggeration when you’re describing what they look like and what they can do. Use lots of similes and metaphors to make your story interesting. Make sure you tell how incredibly smart your hero is, too.

 After you have your hero, you have to create a bad guy. It doesn’t have to be a person – it can be an animal or something from nature, like an earthquake or a tornado. Make sure you use lots of exaggeration when you’re describing the bad guy, too.

 Once you know who’s going to be in the story, you have to know what’s going to happen – What is the bad guy going to do that the hero has to solve? Remember, this is supposed to be fun and exciting!

 First, introduce your hero. Make sure you say what your hero looks like, and what great things he can do. Remember to exaggerate a lot.  Then introduce the bad guy. Make sure you describe what he looks like and why he’s so bad. You could tell what bad things he’s done before - you don’t want anyone to like the bad guy!

 Now that everyone knows who’s in the story, you can explain the bad thing that your hero has to solve. Try to be really creative!  Finally, explain how your hero saves the day. Remember, your hero is really smart. If he just catches the bad guy, it won’t be very exciting! Make your hero fight or outsmart the bad guy in some really fun and interesting way. When you’re writing your ending, remember, most heroes in tall tales never die – they just seem to live forever.

 Introduce your “Hero”  Introduce your “Bad Guy”  Introduce your Conflict  Include Setting in there somewhere  Make sure there is plenty of exaggeration/hyperbole  How does the “Hero” defeat the “Bad Guy”?  What becomes of them? Story should be 2 pages minimum – typed, double-spaced, 12 point font