Neal Shusterman writes in first person point of view, as well as third person omniscient.. For example, Scythe is written in third person, but it changes who it’s focused on in different sections, mainly Citra and Rowan. Additionally, Challenger Deep is written in first person omniscient as a means of representing Caden’s struggle with mental illness.

Since he mainly writes science fiction and dystopian novels, most of his novels take place in a fantasy world of some variation, and they have a lot of dystopian elements. Some of his stories have realistic fiction combined with fantasy. For example, although the novel Dry takes place in modern-day Southern California, the events of the book are science fiction, as droughts in California haven’t been as extreme as the one described in the novel.

Shusterman’s writing style itself is easy to follow. Progression throughout his novels tends to be linear and mature, but it’s not extremely simple either. His writing style allows readers to think deeply about what is happening, but also to simultaneously have fun while reading. This style can be easily seen in his graphic novel Courage to Dream, which is a collection of fictional stories related to the Holocaust that have significant value and meaning, but the stories are enjoyable and easy to follow.

The Legend of The Dreaming Tree

“I can’t believe you thought this was a good idea.”

Kaia had a brilliant idea that involved going on an adventure with their older brother Belllamy to a world unlike any other. Bellamy was initially hesitant, but agreed to go, only to appease Kaia. So there they were, in the secret world underneath The Dreaming Tree.

The Dreaming Tree is a 50-foot tall Willow tree in the center of town. Without the Dreaming Tree, the people of Elwood, Nebraska would, as a whole, lack imagination, wonder, and faith. People go to The Dreaming Tree to seek inspiration, focus, and hope. The tree provides spiritual guidance, and it has done countless things for the people of Elwood and the surrounding towns. Kaia regularly visits the tree whenever they are hit with a wave of writer’s block and need some new ideas. There’s an old legend that there’s a dreamlike, fantasy world underneath the tree. But a legend is just that, a legend. Until Kaia woke up, craving an adrenaline rush, and decided that exploring the world underneath The Dreaming Tree was the perfect way to spend their Saturday.

“Good idea or not, you went along with it!” Kaia exclaimed.

“I wanted to show you that it was just a legend!” Bellamy retaliated.

“And guess who ended up being right,” Kaia smirked.

Bellamy sighed. “You. Sorry I ever doubted you,’ he sarcastically remarked. Kaia rolled their eyes.

The world underneath The Dreaming Tree was very surreal and dreamlike, absolutely no doubt about that. Tree roots, presumably the ones from the tree itself, were spread across the entire ground. The sky was a beautiful swirl of many shades of blue, green, purple, and pink, and it reminded Kaia of the time they went to Norway with their family to see the Northern Lights. The sky was illuminated by iridescent crystals in a wide-range of shapes and sizes. Some of them were on the ground, and Kaia picked one up and put it in their pocket. A little souvenir. Even the plants and flowers were mystical– they came in vibrant colors that matched the aura of the sky, and almost every plant had a unique shape that was unlike any other shape of plant Kaia had ever seen.

Though, now that Kaia thought about it, they wondered if there were other lifeforms in this world. But that question was quickly answered, when a pink and yellow horse started walking their way.

☆★☆

Bellamy didn’t know how he got into this situation. Well, he knew exactly why. He wanted to assure his little sibling that the legend of the world underneath The Dreaming Tree was just that, a legend. His expectation was that Kaia would try to get in, and then when they couldn’t, Bellamy would comfort them by reminding them that not every legend is true, and that worlds like that only exist in fiction. Until a hole opened in the roots of the tree, causing the two of them to fall in.

But when he looked at the new environment, Bellamy was awestruck. The legend was true. And the world underneath The Dreaming Tree was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen. He tried to contain his astonishment from Kaia, in the event the whole thing was a dream, and Bellamy was right. 

However, his moment of wonder was interrupted when a horse started talking to them. Yup, this was definitely another world. Not just a weird room underneath the tree, but another world entirely.

“Humans. What are you doing in this world?” The horse nonchalantly asked. Bellamy didn’t know how to process what was happening. A pink and yellow horse, which was unusual as it was, was also talking.

“I wanted to show my brother that the legend of The Dreaming Tree was real, we mean no harm!” Kaia quickly answered.

“This is the place where dreams are made. I don’t understand how it could not be real,” The horse replied, maintaining a monotone voice. “But that doesn’t give you the right to come here. Your very presence could cause a shift in energy that would alter The Dreaming Tree’s power.”

“How do we get out?” Bellamy sharply asked. He wasn’t in the mood to unintentionally create problems he didn’t even know existed.

“You have to traverse through our entire world, obviously. But you cannot interact with anything, or you will disrupt the balance between dreams and reality,” The horse replied, as if it was common knowledge.

“How do we-” Kaia started to ask, but was stopped when the horse put her hoof over Kaia’s mouth.

“Enough. You have asked too many questions. The rest is for you to figure out on your own,” the horse sighed, and then walked past Bellamy and Kaia. “Don’t bother following me, unless you want to see Tom Whitacre’s dreams about his wife.”

Bellamy shuddered. It looked like he and Kaia had no other choice. The two of them had to travel through this mysterious, mythical world if they wanted to get home. Bellamy reminded himself to never doubt Kaia and their ideas ever again.

I wrote in a third person omniscient point of view, alternating between Kaia and Bellamy. Bellamy’s thoughts aren’t mentioned in Kaia’s section, and Kaia’s thoughts aren’t mentioned in Bellamy’s section. There’s a little overlap between the point of view shifts, but not much. The horse is introduced at the end of Kaia’s section, and instead of Bellamy's section being completely parallel to Kaia’s, it continues the conversation with the horse. This is how the point of view works in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy, which starts with changing between Citra and Rowan, but eventually more characters are added.

For the setting, I used a fantasy setting combined with a realistic setting. Elwood, Nebraska is a made-up town, but it’s based on real places. The realistic setting is only mentioned, as the actual story takes place in a fantasy world. More specifically, The Dreaming Tree is the bridge between the realistic setting and the fantasy setting. The opposing settings reminds me of Challenger Deep, which changes from focusing on the real world and the setting on the boat  in Caden’s mind.

For the structure and progression, I tried to make it easy to follow, even with the alternating points of view. I incorporated dialogue and imagery that would give the audience room to think, along with lighthearted, casual humor. The casual humor reminds me of some one-liners in Scythe, where you could read it once and be fine, but if you go back to think about it, it’s funny. The section regarding Bellamy’s thoughts about the world can allow the reader to think about his conflicting tendencies. I progressed the story in a linear fashion, while trying to make it more intriguing the further it goes.