This is one of my favorite sections, because there is so much creativity that can happen here! Simply put, the donor is the character/thing that connects the hero to the magical agent. The magical agent is the character/thing that is needed to liquidate (resolve) the Act of Villainy. So the AoV happens in the story, causing a problem, involving a princess. The villain either caused the problem and/or wants to keep it that way. The dispatcher alerts the hero to the AoV, and the hero decides to do something about it. But how? He needs a donor to provide him with the magical agent which is the very thing he needs to defeat the villain and/or solve the AoV. Simple enough, right? The magical agent is something the hero must have in order to stop the villain/AoV. If they try without it, they will lose. The donor is the character or thing that connects the hero and the magical agent.

The exercises do not dwell long on this section, because it tends to be something that happens pretty naturally in a story. Make sure your student is aware that these functions - donor and magical agent - may be embedded in characters or things already in their story. Or it may be something totally unexpected, such as the donor being “three pizzas” that give the hero “fire in her belly” (pg 245) which she uses to burp and defeat the knight. The hero might have some knowledge they need, given to them by a donor long ago in school. This book is a donor, of sorts, giving your student the magical agent of storytelling grammar, which they may hopefully use to defeat some villain someday.

In Real Life :: Again, help them think outside the box, and help them spend some time talking about these functions in their favorite stories or in their real life. Truly, this is one of the best ways to really get to know and identify and utilize these story elements!

Finding it in the Story :: pg 247 :: the exercise itself leads the student through this one. The donor is the volume that First Mate Manfred reads from, and the magical agent is the knowledge in the volume that tells LeFossa which kind of kraken it is, and how to defeat it.

Tags: Character Functions, Donor, Magical Agent