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How to Write a Transformation Story

Today, we're going to cover how to write a truly great transformation story. The first thing you need is a sap. No, not tree sap! We need a person! A victim! But you can't just go picking anyone. After all it has to be the right type of person! It's all about getting the right reaction for maximum entertainment! That's why... Today we're going to go with Kevin the middle-manager.

"Wait what?" The man called Kevin asked as he became aware of a voice speaking. He was standing on the corner of a street dressed in a business suit with a briefcase in one hand.

Kevin is what we consider something of a bland individual. He's never been the life of the party and doesn't have much going on with his life. This makes him a very excellent target for our shenanigans. After all, whatever excitement comes about will be a great contract to how boring he was before.

"Seriously, what?" Kevin looked around. "Where is that voice coming from? And... I am not bland! I've been a hit at several office parties."

No he hasn't.

"Yes I have!"

But he'll be the talk of the office soon! But first, we need a proper trigger. Kevin needs to encounter something that will not only change him physically but also change his entire outlook on life! We just need him to encounter something out of the ordinary so we have a catalyst for our changes.

"Yeah no," Kevin shook his head and began walking. "I'm just going to leave now and follow my normal route to work. I'm going to do nothing out of the ordinary or different. I'm going to go to work and pretend I'm not hearing voices in my head... So you can just find someone else to mess with."

But little did Kevin know... He had already experienced the event that would change his life. For the briefcase he was carrying was not his own. He had accidentally grabbed the wrong one when getting off the train this morning. Inside this briefcase was something magical... Something that was now about to be released.

"Oh you cheeky..." Kevin didn't get any further before the briefcase sprung open releasing an explosion of light.

As the flash of bright light engulfed him. Kevin's body began to change. It began to swell and-

"Wait! How does this add up?"

What? What do you mean?

"Well..." Kevin paused as his body stopped changing mid-sentence. He was slightly bigger and the pieces of his suit were ripping. "My briefcase just explodes for no reason? That's it?"

Well of course! Because it turned out you had the wrong briefcase this entire time.

"Well that seems rather stupid."

Does not!

"Does too" Kevin placed his hands on his hips. "So what, the briefcase explodes just because it wasn't mine? You haven't given any rhyme or reason."

It's a magic briefcase! What more do you want?

"Well... Didn't you say this was a great transformation story?" Kevin smiled wickedly. "Well... If this all just happens for no reason, it's not a very good narrative then, is it? But hey... Nothing wrong with being mediocre... Everyone starts somewhere!"

What? How dare you! This is! Ugh... Fine... Then... Um... Let me think! The briefcase exploded in magical light because... Um... Aha! It was a wizard's briefcase!

"A wizard did it?" Kevin raised an eyebrow. "That's the explanation you're going with?"

Hey, it's magic! Magic means wizards! Or witches! Or mages! The point is... There is secretly a magical world of spellcasters living among us. They normally try to keep themselves hidden from us normal folk. However on the train today you were sitting right next to a wizard who was... um... new to his job of wizarding! Right! A new wizard and thus not as alert as a normal wizard would be! He didn't even notice when you picked up his briefcase by mistake and walked off with it! And now the magic within it has been unleashed thanks to this mistake!

Which brings us back to our original point! As Kevin's clothes continued to rip and tear... Gray fur began to grow in over his body. His shoes were torn apart as his feet transformed into massive paws. Next-

"Now hang on a moment!" Kevin--who _clearly_has no respect for the flow of the story--chose to interrupt again. "So the wizard's briefcase just explodes and that's all the explanation we get?"

Well... What more do you want?

"It sure seems awfully convenient that it exploded just them..." Kevin's face twisted into a mocking smile. "But I guess you're just happy to let your entire story rely on a bunch of convenient coincidences."

It wasn't just a coincidence! Just... Going into a lot of explanations about why and how everything happens just feels unneeded! It slows the pacing of the story down! Kind of like you're doing now. So if you'd just shush we could move on to...

"It's okay to be new to storytelling," Kevin spoke with a tone that suggested it was very much not okay.

I'm not new at this! Just! Fine! Since apparently Kevin is going to throw a fit and drag the story to a halt unless he has his way, I'll explain! You see... The briefcase exploded when it did because that's what it was designed to do! The wizards are a secretive bunch! They can't risk exposure to the real world! That's why any of their magical belongings self destruct when they get too far away from their owner! The wizard was still on the train of the station you're now standing outside. When the train left the station the wizard moved out of range and the briefcase exploded!

There! Happy now? Look at all that unnecessary information that interrupted the good part of the story.

"Hey it's not my fault you're a hack," Kevin shrugged. "I'm sure a more talented writer could have found a way to include that information in a relevant and interesting way."

Hey... You know what's also important? Finding a way to take enjoyment in what you write.

"I don't like the sound of that." Kevin grunted as the changes resumed. His clothing was even further destroyed revealing that the gray fur now covered his body completely. His face pushed out into a muzzle as his ears became pointed and moved to the top of his head. Kevin let out a yelp as his shoes began to squeeze his feet... Then just like his clothing those too were destroyed as his feet shifted into massive paws with huge claws. Lastly a massive fluffy tail bursts from the tip of his spine.

Kevin was now over a foot taller as he stood on the toes of his new paws. He was a massive monstrous wolf of a man. What clothing he still had was in tatters hanging from his now much more muscular body.

"This... This is different..." Kevin held up a clawed hand in front of himself then looked down at his body. "But... Kind of impressive... Never had muscles like this before." He experimentally swished his tail while stretching his now larger legs. However as he looked over himself a sudden problem occurred to him. "He-hey! This is indecent! I can't run around naked! You're the writer! Do something about that!" As he spoke he threw his hand-paws down in an attempt to cover himself.

He is correct. After all now that he's transformed he should have attire that is fitting to his form. Let's go ahead and help him out! We should give him something that's going to reflect his new role in the story! And so with that in mind!

Kevin suddenly found himself wearing a nylon collar with a leash hanging from the end of it.

"Wait what?" Kevin began to paw at his collar trying to take it off. His paw-like hands lacked the finesse to undo the latch. "Hey what the heck is the big idea? I wanted a pair of pants but not a collar!"

But a collar is more appropriate! After all... Who gives their pet werewolf pants?

"Who keeps a pet werewolf?" Kevin demanded to know.

I'm sure lots of people would!

"That is absolutely ridiculous." Kevin stomped one of his paws. "Besides I'm almost eight feet tall. I'm too big to be kept as a pet."

Oh I was hoping you'd say that.

"What does that me-" Kevin didn't finish his sentence before he began to change for the second time today. He stayed a werewolf, but he began to shrink in size. His muscle mass began to belt away as his limbs became shorter and his body chubbier. His paws suddenly felt like they were too big and clumsy for his body. He was younger! Previously he had been pushing middle aged... Now he was close to eight years old... He was a scrawny thing now... Where he had previously been over seven feet tall he now stood somewhere between three and four feet.

Now! That's an adorable pet that anyone would be happy to own!

"You're a jerk." Kevin stuck his tongue out. Considering his current age and size... As well as the length of his tongue now... It was absolutely adorable. "Is not!"

Is too.

"Why would I even get younger?" Kevin asked. "I thought the briefcase only exploded because the wizard was gone. Why am I a puppy?"

Um... It was all part of the same transformation?

"Then why'd it come later!"

Well uh let's see... Oh! I know! Obviously, this is just part of how magic works in this universe. The spell contained within the briefcase was always a pet werewolf spell! But... In this universe magical can clearly only do one physical transformation to a person at a time! So it took a couple minutes for the second change to start once the first was over.

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'show don't tell'?" Kevin quirked an eyebrow. "Because you really shouldn't be bogging your stories down with these dry explanations of the setting."

Hey I did show! I only had to explain things because someone keeps asking questions! If you'd act like a proper character in this story we could have been done by now! Why did I write such a whiny brat like you into this?

"Hey I'm the best character in this story!" Kevin bristled indigently.

You're the only character in this story.

"Whelp, I'm done with this ridiculous excuse for a tutorial story," Kevin sighed. "I'm going home."

A wonderful idea!

The leash attached to Kevin's collar suddenly went taut as his owner picked it up. Kevin suddenly felt a tug at his neck as his owner was trying to get him to move on.

"What!?" Kevin tried to resist the tug of the leash. He grabbed it with his hand-paws and tugged back. "Hey what's the big idea? I thought I was the only character!"

This person is more like... A living plot device. Now then! Kevin tried to resist the tug, but he was of course too weak to stop his owning from dragging him on.

"To heck I am!" Kevin replied as he continued to tug back on the leash refusing to move.

And perhaps he might have even succeeded! But you see... Kevin was a pet werewolf! These aren't as big as real werewolves! After all if they were, they wouldn't be able to fit in apartments once they grew up! No... Pet breeds of werewolves are much much smaller.

"I hate you," Kevin growled as he shrunk in size again. The wolf cub dwindled in size slowly until he were merely a foot tall.

At this small size Kevin was much physically weaker than his owner. He couldn't help but be dragged along. There was no possible way for him to escape his new fate.

"Well actually..." Kevin smiled in a way he should not be smiling right now given his circumstances. Seriously, why are you smiling, Kevin? It's creepy. "Well... I just noticed... That my collar is quite a bit looser on me now that I'm so small." With that Kevin slipped his head out of the collar and took off running.

Where do you think you're going! You can't just run off! You're that person's pet now! You need to go home with them.

"Oh really, and who's going to stop me?" Kevin sneered. "The dog catcher? Yeah I'd like to see that happ-"

And then Kevin suddenly had a net thrown over him. He was then lifted into the air and thrown into the back of a truck.

"You're despicable."

I just remembered! Since this was a supernatural dog catcher they hunt supernatural animals! So they have special ways of capturing any strays they encounter.

"Look I will give you five dollars right now not to finish this," Kevin pleaded.

Sorry, but you lost your wallet along with your pants!

Now, in order to secure Kevin for transport and make sure he wasn't able to get away they put a special spell on him! Now he may have thought he was small before...

"Don't you dare..." Kevin growled. However it wasn't the writer who dared! It was the dog catcher! And Kevin began to shrink even smaller. Soon the wolf pup was a mere inch tall! He was then secured for transport by being thrown into a jar and having the lid squeezed on. At least they remembered to leave him some air holes!

Kevin was so tiny he had no chance of getting anywhere. He could only sit in his jar and wait to arrive at the pound. Unfortunately... Since he had removed his collar they had no way to identify whose pet he was. This meant he would be put up for adoption again! It was only a matter of time before he was put into a new happy home. It seemed his destiny was still to be someone's pet.

"Hey I escaped once, I can escape again," Kevin spoke up as he was dumped out of his jar and into a terrarium. "I'll just bide my time until I can get away. It's not like the dog catcher can be everywhere."

You know not what the supernatural dog catcher is capable of! But... An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! And there's one detail I hadn't warned you about yet for this pound.

"Oh really and what's that? Kevin didn't have much to do walking around in the terrarium. He began to lick at the water bottle attached to the cage so he could at least stay hydrated. Little did he know... That had sealed his fate. "What?"

Well this is a no kill shelter! Instead they focus on trying to find homes for all the animals!

"That doesn't seem so bad."

Yes but you see... Pups are a lot easier to find homes for than adult werewolves!

"You! You fiend!" Kevin paused. "Wait... I'm like eight... I'm already a pup. What even are you going on about?"

Merely that the shelter needs to have a way to keep all the potential pets young until they can find owners. After all, it wouldn't do good to let them grow up before finding a home! And hey! I know how they do this in advance sometime! You see... There's something in the water.

"But but!" Kevin protested and they were the last words he ever spoke! At least not until he would get the chance to do any growing up again.

The wolf pup fell back onto his bottom as he proceeded to begin shrinking yet again. His limbs and arms became even stubbier as his body became chubbier. Soon his body lacked the strength to even stand up properly. He just got younger and younger until he was just a tiny little baby werewolf.

"Awwwooooooo," Kevin tried to talk... But he was now far too young to be having any form of conversation. It would be a couple years before he learned to talk again. "Arrroooo!" This is probably for the best... It would seem the little puppy has quite the potty mouth!

But left in this diminutive state there was not much the puppy could do. Even once he was returned to his normal pet appropriate size post adoption he wasn't capable of running off anymore. He might crawl for it, but he wouldn't get anywhere very far.

This was of course assuming he even got to normal size.

"Aroo?" Kevin tilted his head. It seemed he didn't like the sound of that.

But you know! You're already so tiny and cute! Some owners might not want full sized pets. After all, it's easier for a kid to take care of his first pet if it lives in a terrarium. It all depends on who Kevin gets as an owner! He might be able to one day be full grown foot and a half tall werewolf! Or... He might instead spend the rest of his days going for walks by riding in his new owner's pocket. This is of course assuming he ever gets adopted. He could spend all of eternity in the same cage at the pound.

"Arooooooooo!" Kevin protested.

But I'm happy to report to everyone that this story has a happy ending

"Arf?"

After all, every story should have a happy ending to wrap it up.

Kevin is eventually adopted. And it's quite a good fit too! A young boy who's sure to do quite well with an energetic playful pet! Of course, his parents don't want him to have a big werewolf... That would be dangerous! So Kevin is still going to have to live in a terrarium as he grows up again.

"Aroooooooo!" Kevin cried out trying to protest.

It's not too bad though! The boy is fond of sneaking Kevin out of the house. He'll shove the little wolf down into his pocket and take him to school to show off to all his friends! Kevin will be the highlight of show and tell several times!

Oh but his name isn't Kevin anymore. The boy named him Fido.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrf!" Fido barked, in what the boy could only assume was excited happiness as he was lifted out of his cage at the pound. He found himself dropped into the boy's coat pocket as he was carried him and taken to his new home. Surely, they would grow to be friends for life.

I do love a happy ending.