Keep handing in those USSR forms and filling in the SMUS reads forms!! You are really doing great work.
Today: We are starting our creative writing assignment, the short story. 1500 word max. in order to meet the BCTELA criteria. Their deadline is May 1.
YOUR deadline is to have a draft here by Tues. April 24th for peer editing. Double space.
If you cannot meet this deadline, you may risk your marks for peer editing. So, break it down into steps.
1. Conclusion: end so the reader doesn't know exactly what will happen next, open-ended is best
2. Imagery: appeal to the five senses, compare using character foils, use characters' thoughts to describe another character, SHOW DON'T TELL
3. Structure: how will you organize the details? Use flashbacks at least once in the story. Make sure it is clear to the reader that you have gone into the past.
4. Sentence Variety, Vocabulary, Diction--good writing starts with the sentence!! Edit well.
5. Character Development: a character must change, a character must confront a situation that makes him/her question his/her beliefs about him/herself.
A story is the "art of the glimpse". Choose one small amount of time--a funeral, a scout banquet, a fishing trip, a visit to the doctor, a first date, a first day of school or new job, a visit to a baseball game, in order to put some pressure on your characters.
Good writing makes a character confront!! Confront their comfort zones. Confront their self image.
NO ONE CAN WRITE YOUR STORY. IT'S NOT ABOUT TALENT--IT'S ABOUT SIGNATURE. THE WAY YOU TELL THE STORY IS WHAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN. MAKE THE CHARACTERS BELIEVABLE AND MAKE THEM TALK AND DO THINGS.
Your story must have dialogue. It cannot simply be a journal entry.
Tonight's Homework:
Create a scene where you describe something from one character's point of view. Make the character (happy or sad or angry or confused). When we read your description, we should be able to figure out what your character is feeling indirectly by inferring from your descriptions.
For example, imagine describing a barn from a father's point of view who has just lost his son in a tragic farming accident. Suddenly, the light shining through the crack in the roof looks like the light he saw at the funeral home, the cow is thin and looks like death, the hinges on the big door squeak as if they are mocking him, the hay is dry and tasteless, the horse refuses to eat.
Choose your details with care. You may have dialogue in your description. Try to apply the criteria for good writing that we discussed today.
After you wrote it, think about your process. Which details are too obvious? Which ones need to be more developed? Which details are cliched (i.e you stole the idea from TV or a book). Which ideas are original? Which ideas are your pleased with?
Bring this passage to class Wednesday. Be prepared to share it with the class and to discuss your process.
