Short Story Assignment
Short story writers use the various techniques we have been (and continue) to work with: fictionalizing reality, creating and developing characters through interviews or character charts, practicing perspective, inserting dialogue, revealing tone, and plotting conflict.
All the writing exercises we have practiced have readied you for this first assignment. Task: Write a short story that develops at least one character, incorporating the elements of fiction writing that we have practiced: perspective, tone, characterization, plot development, detail and setting. You may include dialogue or symbols if you want, but it’s not a requirement of this assignment.
How do you begin? Fiction is often divided into plot/action driven vs. character driven work. But any good writing will need to carefully develop both. A great action story ends up begin flimsy without meaningful, real characters, and by the same token, richly developed, round characters fall flat without well thought-out conflict (doesn’t have to be action, the conflict could be internal). Or, write down several conflicts or problems on paper and pick one with your eyes closed. There are hundreds of ways you can begin; the most important thing is to begin.
Some other options:
Write about a character in a painting
Give a minor character in another work their own story
How long should it be? It’s difficult to say. A short story might be fully fleshed-out in a few pages and have interesting, round characters with fully a fully realized plot. Or, it may take a dozen or twenty or thirty pages to do so. I don’t expect a twenty or thirty page story, however, you should plan on 4-6 pages as a rough estimate.
Rough draft is due Monday 3/25
Short story writers use the various techniques we have been (and continue) to work with: fictionalizing reality, creating and developing characters through interviews or character charts, practicing perspective, inserting dialogue, revealing tone, and plotting conflict.
All the writing exercises we have practiced have readied you for this first assignment. Task: Write a short story that develops at least one character, incorporating the elements of fiction writing that we have practiced: perspective, tone, characterization, plot development, detail and setting. You may include dialogue or symbols if you want, but it’s not a requirement of this assignment.
How do you begin? Fiction is often divided into plot/action driven vs. character driven work. But any good writing will need to carefully develop both. A great action story ends up begin flimsy without meaningful, real characters, and by the same token, richly developed, round characters fall flat without well thought-out conflict (doesn’t have to be action, the conflict could be internal). Or, write down several conflicts or problems on paper and pick one with your eyes closed. There are hundreds of ways you can begin; the most important thing is to begin.
Some other options:
Write about a character in a painting
Give a minor character in another work their own story
How long should it be? It’s difficult to say. A short story might be fully fleshed-out in a few pages and have interesting, round characters with fully a fully realized plot. Or, it may take a dozen or twenty or thirty pages to do so. I don’t expect a twenty or thirty page story, however, you should plan on 4-6 pages as a rough estimate.
Rough draft is due Monday 3/25