Monday, November 25th Short Story Writing Unit

                                                                                 

                                                            Writing the Short Story..

Short stories can have multiple topics, as I’m sure you can imagine.  A short story can be realistic or fantastic, comedic or tragic, even fictional or non-fictional.  You don’t even have to limit yourself to choosing between those dichotomies, either!  You can make a story that has a mix of comedy and tragedy, realistic and fantastic elements, and even fictional and non-fictional elements.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though.  Every good story, short or otherwise, begins with at least one interesting character.  There should be at least one character who is at the center of your story – the protagonist.  A protagonist needs to be an interesting character, as a good story should be about the protagonist’s journey.  If we don’t care about the protagonist, we don’t care about the story, and what good does that do?  You may have more than one protagonist, but remember that this is a short story – too many protagonists may make the plot confusing in such a short medium.

Once you have your protagonist, your story needs setting and conflict.  Setting is the when and where of your story.  Conflict is the main problem your protagonist faces.  These two elements should be developed at roughly the same time.  A conflict can come from the setting, or, alternatively, a conflict can help you figure out what setting would be most appropriate.  Conflict and setting don’t need to be related to each other directly, but your story will have more unity if they are. 

Your conflict may also be tied to another character in the story.  A character who causes or is otherwise part of the conflict is called an antagonist.  Your story does not need an antagonist, but antagonists can make your story more interesting.  Your story may have multiple settings, conflicts, and antagonists – however, since this is a short story, you’ll probably want to keep the total number of each in the single digits.

You may also want to make a supporting cast, which consists of characters who, while not central to the story, are nonetheless important to the protagonist’s journey.  The supporting cast may contribute to the conflict or help the protagonist end it, but either way they do not play as big a role in the story as the protagonist or antagonist.

After establishing these four main elements – protagonist, setting, conflict, and antagonist – you will need to write your story.  A story consists of actions done by characters and events that happen to characters, either as a result of the characters’ actions or as the cause of said actions.  Each story is a chain of actions and events that leads to a climax, which is an event/action that resolves the conflict of the story.  After the climax your character will be changed, having completed his or her (or its) story.

In short, your story needs a protagonist, setting, conflict, actions, events, and a climax.  It should probably also have an antagonist and a supporting cast, but they are not absolutely necessary.

____________________________________________________________ 

Homework, due Wednesday, November  27th

Character Sketch

The most important element of any story, and the element you should develop first and foremost, is the protagonist.  A good story needs at least one central character that draws the reader’s interest.  To do that, the character needs to be three dimensional and well rounded – i.e. they need to feel like a real person.  In other words, your character needs to have:

Personality traits

Motivations

Physical Characteristics

Back-story

For this assignment, you need to create a character who has all of these.  Give him her it a name and at least three personality traits, at least one motivation, at least three physical characteristics, and at least one piece of back-story.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

  SHORT STORY PROJECT RUBRIC

When you think you have finished the final draft of your short story, look over this rubric to see how well your paper meets the assignment requirements.  It may also help to reread the assignment sheet.  Then look over your story one last time and make any revisions and edits you see fit.  When you are done, circle the grade you think your paper deserves for each of the categories on this rubric.  You will then write a short reflection (one page or less) on what you have learned about writing during this project, and how you feel your story has developed over the course of this unit.

Story length: 4-7 pages

         

        Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Characters	The main characters are named and clearly described in text as well as pictures. Most readers could describe the characters accurately.	The main characters are named and described. Most readers would have some idea of what the characters looked like.	The main characters are named. The reader knows very little about the characters.	It is hard to tell who the main characters are.
Setting	Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place.	Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story took place.	The reader can figure out when and where the story took place, but the author didn't supply much detail.	The reader has trouble figuring out when and where the story took place.
Action	Several action verbs (active voice) are used to describe what is happening in the story. The story seems exciting!	Several action verbs are used to describe what is happening in the story, but the word choice doesn't make the story as exciting as it could be.	A variety of verbs (passive voice) are used and describe the action accurately but not in a very exciting way.	Little variety seen in the verbs that are used. The story seems a little boring.
Dialogue	There is an appropriate amount of dialogue to bring the characters to life and it is always clear which character is speaking.	There is too much dialogue in this story, but it is always clear which character is speaking.	There is not quite enough dialogue in this story, but it is always clear which character is speaking.	It is not clear which character is speaking.
Creativity	The story contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use his imagination.	There is little evidence of creativity in the story. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.
Organization	The story is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions.	The story is pretty well organized. One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used.	The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear.	Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged.
Writing Process	Student devotes a lot of time and effort to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing). Works hard to make the story wonderful.	Student devotes sufficient time and effort to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing). Works and gets the job done.	Student devotes some time and effort to the writing process but was not very thorough. Does enough to get by.	Student devotes little time and effort to the writing process. Doesn't seem to care.
Spelling and Punctuation	There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout.	There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft.	There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft.	The final draft has more than 3 spelling and punctuation errors.

Peer Revision Sheet

AUTHOR NAME:____________________       REVISOR NAME:______________________

Use one of these sheets for each of your peer revision sessions in class today.

AUTHOR:  What do you need the most help with in this paper?

REVISOR:  Please read through the story and write any comments you have on the margins.  Be sure to note things you like about the story as well as any problems you found in it. 

Afterwards, circle an answer for each of the following questions:

1.      Does the story have a rising action, climax, and resolution?              YES    NO

2.      Are the characters and setting of the story established early on?   YES      NO

3.      Is the main character well developed, with unique personality traits, physical characteristics, a detailed back-story, and clear motivations?  YES      NO

4.      Is there a specific Inciting Incident (the moment when the action begins or the problem is introduced)?  YES               NO

5.      Is the major conflict in the story identified early on?             YES    NO
If yes, is the conflict     INTERNAL  EXTERNAL

6.      Does the writer use vivid imagery to describe the setting of the story?         YES      NO

7.      Does the conflict seem real and meaningful?      YES      NO

8.      Does the conflict lead to a sensible climax?        YES      NO

9.      Does the character undergo a significant change because of the conflict/climax?

a.       YES      NO

10.  Does the falling action and resolution fit the story?               YES      NO

a.       If NO, was it:    Too Rushed      Too Drawn-out        (circle one)

Overall Evaluation:

What parts of the story (characters, setting, conflict, specific scenes, etc.) do you think work the best?

What parts of the story are less successful than others?

Write any other comments, critique, opinions, feelings, etc. you have about the story here.

After you have finished this sheet, exchange it with your partner and discuss what you wrote down.  Make sure your partner is clear on your answers and comments so you can both create better stories in the future!