Week 11: Point of View

Mon 3/26 S:

  • Read student stories (workshopping during class time)

  • In the margins and at the end of the story, please do the following:

      • Comment on what works/is successful in the piece.

      • Comment on questions you have--what you'd like clarification on, etc.

    • Remember to be encouraging, not harsh--these are early drafts!

Tu 3/27 S: Read Burroway, chapter 8 of Writing Fiction: "Call Me Ishmael: Point of View"--pp. 276-292.

Wed 3/28 L:

Re-write the first 150 words of the story you just workshopped from THREE rather different POVs for a total word count of 450 words (but you can do more if you wish).

  • If you prefer, you can choose just two different POVs and write longer openings.

  • You can try writing your story from:

    • a different person (e.g. 2nd person, 1st person plural, omniscient)

    • or to a different audience (e.g. write in the 1st person addressed to another character in the story)

    • or in a different form (stream of consciousness, newspaper article, letter, etc.).

    • You can also change the perspective and write from a different character's POV.

  • Note: changing the POV may change your opening in surprising ways. Let the change in POV dictate where the new opening goes--possibly in a very different direction from the old one.

  • Make sure to put the original opening at the top of the assignment.

Fri 3/30 S: Story due on turnitin.com

    • Here's the turnitin.com info:

      • Class ID: 17511882

      • Enrollment key: English