Week 12: Openings and Conclusions

Mon 4/13--Re-write the first 150 words of your story from THREE rather different POVs for a word count of 450 words.

• • 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 characters POV.

  • IMPORTANT: bring in THREE paper copies of your assignment to share with classmates during a mini-workshop on Monday.

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

  • 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.

  • Please post on Canvas:

  • Canvas POV assignment

Tues 4/14--Journal topic on Openings and Conclusions

• • 600 words

  • Topic: for the first 300 words, reflect on openings and conclusions in your life.

    • Please post your assignment here: Canvas--POV journal assignment

  • If you haven't done so already, please also post your 4/13 POV assignment on Canvas

  • Canvas POV Assignment

Thurs 4/16--Read "Hanwell in Hell" in the reader (pp. 95-104).

• • • What makes the intro and the conclusion successful?

      • Or, if you don't like them, why do they fail for you? What would you suggest instead?

Fri 4/17--Please read the following plot summary of The Long Goodbye: Long Goodbye Plot Summary (we'll be talking about the novel's ending in class so I want you to have a sense of what happens in the novel. Be warned: it's a very complicated--and somewhat ridiculous--plot!)

• • Also, read the attached pages on conclusions. Think about how you'd answer the questions posed in section 2 (page 88 on the PDF).