Week 4: Plot

Note: Ongoing assignment: Be thinking about/generating ideas for your first story, which is due Friday 2/13.

    • One possible way to start: think of two interesting characters (maybe based on people you know) who have conflicting desires.

    • Another possible way to start: peruse the newspaper or web for strange stories. Use one as the basis for your own story.

    • A third possible way: do some people-watching, take the strangest character you observe, imagine having the most bizarre conversation with them that you can imagine, and see if this turns into a story . . .

Mon 2/2--Read Writing Fiction, "Tower and the Net: Story Form, Plot, and Structure," pp. 230-251.

  • Note: this is CHAPTER 7 so we are not going chronologically through the book.

Tues 2/13--Journal entry on Canvas (Canvas site will be up on Monday, but you can do this assignment ahead of time on a word doc)

    • Read through your old freewrites

    • In your journal, post FIVE possible ideas for a story

    • THEN, do a freewrite on one or more of these ideas in your journal. 600 words.

      • Remember to follow Goldberg's guidelines for a freewrite.

        • Keep fingers moving; don't worry about grammar, punctuation, etc.; go for the jugular, etc.

Thur 2/5--This assignment has two parts:

  • Short story reading: "One of These Days" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (157-159) in reader. Also,

    • Short story exercise: Write a short story in 100 words. Notice that if you're going to manage a conflict, crisis, and resolution in this small space, you'll have to introduce the conflict immediately.

      • Make sure to include the word from your period in your story

      • Please post the story on Canvas.

Fri 2/6--Writing workshop day.

    • If you're still looking for a story, then read through your free writes, take two that intrigue you (or parts of two) and see if you can weave them into a story.

    • Freewrite the climactic scene of your story.

    • Freewrite on the characters of your story.

    • Write an outline of your story then start the story.

    • You'll post this on Canvas (I'll make the site 5th period) and post in your online "journal"

    • Word count: 600 words.