Blogging
TELL ME A STORY!
A 10-Point Blogging Project
Everyone has a story inside themselves.
Authors use personal stories in order to tell more about their experiences and impart meaning to readers. Sometimes these stories are meant to amuse, and sometimes they're meant to teach a lesson. Some stories are told without regard for the reader, simply because the writer feels a compulsion to say something.
I'd like you to tell me a personal story about your life using the blogging tool Penzu. Penzu is super easy to use: simply create an account on the main page, hit "next" until we get to your journal, click "create your first entry," and start writing. After you're done, hit the three dots in the upper-right corner of the entry, press "Share," share the entry via a public link, send the link to me, and you're done.
Think about a time that was exciting, embarrassing, horrifying, hilarious, interesting, unique, awful, amazing, or surprising. Tell me about the best or the worst day of your life. Tell me about the day you got your new puppy or the time you got grounded for a month. I'm sure there's a story in both!
The story that you write should be complete. There is no word limit or character minimum; I just want you to tell me a story about yourself that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It can be long or short, so long as you tell me a complete story. As you might guess, this might make grading these stories complicated; suffice it to say, I am the final arbiter of this project and I will award you portions of the 10 available extra credit points as I deem fit. I will base these portions on competence of storytelling, quality of writing, and ability to engage the audience.
You can use photos you find through Google Image Search to enhance your story--in fact, I highly encourage you to do so! A well-placed picture will add impact and additional context to your story. That having been said, a lack of images will not necessarily hurt your story. A good story can stand without pictures because it created a vivid mental image in the mind of the reader.
Once you're done, publish the story. Make sure it's a story you're comfortable with sharing. This will be out there for the world to see!
I will be watching for correct grammar and spelling as I read.
Good luck! A well-written story that generates positive criticism can be its own reward...getting bonus points for it is simply the icing on the cake.
If you're interested, here are some exceptional examples of short stories:
You don't just have to stick to these. Explore and find something that interests you. There's tons of writing on this site, from short fiction to personal anecdotes to poetry. Writing is a critical way we share our experiences as human beings, and getting more experience at it is a wonderful pursuit.
Can I do this extra credit from home?: TOTALLY YES