Creative Writing File Cabinet

A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor — A spectacular little episode about the unlikely empathy between two odious people...

A Worn Path, by Eudora Welty — Notice how much we understand about character through action.

First Confession (part I) — Read aloud by the author. An exercise in perspective...

First Confession part II — Read by the author. Hilarious story... see how powerful first person point of view can be? the limitation of the character's understanding creates dramatic irony...

NaNoWriMo Young Writers Project — Use this link to create your own account.

Our NaNoWriMo virtual classroom

The Gift of the Magi, by O.Henry — The delicate, beautiful set-up of this story, the overwhelming irony, the tribute to love... this story always kills me...

The Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant — Ouch. This one just hurts.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, by James Thurber — Do you see how Thurber transitions us back and forth between Mitty's imaginary and real worlds? Where does Mitty really live?

The Story of an Hour — Follow her thought process carefully... do you see the irony in that final diagnosis?

The Use of Force, by William Carlos Williams — Conflict is complicated. Who's ever right, in real life?

To Build a Fire, by Jack London — A man confronts nature.