Rough Draft Due Wed., Rough Draft Due Wed., Sept. 17thSept. 17th•Compose a 4-7 page fictional Compose a 4-7 page fictional short story on short story on anyany subject. subject.

•Write the story in Write the story in anyany P.O.V., P.O.V., verb tense, style, genre, etc. verb tense, style, genre, etc. Just be consistentJust be consistent!!

•Follow Freytag’s Pyramid for Follow Freytag’s Pyramid for story structure. Don’t forget story structure. Don’t forget the the conflictconflict..

•Must be school appropriate.Must be school appropriate.

What are the specifics?What are the specifics?•Double-spaced. Do NOT put extra space between Double-spaced. Do NOT put extra space between paragraphs. Don’t forget to indent each new paragraphs. Don’t forget to indent each new paragraph AND to start a new paragraph with each paragraph AND to start a new paragraph with each new quote.new quote.

•One-inch margins all the way aroundOne-inch margins all the way around

•12 pt. serif font, black12 pt. serif font, black– What’s serif?

– Example: Times New Roman, Century, Calisto, Cambria, Georgia, Baskerville, etc.

How do you begin a story?How do you begin a story?

Suggestions:Suggestions:

•In the middle of the action In the middle of the action or an important eventor an important event

•With a thorough With a thorough description of the setting or description of the setting or a charactera character

•In the middle of narrative In the middle of narrative reflectionreflection

•With an anecdote (not a With an anecdote (not a cliché)cliché)

Let’s look at some first pages.Let’s look at some first pages.From From Ivanhoe Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott by Sir Walter Scott

Let’s look at some first pages.Let’s look at some first pages.From From The 14The 14thth Reinstated Reinstated by Bryce Towsley by Bryce Towsley

Let’s look at some first pages.Let’s look at some first pages.From From Clashes by Night Clashes by Night by Doreen Owens Malekby Doreen Owens Malek

How about top ten best opening lines of novels?How about top ten best opening lines of novels?1. Cat’s Eye, Margaret Atwood, 1998

“Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space.”

2. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, 1953

“It was a pleasure to burn.”

3. Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell, 1936

“Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.”

4. The Gunslinger, Stephen King, 1982

“The man in Black fled across the Desert, and the Gunslinger followed.”

5. The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

How about top ten best opening lines of novels?How about top ten best opening lines of novels?6. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov, 1955

“Lolita. Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.”

7. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides, 2002

“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.”

8. Peter and Wendy, J. M. Barrie, 1911

“All children, except one, grow up.”

9. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, 1813

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

10. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, 1969

“All this happened, more or less.”

General tips for writing General tips for writing creative fiction?creative fiction?

•Find your voice and be true Find your voice and be true to it.to it.

•Avoid clichés. Be unique in Avoid clichés. Be unique in your style.your style.

•Experiment. Write in ways Experiment. Write in ways and about things that are and about things that are different to you. different to you.

•Be visceral. Descriptions are Be visceral. Descriptions are meant to come to life, not meant to come to life, not just have a bunch of just have a bunch of adjectives. adjectives.

More Writing TipsMore Writing Tips1.Use active voice, not passive voice!

•Passive Voice: the subject is the receiver of the action.The tax return was completed before the April 15 deadline by Mr. Doe.

•Active Voice: the subject does an action to an object.Mr. Doe completed the tax return before the April 15 deadline.

2.Vary your sentence structure!

•Simple: Tom and Mary got lunch at the sandwich shop.

•Complex: Although both ate meals there, they had not come to eat together.

•Compound: They sat on opposite ends of the shop from one another, and they never made eye contact.

•Compound-Complex: As he rose from his table, Tom intensely stared at Mary, and then he violently sneezed.

More Writing TipsMore Writing Tips3.Avoid wordiness!•Wordy: The reason that General Lee invaded Pennsylvania in June 1863 was to draw the Army of the Potomac away from Richmond.•Revised: General Lee invaded Pennsylvania in June 1863 to draw the Army of the Potomac away from Richmond.•Avoid Redundancies: My personal opinion, at the present time, the basic essentials, connect together•Avoid Unnecessary Phrases/Clauses: The reason why is that, this is a subject that, in spite of the fact that, due to the fact that, in the event that, because of the fact that, until such time as, by means of

4.Write good!•Hopefully everyone corrected me: “good” is an adjective; it should say “Write well!”

How do we identify good writing?

What are some characteristics that you identified as exceptional narrative writing?

Let’s take a look at some criteria we should consider when writing narrative text.

We want to establish what we consider Exceptional, Good/Fair, and Poor

How do we identify good writing?Stimulating Ideas• Focuses on a specific event

or experience:

• Presents an engaging picture of the action and people involved:

• Contains specific details and dialogue:

• Makes readers want to know what happens next:

Exceptional Good/Fair

How do we identify good writing?Logical Organization• Includes a clear beginning

that pulls readers into the essay:

• Presents ideas in an organized manner:

• Uses transitions to link sentences and paragraphs:

• Flows smoothly from one idea to the next:

Exceptional Good/Fair

How do we identify good writing?Engaging Voice• Speaks knowledgably

and/or enthusiastically:

• Shows that the writer is truly interested in the subject:

• Contains specific nouns, vivid verbs, and colorful modifiers:

Exceptional Good/Fair

How do we identify good writing?Grammar/Conventions• Sentence structure

and variety:

• Spelling, punctuation, capitalization:

• Word choice and usage:

Exceptional Good/Fair