1. Think of some ideas for your own short story. Think about your own experiences. "Write what you know" is a famous piece of advice. The stories that you read last week (by Malcolm X and Sandra Cisneros) were autobiographical. Think of at least FIVE ideas of stories that have happened to you or someone that you know well that you can retell in a short story (creative licence is fine here to fill in some details).
2. So that you have some other options, write down THREE ideas in which you can be a little more creative. That is, you don't have to write about an actual instance in your life, but base it on what you know. Nathan Englander explains that sometimes, “Write what you know isn’t about events… It’s about emotions. Have you known love? jealousy? longing? loss? Did you want that [video game system] so bad you might have killed for it? If so, it doesn't matter whether your story takes place in Long Island or on Mars – if you’re writing what you know, readers will feel it.”
3. Read the following imagery-rich passage, paying attention to details that make you see, hear, smell, taste, and/or feel that which is being described:
The
hot July sun beat relentlessly down, casting an orange glare over the farm
buildings, the fields, the pond. Even the usually cool green willows bordering
the pond hung wilted and dry. The low buzzing of mosquitoes hung about us. Our sun-baked backs ached for relief. We
quickly pulled off our sweaty clothes and plunged into the pond, but the tepid
water only stifled us, and we soon climbed onto the brown, dusty bank. Our
parched throats longed for something cool—a tart strawberry ice, a tall frosted
glass of sweetly sour lemonade.
We pulled our clothes out of the crackling underbrush, the sharp briars pulling at our heavy, wet clothes. We wriggled into our damp jeans and ambled toward the watermelon patch. As we began to cut open the nearest melon, we could smell the pungent skin mingling with the dusty odor of the dry earth. Suddenly, the melon gave way with a crack, revealing the deep, pink sweetness inside.
We pulled our clothes out of the crackling underbrush, the sharp briars pulling at our heavy, wet clothes. We wriggled into our damp jeans and ambled toward the watermelon patch. As we began to cut open the nearest melon, we could smell the pungent skin mingling with the dusty odor of the dry earth. Suddenly, the melon gave way with a crack, revealing the deep, pink sweetness inside.
4. Then, list ten examples of phrases from the passage that show imagery & classify them by the sense that they appeal to (sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch).
5. Choose your top THREE story ideas from numbers 1 & 2 above. For each of those three story ideas, write a descriptive paragraph that focuses in on a character or a setting within that story idea, using imagery.
PLEASE NOTE:
Since next week is so short, you will not have additional assignments next week, and I will give you until Tuesday of next week to turn in your work. To summarize, submit the following assignments by Tuesday, November 20:
- FIVE (5) story ideas based on your life/experiences (a phrase or sentence describing the event is fine)
- THREE (3) creative (but realistic) story ideas (Ex. "A story of a girl named ____________, who lives in _____________ during _______________ and does ___________________/________________ happens to her.")
- TEN (10) imagery phrases from the above passage that are categorized by the sense that they appeal to
- THREE (3) descriptive paragraphs that would work in three different story ideas that you listed.
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