Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Ideas for Fiction Draft

Ideas For Fiction. Key Points:

Stories come from:
  • 1. Our experiences
    • autobiographical writing can be vivid, direct, and introspective. Your observations provide you with the details you need to start a story and make it real.
  • 2. Our imagination
    • Working from one's imagination allows for the most freedom. Imaginative writing can be vivid, direct, and introspective, but it is also the most creative.
  • 3. Our passions
    • Use your emotions to move your stories. Live through your characters.
Most stories begin with a seed idea. You may need to model your work on writers you admire to get started. You may need to research your topic and idea more fully before you can start. Most writers build a scaffold around their idea and construct a story.

If you have nowhere to begin, start with a theme. Since there are only 4 of these: nature, life, death, love: pick one. Next, apply a message. What do you want to say about: life, love, death, nature? This will usually get you started or unstuck. If you feel like your story is the same as thousands of other stories, change elements to your fiction until you have a variation on the theme. Your writer's voice will make sure your treatment of the theme and message is completely your own.

Use your imagination to move your story forward. If you are stuck, give your character something to do or think about. An intriguing image, a line of dialogue, or a complication or problem will usually force you to continue.

Write the parts of the story that you can during your first draft. You can always fill the story in later with more details, research, and events.

1. Today in the lab please work on writing your "ideas for fiction" draft from your homework assignment last class.

You had your choice of 13 different prompts from pages: 11-22. Choose one prompt and write a story. Length, genre, style and structure is up to you.

2. Complete the short story sheet for a second short story you read in your collection. Hand in when complete.

Things to do if you finish early:
1. Read your short story collection
2. Rewrite your baseline fiction piece. Call your rewrite draft #2.
3. Write another story. Choose another prompt and work on that one as well to compose a draft.
4. Rewrite any poems you have previously written.
Use your time in the lab efficiently.

HOMEWORK: By now you should have read 2-6 stories in your short story collection. Read another 1-3 and be prepared to discuss these stories next class.

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About this course!

This course stresses understanding the characteristics & techniques in the literary genres of fiction, poetry, and dramatic writing. This course will continue to build on students’ reading and writing skills begun in previous creative writing classes. Readings and discussions of works by major writers in the field will be examined as inspiration and models of fine writing. This educational blog is designed for the use of the students at the School of the Arts in Rochester, NY.