Introduction to Fiction

At our level writing is a great way to express yourself. But make no mistake. Writing is a business.
Readers often select books similar to previous enjoyment. If a reader enjoyed a fantasy, the reader is most likely to continue reading fantasy, for example. There are three typical types of readers (note that most people combine these to various degrees, often a combination of two depending on mood or interest):

• Fantasists: readers who read to escape the tediousness of ordinary life, seeking new frontiers and imaginative fiction
• Realists: readers who read about contemporary life to learn about or reinforce personal experiences
• Pragmatists: readers who read for a specific purpose--from cooking to learning history or science

Readers also become loyal to writers so that once you read Stephen King, for example, you might devour as much of his work to make you sick of his style before tearing into another author's work. Publishers count on this to occur.

Lab: Baseline Story

Please choose a type of reader from the above. Write a story for this kind of reader. Your story should be as long as you need it to be. If you finish early with a first draft, go ahead and write another one, and another one. Use the time in the lab to write. Title and label all your work & draft #'s.

Need a break?: Revise and rewrite your poems.

HOMEWORK: If you did not finish your story draft today in class, please complete it at home and print out the first draft for next class. Complete any short story reading we did not cover in class.