Friday, September 4, 2009

Baseline - Draft #2 (revision part one)

In draft one, you wrote a poem, short story, scene/script, or creative non-fiction piece. Effectively, this was freewriting, generating new material, and composing (the first two steps in the writing process).

Start a 2nd draft. Please label this draft as draft 2. Do not save over your original draft.

In draft two, I’d like you to “find the story” of your poem, short story, script, or non-fiction. To find the “story” identify:
a. What the major conflict of your story is.
b. Who or What the main character of your story is (and why).
c. What the most important scene in your story is.
d. What you want to say (theme) about the human condition in your story.
e. What your setting is in your story.

At the top of your 2nd draft, write a short paragraph answering A-E. This is for you, initially and will be removed later, (but I will be checking to see if you have written this important step). Skip a line or two.

After “finding the story” of your baseline piece, add details, scenes, other characters, description, setting, dialogue, etc. to your original draft. For poems, consider staying with a similar theme, but adding a second part or POV to your first poem. This will ultimately make your draft longer. As a rule of thumb, you should double the length of your first draft. For example, if your poem was 20 lines, your second draft should be around 40. If your short story was 2 pages, double spaced, then after this exercise it should be around 4 pages, double spaced.

As you write, you may also choose to remove or delete irrelevant material. Try to make sure you have included the answers to the question: “what is your story?”

Draft #2 is due at the end of class. Keep this draft (make sure it's labeled as draft #2!) in your portfolio with a copy of draft #1. DO NOT TURN IN THIS DRAFT TO ME YET!

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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.