Draft 3: Surpise Ending

So far this marking period you have written:

• one short story draft using the exercises provided to you on the blog (see October's posts for details, if you have forgotten).
• a second draft of that same short story, editing and revising based on feedback from Mr. Bodensteiner.
• and finally, a third draft that asks you to get rid of your original ending and insert a "surprise" ending or a different "surprise" ending (if you already had one). 

These 3 drafts will ultimately go into your writing portfolio.

Work on the third draft today in the lab as stated in Mr. Bodensteiner's agenda on his class blog.

Surprise! An Ending!

Please check Mr. Bodensteiner's blog for today's agenda. Take careful note (take notes) on the types of surprise endings you can include in a story.

Lab Assignment: Please take your previous story and re-edit it with a surprise ending. Call this draft #2, please to note the difference. You may also create a new story with a twist or surprise ending.

HOMEWORK: None. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Characterization & Character Key Terms

Characterization: An author uses characterization to develop character in a story. They do this by using:

• Dialogue (what a character says)
• What a character says about him/herself
• What other characters say about the character
• Internal thoughts (what a character thinks about another character, him/herself, or an event)
• Actions (what a character does)
• Details (description of character's personality, physicality, spiritual or mental state)

Character Key Terms: When referring to characters, we should refer to them correctly.

• Hero/Heroine: The main character of a story (term often only used in epics or fantasy genres)
• Villain: The character who opposes the main character (term often only used in epics/fantasy)
• Antihero: A normal, ordinary character
• Protagonist: The main character of a story (term preferred for most literature)
• Antagonist: The opponent of the protagonist (term preferred for most literature)
• Foil: Either one who is opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main character by contrast, and perhaps by setting up situations in which the protagonist can show his or her character traits. A foil is a secondary character who contrasts with a major character but, in so doing, highlights various facets of the main character's personality.

Characters can be either major or minor, round or flat.

• Major characters are characters who are important to the conflict and plot of the story. They often have motivations linked with the main conflict
• Minor characters are characters who are not necessarily important to the story. They often are used to develop the main characters or to provide rising action or complications to the plot.
• Round characters have a distinct motivation and personality or “voice”; Often they are complex and dynamic (they change through the conflict of the story)
• Flat characters are characters that do not change significantly through the conflict of the plot. Sometimes the reader knows or cares little about them because of lack of detail or purpose.
• Stereotypes: Characters who are generally recognized as a “type”; These characters lack individuality and often can be boring because we already know how they will act and why.

Ways to develop character:

• Characterization: Physical characteristics and personality characteristics which develop the individualization of a character.
• Motivation: reasons for the character to act in the story
• Dialogue: What characters say helps to develop them
• What other characters say about a character also helps develop them
• Action: Describing the actions of a character helps develop them (allows writer to show not tell)

Interpreter of Maladies & Facebook Character Exercise

Today, please check Mr. Bodensteiner's blog for the agenda.

HOMEWORK: Please read "Salesmanship" by Mary Ellen Chase. As you read, take note of how the ending achieves its "surprise!" How does the author connect ending with middle and beginning expectations?

Bringing Stories Together

Today we will focus on bringing together all elements of a story--beginnings/middles/and ends.

Please check out Mr. Bodensteiner's blog for further instructions.

HOMEWORK: read Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Check her out before you read.

Endings & Ha Jin

Today you will continue learning about endings for short stories, participate in an exercise, and also have time to continue and/or complete your short story drafts.

Mr. Bodensteiner has a new blog for you to visit. Please check it out at craftysota.blogspot.com. While he is teaching the class, please refer to his blog for details about deadlines, class material, and so on.

After Mr. Bodensteiner's instruction, please continue working on your stories. These are due today, but if you do not finish your draft, please complete for homework and turn in late Thursday.

HOMEWORK: Complete your story draft (if you have not already done so), and read "Saboteur" by Ha Jin and complete the five questions for the story. (see Mr. Bodensteiner's blog for more details).

Some links to help you with the story: Ha Jin biography & The Cultural Revolution and The Cultural Revolution in China

Short Story Project Deadline

A few announcements:
--Tonight, please join us for our first coffeehouse. Bring someone you love and something to read/share.
--Mr. Bodensteiner has a new blog for you to visit. Please check it out at craftysota.blogspot.com.

After our instruction, please continue working on your stories. These will be due Monday at the end of class.

HOMEWORK: Please complete your responses to the horror compilation by 11:59 p.m. tonight. I'd do it now while you're here, if you haven't already submitted the required responses.

Endings

Endings can be:

Circular: The beginning and the end reflect upon one another, often using the same situation, setting, characterization, or even repeating the same line or idea presented in the opening. This provides a sense of parallelism in your story structure. It is best used when suggesting that the past and future of a character/story is similar.

Matching vs. Nonmatching: similar to a circular ending, the first image is transformed, and is repeated at the end. This is most like the pattern in music: theme and variation. The first image of the story foreshadows or suggests the last image. Sometimes this is obvious, othertimes the image is subtle.

Surprise ending: Often an ironic ending, or an ending that surprises the reader. The American writer O.Henry was a master of this kind of ending. It is often found in horror/suspense or mystery fiction. The "surprise" needs to be planned by the writer, who should include details that prepare the reader for the surprise, instead of "shocking" the reader, who usually resents this strategy.

Summary ending: A summary of the outcome of the story – this kind of story wraps the plot up very tightly, suggesting the future for the characters. No loose ends. This sort of ending has fallen out of favor lately, so use it at your own peril.

Open ending: used largely in contemporary fiction, the story doesn’t end nice and neatly (like the summary ending). Instead, it leaves an important question posed to the reader, so that the reader must interpret the ending. Caution: this can sometimes confuse a reader. It is best used for subtle effect.

Ending with an image/idea: ending a story with an important detailed image or idea that reflects the theme of the story can "stain" the idea or image in the mind of the reader.

Writing Advice: Getting Unstuck!

Study your notes and the blog concerning beginning a story. (You were to have read Breaking Ground: How to Begin the Beginning & read the material on the blog about "Beginning a Story: Ways to Start a Story"). You will have five minutes to review for our sort-of-pop quiz.

After the quiz, please continue working on your story project. There are a few bits of advice you should follow (see below). Your forum post for the horror collection is due by Thursday. See previous posts, if confused.

After the Beginning: now what?

You began typing the moment you had an idea. You started off strong. Now three sentences in, or three paragraphs, or even three pages, you've reached your first stumbling block: what happens next?

With prompts and experience, most writers can get started. What's difficult is continuing through a murky middle. Here are some tips to slog through the worst part of your writing experience:

1. Most of the time we get stuck when we don't know what our characters want. Give your character a motive (a desire, or goal, etc.) to keep him/her moving forward.
2. Forward march: Move the plot forward by adding conflict and action. Involve your characters in a specific action or direct conflict with another character. This is particularly helpful if you are bored.
3. Put yourself in your protagonist's shoes: go inside a character's head. This is a common error that young writers constantly forget to do. Get your character's perspective. What would you think in a similar situation? What would you see if you were in this scene? What would you notice? What would you say? What would you do?
4. Skip forward in time. No one said this story has to be chronological. Advance the time period and move forward with the plot. Skip a line to indicate you've changed time (either forward or backward).
5. Skip to another setting/location. Move your character to a new setting. What happens there? Describe the setting/location, and the actions of minor characters. Skip a line to indicate change of setting.
6. Skip to a scene happening at the same time, but in a different location. Skip a line to indicate a change of setting.
7. Skip to a different protagonist or the perspective of a new character. Skip a line to indicate a change of POV.
8. Press forward: If you need more time to research details and don't want to stop to look up a fact or information, indicate what you need to look up by BOLDING or CAPITALIZING a note to yourself. You can also insert NOTES using your word processor feature under the insert menu.
9. Skip to the next major plot point. If you know where the story is going, but don't know yet how to get there, skip a line and write the next scene.
10. Go back to brainstorming. Use your journal to try out some new things. If you don't know (or are stuck on):

• Your characters: write a character sketch, draw a picture of your character, or develop your character's background history
• Your setting: draw your setting, find a picture of an appropriate setting on the internet, describe your setting using imagery--what sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and sights would one experience in the setting
• Your plot: list possible challenges or problems that a character might face in a similar situation or setting. Decisions characters make (or don't make) often create conflict. Create a mind map or use a graphic organizer to focus on plot elements.
• Your theme: create a premise for your story. What do you want to communicate about the human condition? What lesson or experience are you trying to relate?

HOMEWORK:  Please read the article handout: "Beginning & Developing & Scene." Answer the questions for Thursday. If you are far behind writing your short story, continue working on it on your own time.

Post a forum response on the Horror/Suspense collection by Thursday (end of day: 11:59).