Yesterday and today we dove into our first big writing mission of the year: your own, creative, original short stories. I am so thrilled about this project, and I can't wait to see what each of you comes up with.
Today we explored various possibilities, and I shared how ideas come to me when I try and craft stories. We also shared with each other, and then you each began to journey through some questions to get you thinking about the kind of characters, settings, and problems you want to give your characters. We accentuated the idea that our characters must face many struggles in order to build suspense and action, and to engage the reader. Think of what Harry Potter would have been like if his parents had not died, there were no bullies at school, and no grand evil forces with which to reckon!
Our word of the day was Quandary, which means: to be in a state of doubt or confusion. And remember, we want out characters to be in a state of confusion or doubt at times within our stories!
Here is the short story mission, in case you need an extra copy, or want to read through it online, or have forgotten it at school, or you rolled it up into a sword-like creation in order to fend off a garlic-shooting dragon who threaten to steal your shoelaces...
The homework for tonight is to write the first page of your short story. This can be typed or handwritten. And it does not have to be in final draft format! We are trying to get the engines inside our heads and hearts turning, so even if you think your idea is not (yet) a great one, just get that first page down, and I promise it's going to get stronger. Remember: all good writing is rewriting!
No comments:
Post a Comment