Catholic University of America Short Fiction Class Paper

Assignment-1

Welcome class to ‘Creative Wednesday!’

Stories are everywhere–and in this class, we will analyze closely several American short stories. We will also write our own short stories as a way to understand the process of writing and storytelling. This does not mean you have to be ‘perfect’ creative writers — you just need to tell YOUR story– and follow the instructions and prompts closely, which should help guide you in the writing process.

FIRST REVIEW:

We discussed the key basic elements of a short story: character, setting, plot, and conflict (both internal and external).

This high school teacher has done an excellent–and entertaining job–reviewing the Elements of Story. It is only 4:30 minutes, please watch:

The Elements of Story (Links to an external site.)

Second, some thoughts on writing:

Now, as a writer I usually start with character. A person at a particular moment, in a particular setting, facing a challenge, a choice, a decision. Other writers may start with the setting, a beautiful place or historic moment in which they want to write about. Or, they may start with a plot — they want to write a war drama or a romance and then they fill it with characters.

As the preeminent writer John Gardner notes in his classic, On Becoming a Novelist: “Character is the very life of fiction. Setting exists so that character has someplace to stand, something that help define him, something he can pick up and throw if necessary, or eat, or give to his girlfriend. Plot exists to the character can discover for himself (and in the process reveal to the reader) what he, the character, is really like: plot forces the character to choice and action, transforms him from a static construct to a lifelike human being making choices and paying for them or reaping the rewards. And theme exists only to make the character stand up and be somebody: theme is the elevated critical language for what the character’s main problem is.”

So, like Gardner, I start with character. I consider many things, but here are my top three:

A name that gives clues to the age, background, even social standing of a character. I often look up the meaning of a name to understand if it could lend itself to deepening the story.

A physical and mental description. What does this character look like? Sound like to others? What key thoughts are in their mind at this moment (and how do these thoughts sound in the person’s mind)– what do they want out of life? What do they need immediately?

An understanding of the history of a character–this is also called a character’s backstory. Where were they born? How old are they? What is their social-economic-educational status? Are they part of a particular racial or ethnic group? Do they have something they love? They hate? And most importantly, again, is there something at this moment, at the beginning of the story, that they want? What do they immediately need?

All of this will help inform the character. Some of it you might use in your story, some you will only use in your own writer’s mind to craft the character. Here are three exercises to stretch your writing muscles. Have fun with them — be creative!

Exercise #1 (PLEASE LABEL YOUR EXERCISES WHEN YOU SUBMIT THEM as Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3)

Write the beginning of the following short story, following the prompt below. This should take you about 30 minutes. The final result should be 200-250 words.

Prompt #1 –Imagine a leader walks into a room. The leader asks to see the person in charge…

What you need to consider here: who is the leader? What is the setting (concrete, sensory details)? What does the leader want? How does this ‘person in charge’ react? What happens next?

Exercise #2

Write the beginning of a second story, following the prompt below. This should take you a little less time 20 minutes because you have already done some of the thinking. This exercise should also be 200-250 words.

Prompt #2 — A low-level worker, or even a vagrant/homeless person, walks into the same setting as above and asks to see the person in charge.

Please note there are NO right or wrong responses to these prompts– what I am looking for is that you start a story with each of these prompts and describe a character, a setting, and the rising of tension and conflict. And yes, I am looking for you to write to word count — 200-250 words for each prompt.

Exercise #3

This exercise should take you about 30 minutes. READ over what you have written. Even consider this: read it out loud. Does each story have enough detail to describe your main character and what he or she wants as they enter that room? Is the room described in concrete details? In particular, is it clear what is at stake? What is ‘triggering’ this character to act? Why we are starting the story at this moment, on this occasion?

Now, that you have read over your two stories: Answer the question below. The answers may be short –50-100 words each:

What did you like and/or dislike about these exercises?

What was your greatest challenge with these exercises?

Which exercise was easier to write and why? Why was the other exercise more of a challenge to write?

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-You did it! You completed your first ‘Creative Wednesday.’ I look forward to reading these and commenting on them.

Assignment- 2

Class,

Here is the second part of your class assignment, based on the reading due by Wednesday. Reminder by Wednesday you should have read:

–Preface and Introduction to The Oxford Book of Short Stories

–p. 152-165 in The Making of A Story

TO DO– write a paragraph 200-250 words–answering the two parts of this exercise:

In both the Introduction to the Oxford Book of American Short Stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates and in The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante, definitions of what makes a short story are offered. In one of these texts, find a definition of the short story that speaks to you.

1) Introduce the definition of a short story. What do I mean by “Introducing” a quote. Use the full title of the book (books are ALWAYS IN ITALICS in MLA style), the name of the author or editor, and then USE the quote. End with correct MLA in text citation.

Here is an example using another text: The seminal work on grammar, The Elements of Style, the fourth edition by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, includes an insightful foreword by noted writer Roger Angell: “Writing is hard, even for authors that do it all the time…” (ix). This is key to my analyzing my own writing because….

2) Then, follow the above, and analyze or explain why you agree or disagree with the definition. Why is it helpful or not helpful in your understanding the form of the short story? What has been your experience with the short story form? Do you have any favorite writers (of short story or novels or comics or even films?) What do you hope to learn in this class about American short fiction?

NOTE: If you need to review MLA format, please refer to PURDUE OWL GUIDE:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basic

Assignment- 3

Class,As we discussed in class today, this week we are going to focus on point of view and traditional structure of a short story.

1) Find a story in Oxford Book of American Short Stories that you particularly like the opening of — the first paragraph — it can be any story in the collection — your pick! Let me know which one you picked by writing down the title (remember: short stories are always in quotations) and author.

2) Read the opening– a paragraph or two until you know the answer to the next question…

3) Who is the narrator? What point of view is the story written in? Be specific about the point of view based on reading p. 258-278 in Making of Story by Alice LaPlante, or even the shorter ‘Purdue Owl’ excerpt I attached to the assignment. So, for example, if you choose a story that is written in the third person — is it written in a limited third person point of view — a very popular choice for modern fiction, or it an omniscient third person narrator?

4) What about the story — focusing in on the narrator and the point of view — appeals to you? Why do you think the author chose to write in this point of view? In other words, what do you think the author intended by writing in this point of view? Be specific.

5) Read through your classmates’ discussion posts — and choose ONE discussion post and comment on their selection. For example, you can answer one or more of these questions: Did you consider the same selection? Did you consider their story selection and then decide not to write about it and why? Or, did your classmate write something particularly interesting, that you did or didn’t consider, and why?

You may have to check back after all your classmates submit their comments– and it’s okay if more than one person comments on a selection. I am just trying to foster a more ‘interactive’ learning environment for us!

Assignment- 4

Class,

Good morning!

Today is our creative Friday exercise. There are two parts. Be creative–have fun with it!

The exercise is taken from p. 282 in The Making of Story by Alice LaPlante.

For those of you who may not have the text, here is an abbreviated version:

Exercise #1: Change of Point of View

Goal: To show you how changing the point of view dramatically affects how the material reads. (It’s not just a case of doing a universal search and replace of “I” for “he” or “she.” Different things enter or come out of the material depending on the point of view you use.). READ p. 282-283 for a short example of how one writer changes point of view on the same story.

What to do:

1. Pick an incident that happened to you in the past month or so–something that has stuck in your mind, although for what reason you’re not quite sure. (Or, another thought from your professor: Think of the strange moment we are in — pandemic, violence in American cities, the violence of the state against its own citizens in some cases–and write about a fictional character facing one of those moments).

2. Tell about the event in three different ways (professor note: imagine the narrator telling this event as a story, as fiction– so you can be free to expand creatively upon the event). The three different ways are: first person point of view, second person point of view, and third person omniscient point of view. Each point of view should be ONLY the beginning of the story (so set out character, setting, major conflict or what is stake for that character) — write 100-200 words for each point of view.

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Exercise #2

READ “GIRL” by Jamaica Kincaid — it’s short, flash fiction–under 1,000 words. Some have even called this a ‘prose poem.’ However, from this professor’s reading of the writer’s intent — it was intended as a short short story, not a poem. It was originally published in 1978 in the New Yorker, one of the most prestigious magazines in the United States to be published as a story. Here it is:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/06/26/girl (Links to an external site.)

Be able to answer these questions on Monday (i.e. just think about them — no need to write):

–Who is the narrator? What point of view is the story being told in?

–Who are they addressing the story to?

–What is the setting?

–What is the major conflict?

–So, what is this story about?

–Do you think it more a poem than a short story– what about the diction, which means word choice, or imagery would make someone think that? Pick out some particular words or images that ‘popped’ to you — and made this story distinctive.

Assignment-5

Class,

To follow up on our live zoom meeting, videos and two questions to answer on literary theory…

1) WATCH Two short videos (under 5 minutes each) that give an overview of

Western feminism and feminist literary theory:

History of Western Feminism that Goes Right up to Present ‘Me Too’ movement

The history of western feminism explained (Links to an external site.)

Brief Overview of Feminist Literary Theory

Feminist Literary Criticism (Links to an external site.)

2) WATCH short video on Marxist Literary Theory: (approx. 7 minutes)

Marxist Criticism (Links to an external site.)

For our Midterm on Wednesday, you are going to have to apply at least one of these theories

to an analysis of a short story.

3) Two discussion questions on literary theory:

A) Define in your own words (one or two sentences): Feminist literary theory and Marxist literary theory

B) There are many critical ways, many literary theories, to analyze literature. Feminist literary theory and Marxist literary theory are only two ways. However, imagine for a moment that you are studying for a PhD in literature. Select Feminist literary theory or Marxist literary theory– or another literary theory. You can explore other literary theories here in this short, overview article – https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/index.html (Links to an external site.) . Choose one literary theory and explain why that literary theory appeals to you? (50-100 words).

Last thing to review KEY LITERARY TERMS, which you need to be familiar with for the midterm:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_terms/index.html