In Creative Writing for Film and Digital Composition at Full Sail University, our job is to teach the basics of writing a story. In my sections, the major assignment for the month-long course is to write a first and second draft of a short story. The following are four assignment sheets I use to help the students plan out their project.
The first part of the assignment is to just get a first draft down on paper.
WEEK 2: Short Story – First Draft
TOPIC: Writing a complete draft of a new short story
DUE: Sunday, Week 2, by 11:59pm
LENGTH: 1000-4000 words
PURPOSE:
- To write a full draft of a short story
- To construct a story that shows the basics of plot, character, and setting
- To show understanding of elementary story writing
INSTRUCTIONS
This is it: the first part of what you are working towards this month. For this assignment, I want you to write an entire first draft of a short, fiction story. In writing this story, I want you to consider the basic elements that I discussed in my video: plot, character, and setting. Each of these elements should be on display when your draft is complete.
Please note that this story should be fiction, not non-fiction. While creative non-fiction uses many of the same ideas as fiction, the concepts are easier to grasp when working on something fictional. What that means is that I want a story that has at least one prominent character who comes to a crossroads in his/her/its life and is forced to make a decision or take an action that will affect his/her/its future. In other words, there needs to be a climax that has consequences for the protagonist (both positive and negative, and possibly some in-between).
But don’t forget this is a first draft. While I want you to do the best work that you are capable of, don’t be afraid to play around and try different things. Also, don’t be afraid to mess up. Remember the lessons of the week 1 reading, “Shitty First Drafts”: the whole point of writing drafts is so that we have an opportunity to screw up before being forced to do it right. Look at this as your opportunity; I will be grading this under the assumption that you are still working it out and give that consideration when generating your final score.
This is a pretty big assignment. There’s a 1000 word minimum, and chances are it will likely be quite a bit longer than that. That is why I am giving you two full weeks to be thinking about it when everything else this month is only given a week. I recommend that you don’t wait until the due date to start this assignment. I would keep it in mind throughout week 1 and be ready to start working on it early in week 2 if you haven’t already.
If you are struggling to come up with a story idea, then be sure to check out the writing exercises designed to help with that. If you are still struggling, then please get in touch with me, and we can try and sort it out.
Format
Your work should be in 12pt Times New Roman or Cambrian font and double-spaced with 1”-1.25” margins on all four sides with indented paragraphs (no extra space between paragraphs). Your story should also have a title, though a title page is not necessary. Files not meeting these guidelines will be returned ungraded and subject to late penalties.
Submitting your work
Your story should be typed up in Microsoft Word and saved with the .docx file extension. Any other format might not read my comments when I leave them. When completed, save your work with following naming format: “LastName_FirstName_First_Draft” and then upload it to Connect under this assignment. Files not meeting these guidelines will be returned ungraded and subject to late penalties.
Things to Keep in Mind
1. You will be graded on following these instructions carefully. Not meeting the word count or content objectives will result in a low grade.
2. Make sure you are reading over your work carefully before submitting it. Grammar is a part of all of your assignments in this class and points will be deducted for mistakes. Make sure to run spell check and grammar check.
3. Remember this is a professional and academic setting and your language and word choice should reflect that.
4. Remember to get creative and bring your own imagination and perspective to this assignment.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Please review the Academic Integrity section of the course Syllabus and ensure that your assignment does not plagiarize or violate any academic integrity principles of Full Sail University before submitting it. Violation of this policy can have severe consequences.
Have any questions? Please email me at xxxx
The next part of the assignment are a few small writing exercises designed to force them to look closely at their own work, examining plot, character, and setting and noting how the three play a part in their stories (as well as whether they were effective in all three areas or not)
WEEK 3: Writing Exercises 2 – Finding the Details of Your Story
TOPIC: Writing exercises designed to help refine your ideas and flesh out your story
DUE: Wednesday, Week 3, by 11:59pm
LENGTH: At least 450, split across three parts
PURPOSE:
- To use writing exercises to discover more details about plot, character, and setting
- To analyze the elements of fiction in depth
- To refine your story and characters in ways useful for revision
INSTRUCTIONS
By this point, you have a completed draft of a short story. You might be happy with where the story currently is, but all you currently have is the skeleton of an even better story. The next step is to revise the story and make it better. The problem is that revision is where the real work begins. You have the easy stuff on the page; now you need to dig deep to get to the hard stuff, because that is where the meat of your story is.
For this assignment, I want you to re-read the story you submitted last week and complete three short writing exercises that will examine all three Aristotelian Elements of a complete story: plot, character, and setting. All three exercises should be submitted in the same word document.
Exercise 1: Plot (at least 150 words)
Remember that every story should ultimately hinge on a single moment when your protagonist is forced to make a decision or take action in a way that will affect his/her/its future in some way (the climax). For this exercise, I want you to find the climax of your story and explain what it is. Then, tell me how your protagonist changes as a result of his/her/its action and what the consequences would be if he/she/it did not complete his/her/its objective. Finally, explain to me whether or not this climax is appropriate for your protagonist’s situation and powerful enough to write a story about.
Exercise 2: Character (as many as it takes for list, at least 150 words for follow up)
Consider your protagonist. For this section, I want you to briefly answer at least twenty of the following characteristics (the more, the better). A couple words will be fine for most:
Name, Nickname, Sex, Age, Looks, Education, Vocation/occupation, Status and money, Marital Status, Family and ethnicity, Diction (accent?), Relationships, Places frequented (home, office, etc.), Important possessions, Hobbies, Obsessions, Beliefs, Politics, Sexual history, Ambitions, Religion, Superstitions, Fears, Attitudes, Character flaws, Character strengths, Pets, Taste in books/music/movies/etc., Journal entries, Correspondence, Food preferences, Handwriting, Astrological sign, Talents, Friends, Relatives, Enemies, As seen by others, As seen by self, Scars, Tattoos/piercings/etc., Salary, What is in his/her fridge/glove compartment/medicine cabinet (choose one) right now
If you want to add some categories, that’s fine.
Now that you have that list, consider what you’ve written and write a paragraph considering some of the following questions: How well do you know your protagonist? How difficult was this list to complete? In writing this list, did you learn anything about your character that you didn’t know before writing your first draft? If you did learn new things about your protagonist, does that change anything about your story? Does your protagonist now have new motivations? Will he/she/it react to situations in new ways?
Exercise 3: Setting (At least 150 words)
Consider an important scene in your short story and think of where and when it takes place. Now close your eyes and imagine yourself in that time and place during the exact moment the scene is taking place. Ignoring the characters and their actions, what do you notice about this place? What do you see? Smell? Hear? Taste? Feel? (make sure you note what each sense is perceiving) Now re-read the scene again: are these things apparent in your story? What needs to be added to properly flesh out the scene? Can anything be ignored?
Format
Your work should be in 12pt Times New Roman or Cambrian font and double-spaced with 1”-1.25” margins on all four sides with indented paragraphs (no extra space between paragraphs). Files not meeting these guidelines will be returned ungraded and subject to late penalties.
Submitting your work
Each exercise should be typed up in the same Word document. Exercises should be typed up in Microsoft Word and saved with the .docx file extension. Any other format might not read my comments when I leave them. When completed, save your work with following naming format: “LastName_FirstName_Writing_Exercises_2” and then upload it to Connect under this assignment. Files not meeting these guidelines will be returned ungraded and subject to late penalties.
Things to Keep in Mind
1. You will be graded on following these instructions carefully. Not meeting the word count or content objectives will result in a low grade.
2. Make sure you are reading over your work carefully before submitting it. Grammar is a part of all of your assignments in this class and points will be deducted for mistakes. Make sure to run spell check and grammar check.
3. Remember this is a professional and academic setting and your language and word choice should reflect that.
4. Remember to get creative and bring your own imagination and perspective to this assignment.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Please review the Academic Integrity section of the course Syllabus and ensure that your assignment does not plagiarize or violate any academic integrity principles of Full Sail University before submitting it. Violation of this policy can have severe consequences.
Have any questions? Please email me at xxxx
I am a major proponent of peer review, so at the same time they are examining their own work, I also ask them to review two or three classmates’ stories. I give them a worksheet to fill out to assist in doing this, which I also provide here below the assignment sheet.
WEEK 3: Peer Review
TOPIC: Peer reviewing our short stories for revision
DUE: Sunday, Week 3, by 11:59pm
LENGTH:
PURPOSE:
- To think critically about the writing process
- To analyze and critique other people’s writing
- To observe other approaches to writing and their application to your own work
INSTRUCTIONS
At the end of last week, you completed the first draft of the short story project you are working on this month. This week will be focused on examining your work with the intent to revise it next week. Along with the second set of writing exercises that are also due this upcoming weekend, we will be peer reviewing each other’s work so that we can help one another become better writers.
On Monday or Tuesday of this week, I will divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 and email each group all of the short stories for that group. Your job is to read each story and provide feedback based on your response to that story. Important things to remember about peer review: we are here to help each other, so just telling a person that his/her story is great isn’t doing anybody any good. Be honest and be critical; that’s the only way we learn how to improve our stories. However, we are also not here to offend, so be polite at the same time. Don’t be afraid to point out what isn’t working for you in a story, but feel free to mention things you did like too. That is also very useful information.
I have provided a sample story and accompanying worksheet to help if you are unsure of the sorts of things to look for. Remember the words of Neil Gaiman about peer review (also mentioned in the revision video): “If somebody tells you something isn’t working, they are right. If they tell you how to fix it, they are wrong.” If you don’t like something, mention it, but don’t tell the person how to fix it—it isn’t your story. You can give him/her ideas and advice, but otherwise let the person figure it out for him/herself.
Please download the accompanying document titled “Peer_Review_Worksheet.docx” and use it to guide you in the review process. Fill out one copy for each person in your group. If you wish, you may also use the comments function in Word to make in-line comments as well, but that is not mandatory.
The general idea here is that when all is said and done, you will have my comments plus the ideas of 2 or 3 other people to help you in doing your revision. The more ideas you have to work with, the better your revisions will be.
Format
You shouldn’t have to adjust the formatting on the worksheet, but just in case: your work should be in 12pt Times New Roman or Cambrian font and double-spaced with 1”-1.25” margins on all four sides with indented paragraphs (no extra space between paragraphs). Files not meeting these guidelines will be returned ungraded and subject to late penalties.
Submitting your work
Submission of this assignment comes in two steps. For, submitting to me: create a folder named “Last_First_Peer_Review”, drop all of the worksheets in it, and then compress (zip) it by right clicking the file and selecting “Compress File.” Upload the compressed file to Connect the same way you submitted your other work this month. Files not meeting these guidelines will be returned ungraded and subject to late penalties.
The second step is to email the worksheets to each person in your group. Don’t email the whole group; send each worksheet individually to its recipient. It is up to you to make sure that your group members receive their feedback. If by Monday of next week, you have not received your feedback from somebody in your group, please let me know. Not sending feedback to your classmates will affect your grade.
Things to Keep in Mind
1. You will be graded on following these instructions carefully. Not meeting the word count or content objectives will result in a low grade.
2. Make sure you are reading over your work carefully before submitting it. Grammar is a part of all of your assignments in this class and points will be deducted for mistakes. Make sure to run spell check and grammar check.
3. Remember this is a professional and academic setting and your language and word choice should reflect that.
4. Remember to get creative and bring your own imagination and perspective to this assignment.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Please review the Academic Integrity section of the course Syllabus and ensure that your assignment does not plagiarize or violate any academic integrity principles of Full Sail University before submitting it. Violation of this policy can have severe consequences.
Have any questions? Please email me at xxxx
CRW2000-O Peer Review Worksheet
Please fill out the following sections while reviewing your classmate’s work. Please fill out one worksheet per short story/classmate.
Name:
Author of Short Story:
Title of Short Story:
General Questions
Did this story meet general word count requirements? If not, how far under the minimum or over the maximum is it?
Does this document meet formatting guidelines (margins, font, dialogue, etc.)? If not, what needs to be fixed?
In general, how is the grammar in this story? Are there any major issues that need fixing?
Content Questions
Are the characters well developed? What do you like about the characters? Is there anything you don’t like, or would like to see better explained?
Can you identify a main character (protagonist)? If so, does the protagonist have a clear purpose in the story (i.e. what goal is s/he trying to accomplish? What’s the plot?)
Do you get a clear idea of the setting of this story? When and where does this story take place? If you don’t have a clear idea of the setting, is it a problem? How much is it affecting your understanding of the story?
What perspective is this written in? Is the perspective consistent or are there perspective shifts that need to be fixed?
On a similar note, what verb tense is this story in: past or present? Is this consistent, or does it shift tenses in places? If so, where?
Can you pinpoint the climax? If so, is it a strong climax? Is it built to adequately? Does it lead to a proper resolution? If not, where does it seem this story is going?
What are your general thoughts on the story? Taking a step back and taking it in as a whole, what do you think of this story?
The final step is to write a second draft of their story. I make note to call it a second draft rather than a revision because I want them to be thinking that this is something they can continue to work on. It doesn’t end just because the class does. I have three steps to this assignment: the second draft, reading-out-loud, and a reflection. For the reading-out-loud portion, I have them use GarageBand to record an mp3 of them reading their story out loud. If this class were taking place in a traditional classroom, I would like to actually hold a reading at the end of the semester. Since this is online, this is the best alternative. Plus, it shows them how speaking/hearing their work will allow them to notice things that reading quietly doesn’t.
WEEK 4: Short Story – Second Draft
TOPIC: Completing a full second draft/revision of your short story
DUE: Saturday, Week 4, by 11:59pm
LENGTH: 1000-4000 words for the story, 200-300 words for the reflection
PURPOSE:
- To write a full draft of a short story
- To construct a story that shows the basics of plot, character, and setting
- To show understanding of elementary story writing
INSTRUCTIONS
This is really it: the final part of what you are working towards this month. This is an assignment in three parts. For the first part, I want you to revise the first draft you turned in at the end of week 2. I then want you to record you reading your story out loud using Garageband. Finally, I want you to write a short reflection about the revision process.
Part 1 (70%): Second Draft (1000-3500 words)
At the end of the second week, you handed in a complete draft of a fictional short story. In the time since then, you have done more writing exercises based on what you wrote as well as read more stories and heard more concepts about story writing. Using all of that, along with the comments your classmates and I left you on the first draft, I want you to revise that first draft.
What this ultimately means is that your story should see some marked improvement from that first draft to this one. Weak areas should be shored up and already strong areas should be even stronger. I always like to say that revision is the process that makes bad writing good and good writing great. That’s what we are looking for here: let’s take your writing and make it better.
Even the greatest writers in the world are not immune to the need for revision, so there should be plenty for you to work on. Even if you received a terrific grade on the first draft, that’s no guarantee you’ll get a terrific grade on this one too. Non-existent or inadequate revisions will result in a poor grade, even if the story is otherwise great.
Note that I call this a second draft rather than a revision or a final draft. I do this for a specific reason: it is my hope that you leave this class with the desire to keep working on your story. Whether you use it for another course or just want to work on it for your own, personal reasons, I hope that you will keep working on it to make it the best story you can.
Also note that you now have up to 4000 words with which to tell your story. That’s another 1500 on top of the first draft that you can use to flesh your story out. So, if I told you that you needed more detail, you should have plenty of space to fill it in.
When you save this file, give it the same filename as the title of your story.
Part 2 (20%): Reading out Loud
The second part of this final assignment might seem a bit pointless, but I want you to fire up Garageband on your MacBook Pro and record yourself giving a reading of your story. If you open up Garageband, click on “Podcast,” and then click “Choose,” you should have all you need to record your work. MacBooks have a built in microphone, so you don’t need to worry about that. It does not have to be a perfect recording, so if you stumble on some words, do not worry about it; just keep reading.
The reason for the recording is two-fold: 1) It’s amazing how often we writers can find flaws in our own work when we read it out loud. Just the process of hearing it rather than reading it makes things jump out where we otherwise might miss it. 2) It is a common honor for writers to be given the opportunity to read their work in a public setting. As this is an online course, we cannot replicate that situation. So consider this your first formal reading opportunity of your story. Maybe someday you can take part in a proper reading!
Once you have finished reading your work, then you need to export it as an mp3 file. If you click on the Share menu at the top of the page, you should be able to select “Export Podcast to Disk.” Under “Compress Using,” select “MP3 Encoder” and then “Spoken Podcast” under “Audio Settings.” Click “Export” and save it. It should save as an mp3 then. It is necessary that you send it to me this way as an mp3 will be much smaller than the base Garageband file, and I might not be able to open a Garageband file if you have a different version from me. Exporting as an mp3 will eliminate both of those problems.
Part 3 (10%): Reflection (200-300 words)
For this final part, I want you to write me a short paragraph that reflects on the revision process. This is a multi-step process:
- Consider what you have learned about writing as part of the revision process. What have you learned about yourself as a writer, and what have you learned about storytelling in general? You can also think about what you learned while reading your work out loud.
- I want you to justify the changes you made to your story. It isn’t enough to say that you made the changes because I told you to make them. Rather, I want you to consider what exactly you were doing with the material you added, deleted, or changed. How have these changes affected your story? What have you gained? What have you lost? Did you notice any changes that happened that you didn’t consciously make? Why did you make these changes?
When you save this file, give it the name REFLECTION.
Format
Your story and reflection should be typed up in separate Microsoft Word documents and saved with the .docx file extension. Any other format might not read my comments when I leave them. The story itself should be in 12pt Times New Roman or Cambrian font and double spaced with 1”-1.25” margins on all four sides with indented paragraphs (no extra space between paragraphs). Your story should have a title, though a title page is not necessary. Files not meeting these guidelines will be returned ungraded and subject to late penalties.
Submitting your work
When you have all three parts completed, create a folder named “Last_First_Second_Draft” and then compress (zip) it by right clicking the file and selecting “Compress File.” Upload the compressed file to Connect the same way you submitted your other work this month. Files not meeting these guidelines will be returned ungraded and subject to late penalties.
**To be eligible for full credit, you must turn in all three components. See the rubric for more details**
Things to Keep in Mind
1. You will be graded on following these instructions carefully. Not meeting the word count or content objectives will result in a low grade.
2. Make sure you are reading over your work carefully before submitting it. Grammar is a part of all of your assignments in this class and points will be deducted for mistakes. Make sure to run spell check and grammar check.
3. Remember this is a professional and academic setting and your language and word choice should reflect that.
4. Remember to get creative and bring your own imagination and perspective to this assignment.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Please review the Academic Integrity section of the course Syllabus and ensure that your assignment does not plagiarize or violate any academic integrity principles of Full Sail University before submitting it. Violation of this policy can have severe consequences.
Have any questions? Please email me at xxxx
Mark D. Thomas 