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Date:
Elements of Short
Story Writing
Workbook for
Creative Writing I
assignments are practice, think of them as specific journal topics I will have your
write about. You will be graded based on completeness, effort and willingness to
discuss and share your ideas. Every day an assignment is due I will check and
stamp the page according to how complete it is. When we complete this packet,
you will hand it in and I will give you an overall grade based on your effort.
Comedy
Sometimes they are a satire on human weaknesses
Other times a mistake by a character has caused a domino effect to
occur
Tactics sometimes include irreverent humor using surprise and ridicule
Usually they have a happy ending and sometimes end with a moral or
lesson.
Romance
Fantasy
Contain improbable characters, events and places not found in real life
Usually involves the supernatural or magic or other forms of
imaginative ideas
Fairy Tales, Sci-Fi, Horror, and True Fantasy usually include elements
of fantasy.
Real Drama
Usually these stories are about the trials and tribulations of life.
Characters are usually normal, average people.
The plot usually revolves around some conflict that causes a break
from the norm.
The reader usually learns something from the resolution.
Horror
Stories usually contain one strong protagonist hero and one evil antagonist
Stories contain a variety of suspenseful and action oriented plot events:
fights, car chases, technological weaponry, military tactics etc.
NOTE: Sometimes short stories will combine more than one genre. For example, real
drama and romance or horror and mystery are common combinations.
Give some examples of a TV, movie, book, short story example of this genre.
What ideas do you have for conflicts for this type of genre?
Genre 2:_________________________________
What are typical characters in this genre?
Give some examples of a TV, movie, book, short story example of this genre.
What ideas do you have for conflicts for this type of genre?
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Go to my website to see the examples of each type of characterization if
you need to see them again.
Types of characters:
Primary:____________________________________________________________________________
Protagonist:_________________________________________________________
Example:______________________________________________
Antagonist:__________________________________________________________
Example:______________________________________________
Secondary: ________________________________________________________________________
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Examples:__________________________________________________________________________
Background:_______________________________________________________________________
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Examples:__________________________________________________________________________
NOW, who are the other characters in your characters life. Below, explain them
based on the type of character they fit with:
Antagonists name and problem he/she causes: ___________________________________
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Secondary Characters names and relationship:_____________________________________
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Background Characters names and relationship:
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Setting:____________________________________________________________________________
Point of View:______________________________________________________________________
Theme:____________________________________________________________________________
Conflict Due:_________
One single conflict is what drives a short story. When you put conflict into a
situation, its like putting gas in a car. Without gas, the car cant go down the road.
Without conflict, the story isnt going anywhere either. For this assignment, youre
going to play God and give your primary character drama!
There are four main types of conflict in literature.
Character vs. Character
Two or more characters are at odds.
Character vs. Society
The character is for some reason, frowned on by society or those in power.
Character vs. Nature
The character must fight against natural forces to survive.
Character vs. Self
This type of conflict takes place in the characters own heart and mind as he
or she tries to decide what to do about a problem situation.
Think of the primary character you created and all of his/her secondary
character relationships. In the lines provided, write an example of a
conflict your character could have based on each type.
Character vs. Character____________________________________________________________
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Character vs. Society_______________________________________________________________
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that one Michelle or Mandy? Whatever. Ok, question one Argh! That stupid girl
behind me that raises her hand more than Hermione Granger keeps sneezing those
little tiny sneezes that shouldnt even be called sneezes. They sound more like high
pitched hiccups. And that stupid fluorescent light above me keeps flickering. I
swear its going to give me a seizure. This test is worth over 200 points and I dont
even know the answer to the first question. What the heck is slope again?
The sun does feel good on my back though. Out the window all I can see is
blue sky and green leaves. SUMMER!! Man, I cant wait to go to Red Granite with
Kirsten. Shell be wearing that bikini
Sigh. That stupid nerdy kid next to me is flying through this test so fast hes
had to sharpen his pencil twice already. Even my buddy Todd is bugging me
because he has this annoying habit of tapping his pencil on the desk. I just want to
scream at him, DUDE! Youre not little drummer boy. STOP or Im going to punch
you.
This test is going to kill me. I wont go to summer school again this year. I
cant. Mrs. Ronson keeps staring out the window. I bet she wont notice if I take a
little lookie at cargo-pants-boys answers when he goes to sharpen his pencil again.
Questions for Example 1:
Describe the protagonist. What type of guy is he?
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His companion, a thin man clad in a dark sweatshirt and dirty blue jeans
nodded. Lets do it, he said in a gravelly voice.
They crossed the street quickly, an old beer can bounced across the street
behind them. Their eyes were fixed on the grocery store, hands in their pockets.
Questions for Example 2:
1. Is this a city, a small town, or a country setting? What year is it? How do you
know this?
2. What are Ben and the other character going to do? What do you think the
conflict of this story will be?
3. Who do you think lives in the apartment above the grocery store? Explain his/her
character based on the info ex. 2 gives you.
4. Why is the building described in such detail? What is the overall tone of this
setting?
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I made a left turn on High St. and followed the familiar black and yellow signs for UWOshkosh. My Civic bumped along the pot hole ridden street. With all that parking ticket
money I forked out to those meter Nazis youd think theyd fix this poor excuse for a street.
I followed the signs to visitor parking and like years ago, found the lot to be crammed full of
college kids cars. I turned in and wove up and down the aisles until I found a spot next to a
rusty blue Buick Century. As I slid out of my car and grabbed my pack, I noticed this car
actually had a commuter lot sticker. Wheres Rita the meter maid now? I used to get
nailed for parking in the visitor lot all the time. Paybacks a. My thoughts trailed off when I
felt the weight of the day on my shoulders. Ray was dead.
The A/C building was on the farthest end of campus, a hefty walk from the Scott
dorms. I used to think it was put there like a bad kid gets put in the corner. My freshman
friends always told me college was for partying not creativity and when I walked to the
theatre I always felt like I was going to a place where I could be the real me, not the me I
was for them.
The spring wind was bitter, cutting through my thin fleece jacket and making my
body erupt into goose bumps. It was April and snow still lined the sidewalk, and the sun, like
a baby chicken trying to hatch, couldnt quite push the shell of clouds away. Ahead of me I
could see the tall loft roof of the Fredric March Theatre, the place Ray and I lived at for a
good three years of college when we finally found ourselves.
Hey Craig, come to the Fred with me Rays voice whispers in my head. Ill never
forget those words. A few minutes later I found myself opening those institutional glass
doors and walking down the hall. The smells of old wood and dusty drapes weighed down
the air in this place. My eyes scanned the Wall of Fame until I saw the cast/crew picture
from The Music Man. Ray was dressed as Howard, his pale bald head I still remember the
day he shaved his long black hair off for the part. My eyes fell from the photo and I
concentrated on the poster advertising Gyspy until my eyes stopped stinging. The stage
door I could never quite close gaped open and I found my feet shuffling across the old stage
floor. The flaking black paint was as dark as the news I had to deliver.
Ray was dead, and I had to find Dr. Grubidge and tell her.
For example, pick a place you character would normally be. Describe it as if
he/she is there doing what he/she would normally do there. This would follow
example one.
Another possibility is just to describe the setting so we can visualize it. Bring
your character in at the end like you saw in example two.
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Now, answer a few questions about what you wrote.
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1. What does this setting show about who your character is?
4. Based on the setting, what type of conflict will be emerging from this exposition?
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Cons-______________________________________________________________________________
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Third person omniscient point of view definition:_____________________________
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hated math and could only think of one thing, snow. How he longed for it to snow.
He wanted to play in it, throw snowballs and more importantlysled. He began to
look down at his fingers, in a desperate attempt to figure out his math when Mrs.
Hagers scolding voice caused him to jerk his head up. His eyes slid by the windows
and froze. A huge, white, fluffy snowflake was dancing down to the ground. Jason
beamed, and for an instant he was out sledding, until Mrs. Hagers voice snapped
him back to reality. How he hated math.
Third Person Omniscient POV
Mrs. Hager hated this time of year. As she looked out onto her classroom of
second graders she could see the restlessness in their eyes. It was the middle of
December and it hadnt snowed yet, very unusual weather for northern Wisconsin.
She didnt even have to wear a jacket today. The weather was still in the forties
and her wool sweater was perfect. She didnt mind the weather, being a North
Carolina native, forties was cold enough for her.
Jason on the other hand hated the current weather pattern. The eight year
old loved snow. He loved the way it looked, felt and tasted. He had gotten his sled
up from the basement four weeks ago in anticipation, and since had seen it collect
dust. He even had put his baseball stuff away and gotten it back out three separate
times now based on false alarms. He was beginning to think that weathermen were
just as suspicious as Santa Claus.
The first snowflakes began to fall around one. Mrs. Hager hoped the
students, who were busily completing their math assignment, wouldnt notice. She
knew mass chaos would break out, and already having a headache from Tom
Moders little outburst during Science, she didnt think she could handle twentyseven different reactions to snow.
Jason noticed the flakes first. She knew she shouldnt have scolded him for
using his fingers to do his subtraction. He immediately thought of his sled and the
ramp he and Taylor were going to build. He poked Chad and pointed. He saw the
exasperated look on Mrs. Hagers face, but couldnt contain himself. Winter had
finally begun!
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3rd Person Limited Point of View: ___________________________________________________
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3rd Person Omniscient Point of View:________________________________________________
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Based on what you wrote, which one do you like the best? _________________________
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Why?______________________________________________________________________________
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Dialogue Terms to Know:
Tag Lines:__________________________________________________________________________
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Inner Monologue:__________________________________________________________________
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Beats:______________________________________________________________________________
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Example: Youll start to feel sleepy, murmured the hypnotist. Very sleepy.
Now, practice fixing the dialogue below by re-writing it on the lines:
what is the motive for the crime asked Watson.
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Im really hungry John said
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I found this wallet underneath my girlfriends car seat I said. Where do you think
she found it Mike asked. No clue. I looked at the I.D. but I dont know who the guy
is I said. Do you think shes cheating on you asked Mike.
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This excerpt is from the beginning of the story when Deckles goes to Time Safari,
Inc.
Unbelievable, Deckles breathed, the light of the Machine on his thin face.
A real Time Machine. He shook his head. Makes you think. If the election had
gone badly yesterday, I might be here now running away from the results. Thank
God Keith won. He'll make a fine President of the United States.
Yes, said the man behind the desk. We're lucky. If Deutscher had gotten
in, we'd have the worst kind of dictatorship. There's an anti-everything man for
you, a militarist, anti-Christ, anti-human, anti-intellectual. People called us up, you
know, joking but not joking. Said if Deutscher became President they wanted to go
live in 1492. Of course it's not our business to conduct Escapes, but to form Safaris.
Anyway, Keith's President now. All you got to worry about is
Shooting my dinosaur, Deckles finished it for him.
A Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Thunder Lizard, the damnedest monster in
history. Sign this release. Anything happens to you, we're not responsible. Those
dinosaurs are hungry.
Deckles flushed angrily. Trying to scare me!
Frankly, yes. We don't want anyone going who'll panic at the first shot. Six Safari
leaders were killed last year, and a dozen hunters. We're here to give you the best
thrill a real hunter ever asked for. Traveling you back sixty million years to bag the
biggest game in all Time. Your personal check's still there. Tear it up.
Mr. Deckles looked at the check for a long time. His fingers twitched.
This excerpt is from the part of the story when the hunters are walking on the metal
path looking for the dinosaur:
Deckles, balanced on the narrow Path, aimed his rifle playfully.
Stop that! said Travis. Don't even aim for fun, blast you! If your gun
should go off
Deckles flushed. Where's our Tyrannosaurus?
Esperance checked his wrist watch. Up ahead. We'll bisect his trail in sixty
seconds. Look for the red paint, for God's sake. Don't shoot till we give the word.
Stay on the Path. Stay on the Path!
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Now, answer the following questions and you will see how these two excerpts show
the functions of dialogue.
1. How does the dialogue strengthen the storys reality?
4. What type of relationship does the man behind the desk and Travis have with
Deckles?
5. What is some necessary information that we learn based on what the characters
say?
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Directions: With the character you created, write a scene of dialogue where you
are using all of the aspects of dialogue you have learned:
Punctuation
Paragraphing
Inner Monologue
Beats
Functions
If you have an idea for your story, this could be a section of your plot.
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In a story you need to bring your idea to life by showing your reader your setting,
your characters and your plot. Below are a few ways to do that. Stories start with
an exposition or beginning. As you know from reading stories, the exposition shows
you the setting and introduces you to the characters. It will finish off by bringing in
the conflict.
There are a few ways you can start your exposition:
Start with general background information that helps set up the idea
in your story.
Ex.
The town of Bear Creek was getting ready for Halloween. Many
of the people living in
the town had decorated their houses with
orange lights, inflated ghost and witch decorations
and of course jacko-lanterns. Kevin was excited to go trick-or-treating with his friends Marian
and Justin. There was one house that they wanted to avoid
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