Fiction Prompt 2Here are my suggestions to get you started writing your secondshort story for this course. Feel free to mix and match or go with your own inspiration.1.Try out one of the shapesfrom what we’ve read in MSF. You’ve read them all, so if you have a favorite, give it a try!2.Experiment with flash fiction. Machado’s story is a great example of flash fiction. Flash fiction is very brief! This kind of storytelling shares elements with poetry, such as the focus on images and sensory detail, and thegeneral economy of words. Note that Machado’s story is told in a single, very complicated sentence. Steal that or some other technique from her work and try it yourself!3.This prompt comes from a game I have, Storymatic.This game consists of twodifferent kinds of cards: gold cards that help you build characters, and copper cards that help you create situations.You combine the cards (at least two of each color) to write your story.There are two rules to the Storymatic game, but as always, you can ignore whatever rules you like:1.Your main character must change from the beginning of the story to the end of the story (or they must be dynamic).2.Do not kill your main character.An example:So my character for this story would be a bad driver who is also a firebug (pyromaniac). The story has to include an invitation from a stranger and an enormous stuffed animal, but I can include those elements however I want. You can imagine how this story could go so many different directions! Keep in mind, I don’t have to include every part of this in the story itself. Just because the character is a bad driver, that doesn’t mean I have to include a scene in their car. Maybe I include a descriiption of their banged-up vehicle that allows for deeper characterization.Here are the cards I’ve drawn as options for you. You can choose to use as many as you want!Gold cards (character):•Rider of elevators•Exaggerator•Runner-up•Person with a secret bad habit•Kindergarten teacherCopper cards (situation):•Sudden return of a forgotten memory•Family curse•Parade•Ice•
SettingNOTHING HAPPENS NOWHEREAuthor time:when the story was written and publishedPlot time:the time during which the story takes placeBasic definition of setting:the time and place in which the story unfoldsLocation:specific to general –in a room, in acity, in a country, on a planet, etc.Physical setting:weather, sensory detail, etc.Social setting:culture, tradition, societal expectations, etc.Relationship between character and setting:•Affects the identity of the characters•Reflects inner lives of characters•Harmony/conflict between character and setting
Descriiption: In this lesson, you will learn about setting. You will use this knowledge as you read the short story “Mary When You Follow Her” by Machado. You will write your second short story draft for the course in response to this week’s prompt and the lessons you’ve learned so far from Making Shapely Fiction. This is a totally new story, not a revision of the draft you used for the first workshop. Next week, you will receive feedback on these drafts from your peers and me.
Objectives:
Understand the elements of setting in fiction
Write your second short story draft
Checklist:
Read:
Short story: “Mary When You Follow Her” by Machado
Assignment due midnight Sunday 10/3: Post draft to workshop discussion board
Optional assignment due midnight Sunday 10/3: Reading Response 5 toward improving your contract grade
