Transcript No Slide Title

Short
Story
Telling a fictional story . . .
From Reading to Writing Questions keep
readers in suspense as they read “Full Circle” by
Sue Grafton and “The Utterly Perfect Murder” by
Ray Bradbury. Like most stories, these are meant
to entertain, but stories may also explore ideas and
emotions, expose a truth about life, or inform their
audience about specific facts.
Short
Story
Telling a fictional story . . .
As a short story writer, you are free to explore
other worlds and other minds besides your own.
No wonder we find intriguing stories everywhere
we look, from magazines and movies to music
videos.
Basics in a Box
Short Story at a Glance
Introduction
Sets the
stage by
• introducing
the characters
• describing
the setting
Body
Develops the plot by
• introducing the conflict
• telling a sequence of
events
• developing main
characters
• building toward a climax
Conclusion
Finishes the
story by
• resolving
the conflict
• telling the
last event
RUBRIC Standards for Writing
A successful short story should
• use the elements of character,
setting, and plot to create a
convincing world
• use techniques such as vivid
sensory language, concrete details,
and dialogue to create believable
characters and setting
• develop and resolve a central
conflict
• present a clear sequence of events
• maintain a consistent point of view
Writing Your Short Story
1
Prewriting
With me, a story usually begins with a
single idea or memory or mental picture.
William Faulkner, American writer
Writing Your Short Story
1
Prewriting
Find a “seed” for your story in one of
the following ways:
 Elaborate on an interesting daydream.
 Contemplate recent news stories that
you find intriguing.
 Recall unusual events experienced by
yourself or others.
 Ask a “What-if” question with fictional
potential.
Planning Your Short Story
1. Develop your story’s key elements.
• Characters Who is the main character?
What supporting characters are
necessary?
• Setting Where and when does the story
take place? Does the setting affect the
characters or plot in any way?
Planning Your Short Story
• Plot What background information is
necessary at the beginning of your story?
What are the main events? What is the
conflict? Will the conflict be resolved? Use
a timeline to decide what will happen at
the beginning, middle, and end of the
story.
Background
Event 1
Event 2
Event 3
Climax/
Resolution
Planning Your Short Story
2. Choose a point of view. Will the story work
best told in first person by the main
character? Or is a third-person omniscient
narrator necessary to get into the minds of
several characters? Another option is a
third-person limited narrator who can tell
what is going on in one character’s mind.
Planning Your Short Story
3. Create a mood. What general emotional
quality, or atmosphere, do you wish to create
with your characters, settings, and plot? Will
your story be dramatic, sad, scary, serious,
or funny?
Writing Your Short Story
2 Drafting
Your story may begin with an incident that
sets the plot in motion, with background
information, or with an incident that
happens later in the story. Begin writing and
see where the story takes you.
Writing Your Short Story
2 Drafting
Dialogue
Have your characters talk to “show” instead
of “tell” your story. You may use slang,
dialect, and various shades of formal and
informal language to show what your
characters are like.
Writing Your Short Story
2 Drafting
Description
Description also helps you “show” your
story. Use images that appeal to the senses
and figurative language to describe
characters, setting, and events in a
compelling way.
Writing Your Short Story
2 Drafting
Flashbacks and Foreshadowing
If you begin with an event from the middle
of your story, you may want to go back in
time—flashback—to an earlier event that is
significant to the conflict. You may also
want to give hints—foreshadowing—as to
how the conflict will be resolved.
Writing Your Short Story
3 Revising
TARGET SKILL
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Figurative language such as simile and
metaphor helps readers see the world in a
new way by comparing two unlike things. A
simile uses the word like or as: “My
headache felt like a bass drum pounding in
my head.” A metaphor is an implied
comparison: “A bass drum pounded in my
head.”
Writing Your Short Story
4 Editing and Proofreading
TARGET SKILL
PUNCTUATING CLAUSES
Keep your story line clear by punctuating
clauses correctly. Use a comma before a
conjunction that joins two independent
clauses of a compound sentence. Also use
commas to set off nonessential clauses.