Wednesday, December 7 ~ Finishing Touches on Short Stories

 

Reminder

• Short Story due on Block. 
• Any stories turned in late (other than excused absences) will receive a 50%.
• Short stories must be printed on good old fashioned white printer paper.
• MLA format is an absolute must.  
• Fourth period begins at 8:10 tomorrow morning. 

Today

• Short stories - please have one of your classmates proofread your story.

FYI: Study guide for the final will be available to you on Block Day. Don't be absent!
 





WEST's Class - See Agenda Here:
First...a few check points for your story.

1. What point of view are you using to tell your story? (first or third person)
2. What time tense are you using? (Most stories sound pretty well when told in past tense... Whatever time tense you chose, stick to it!)
3. Have you covered each of the plot steps in your story?
4. Is there a clear message in your story? 

EQ: How do I correctly write a dialogue?

WHAT ABOUT DIALOGUE?

      "Hi Tony," said Katy.

      "Hey," Tony answered.

      "What's wrong?" Katy asked.

      "Nothing," Tony said.

      "Really? You don't act like nothing's wrong."

       
Pretty tiresome dialogue, right?

Instead of writing a dialogue like the one above, a writer could condense the scene:

       "Hi Tony."

Tony looked down at his shoe, dug in his toe, and pushed around a pile of dust.

       "Hey," he replied.

Katy could tell something was wrong.

Formatting Tips
Rule 1. The first thing to remember is that punctuation goes inside quotations.
    "I can't believe you just did that!"
Rule 2.  Dialogue tags (the he/she said of the quotation) SHOULD BE USED SPARINGLY. The dialogue and narration should be used to show the emotion or action stated in the tag. One of the most important rules of writing fiction is: show, don't tell.

DON'T DO TOO MUCH OF THIS:
"But I don't want to go to sleep yet," he whined.

TRY THIS INSTEAD:
He stood in the doorway with his hands balled into little fists at his sides. His red, tear-rimmed eyes glared up at his mother. "But I don't want to go to sleep yet."
*A good writer will describe the scene in a way that conjures the image of a whining little boy.

Rule 3.  Paragraphs are very important to the flow and comprehension of the dialogue. Remember to start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes within the dialogue. This helps the reader know when someone new is speaking (and who it is).


HW: Rough Draft Bring a digital copy of your story tomorrow for peer editing. Credit will be given for completed rough drafts (2-5 pages, double spaced). EC is available if you turn in your final draft hard copy before we leave on Friday this week.

All stories due as hard copy final drafts on Monday at the latest.