Short Story Writing

Rayimjonova Shoiraxon

Short Story Writing

Narrative

• a composition used to recount an event or series of events
• simple narrative – events told in chronological order
• narrative with plot – less chronological, events arranged according to the nature of the plot and type of story (flashback and flashforward)

Main Parts

• Character
• protagonist (main character)
• antagonist (opposing force)
• Setting
• Plot
• conflict
• resolution

Character
Physical Characteristics
what they look like
Emotional Characteristics
what kind of person they are
can be revealed through the use of words and actions
Characteristics can be revealed either directly or indirectly.

Creating Characters

You can often tell a lot about a person just by looking at them. In pairs or groups of 3 create a life for the person in the photo. Think about what kind of person they might be, what their family might be like and what they might like to do in their spare time.

The Story of Your Name

• Names are a very important part of who you are. What do you know about your name? Where did it come from? Is it significant in any way? What about its history?
• In a good paragraph, tell me about your name.

Creating Characters

• One of the first steps in writing a story is the creation of characters. Now, you are going to create a potential protagonist and antagonist for a story that you will write.

Your Assignment

• Now that you have created a few characters you will choose two of them to include in the story you will eventually write. One will be the protagonist (main character) the other the antagonist (opposing force)
• Next you will create a good copy of a verbal and visual presentation for you characters.

Visual

• This will include a picture of the character as well as anything else you feel is important to the character or is representative of them.

Verbal

• In paragraph form you will describe the physical features of your character. You will also briefly explain their story – who are they? Be sure to include what you feel is important to know about this character.
• Try to use descriptive words when writing about your characters.

Character Marking Rubric

Step 1 – Protagonist & Antagonist /20

• Visual
• Effort (5)
• Creativity (5)
• Verbal
• Content (5)
• Mechanics (5)

Setting

• Time – when the story takes place
• Place – where the story takes place
• Often plays an important part in the story, example “Identities”

Create a Setting for:

• A high school drop out
• A former college sports star / famous actress
• A blind person’s bedroom

Your Setting

• In a good paragraph or two, tell me about your setting:
• Where were you born?
• Where have you lived?
• Has that helped make you who you are?
• How might you be different in you lived somewhere else?

Describing A Setting

• You are a tourist information writer and your job is to entice people to visit various places. In a good descriptive paragraph describe the setting in the photograph you select. After you have described the place, create a name that will also work to draw people in – be creative.
• Next briefly (good paragraph) describe a story that could take place in this setting.

Creating A Setting

• Another important part of writing a story is creating an intriguing and interesting setting.
• Think about the characters you have created and create a setting in which they might interact.

Setting Marking Rubric

Step 2 – Setting /20

• Visual
• Effort (5)
• Creativity (5)
• Verbal
• Content (5)
• Mechanics (5)