Realistic Fiction Short Story Assignment Over the course

Realistic Fiction Short Story Assignment Over the course of the first unit you learned that a good short story requires the writer to use effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well structured event sequences. Over the next few weeks you will learn to craft and revise integral scenes, to create well developed characters that respond to conflict in realistic ways, and to use tension and pacing to draw readers into your unfolding plot. In other words, you will be planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing a 2 -3 page realistic fiction short story that has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Short Stories work best when… • The characters are approximately the same age as the writer • There are no more than two or three main characters (and very few others) • None of the names used (or characters developed) are those of students in the class • The stories can be told within two or three major scenes or small moments, at the most, each involving not more than approximately an hour of time Qualities of a Strong Fictional Draft • Setting establishes what kind of world the characters live in. • Details pull readers in to the story. • Conflict between or within characters shows us what’s at stake in the story. • Dialogue tags imply emotion with which a character speaks.