Week 4: April 25- May 2
Thoughts and assignments
Week 4: Thoughts
This week we shift focus prose. For the next 3 weeks we’ll work with exercises and assignments
related to prose fiction. Whether you’re happy with this new focus or not, bear in mind that in 3
weeks you’ll be choosing which genre to focus on for the last few weeks of the quarter. Start
thinking about which one you want to do.
This is the last week to work with the small group you’ve been doing poetry with – you’ll have a
new group assignment starting at the beginning of next week (May 2). Take this opportunity to
appreciate the group you’re in and give especially thoughtful comments.
You have several assignments this week. Each one is in a separate document. Be sure to open
and read each one. You find it helpful to print them out.
LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS - OVERVIEW
Discussion: Your answer due Wed., April 27.
Discussion responses: 3 or more separate responses to other folks’ postings: Due Friday April
29.
Responses to creative work: Due Wed., April 27.
Experiment (out in the world): Due Friday, April 29.
Reading from What If, and annotation: Due Friday, April 29.
New Creative Work: Due Monday, May 2.
ASSIGNMENT DETAILS – WEEK 4
Discussion: ONE QUESTION.
Due Wed., April 27.
How would you define “fiction”? What’s an example of fiction that you have a strong feeling
about – love it, hate it, hated it but couldn’t stop reading? What made that particular work so
compelling to you?
Discussion Responses: Three or more separate responses to other folks’ postings.
Due Friday, April 29.
Responses to creative work: Read and respond to 3 different people’s work in your group from
last week.
Due: Wed, April 27.
WEEK 4: RESPONSE TO CREATIVE WORK
Read the creative work posted by other members of your group. Write a response to 3 different
people’s work. You’ll be responding to the poetry written last week, even as we shift focus to
prose. By now you’re probably developing a way of responding to other people’s writing.
Remember to be kind and to focus on details. You can ask folks in your group specific questions
about your work, or let them know what kind of responses you do or don’t want to get. In other
words; ask for the kind of comments that are useful to you.
Week 4: Experiment – Observing People in Public
Get out in the world with your notebook in a place where people congregate. Your task is to
note dialogue (spoken words) and behavior by people in a public place. Don’t try to eavesdrop
on private conversations; focus on easily observable public behavior. How do people greet the
barista? Describe the man standing across the street at the bus stop, the little girl running in the
park, the teenagers as they walk down the street together.
Spend about an hour observing people and type up your notes. I’m looking for concrete detail of
behavior, words, appearance – not judgments or stories about people, but what you can directly
see and hear with your senses.
This can be hard to do. Often we go instantly from an observation (female, white hair, walking
slowly) to a judgment or opinion (frail old lady). Stay with the direct information as much as
possible.
This is practice for writing character studies and dialogue – the basic materials of story telling.
Submit your notes by Friday, April 29.
Reading and Annotation from What If: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
This week we’re read What If: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers. Start by reading the
Preface, Introduction, and first chapter “Beginnings” – that’s everything up to page 30. And the
“Sudden Fiction” section, 223-245. Also read the selection of short-short stories at the back (p.
273-286).
ANNOTATION DUE Friday April 29
We’ll use the “notice and focus” assignment here. Remember that the game here is to practice
OBSERVING without judging. That requires us to slow down, to deliberately ignore or set aside
the part of our minds that has an opinion about everything, and to experience an extended period
of just looking, just noticing, just being with the poem.
1. Choose one short-short story from the collection. You’re going to spend a minimum of 30
minutes answering the question “what do you notice” as you look over the story.
2. Using either your computer or a paper and pencil, make a list of details that you notice. Don’t
try to decide what details are important; just write down as many as you can identify. Keep your
focus on the words on the page, rather than making inferences or interpretations. What does it
actually say? You might notice the first line, character, point of view, setting, word choice,
sentence length, plot, objects… whatever you notice, write that down.
3. After making your list, take a break – stretch, get a drink of water, look out the window – and
come back to your list. Answer this question:
“What three details are most revealing or significant or strange?”
Go through your list and highlight or circle or mark the three details that strike you. Don’t think
too much; just go with your first instincts.
4. For each of the details you chose, write a paragraph. Say why it seems revealing, or
significant, or strange. Dig into it. You can go ahead and interpret it, relate it to the story, or just
stay with the words as they appear on the page.
Your annotation should include:
Title and author of short-short story you chose. Put story titles in quote marks: “The
Custodian.”
Your list of details – everything you noticed.
Your 3 paragraphs on chosen details.
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Week 4: Creative Writing: Due Monday
AFTER reading pages xv-30, 223-245, and 273-286 of What If, complete the following creative
exercises.
1. Using the detailed directions on p. 7-11 as a prompt, write ten (or more) of your own
opening lines for ten different stories.
2. Using the detailed directions on p. 12-13 as a prompt, choose one of your first sentences
from the first exercise and take it to entirely different stories by adding five (or more!)
different second sentences.
3. Choose one of your first/second sentence combinations from exercise 2 and continue
writing to complete a short-short story of 500-1000 words.
4. Alternatively, you may write 2 or 3 flash fictions of 250-500 words. Feel free to try one
or more of the prompts in Part 11 if you wish.
Submit by Monday, May 2.
 List of 10 or more first lines.
 List of 5 or more first line/second line combinations.
 Your complete short-short story (500 words and up), OR your 2 or 3 flash fictions (250
words and up).
Submit a short-short story to your new writing group also by Monday, May 2.