MULLINS: ENGLISH I
OF MICE & MEN CREATIVE WRITING
name: ____________________
Below you will find two creative writing activities. Your task today will be to choose ONE writing activity and complete it
during today’s class period. Be sure to follow the instructions very closely and complete all of the requirements for the
assignment. Complete your assignment on a piece of notebook paper and staple this sheet to your completed
assignment BEFORE you leave today.
*** You will be graded on your creativity, your spelling and grammar, and your use of examples from the novel.
Happy Writing, and remember, be creative!  ***
WRITING ACTIVITY NUMBER ONE: NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
DIRECTIONS: Write a one page (front and back) newspaper article for the local newspaper the day after Lennie and
Curley’s wife are killed.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
- A newspaper always writes about the WHO / WHAT / WHEN / WHY / WHERE / HOW of a story, so make sure to answer
all of these questions in your article.
-Think about what happens in the novel, and what questions other characters (other than Slim and George, and the
other ranchers) would have based on the things that happened. Try to answer these questions for the “general public”
that would be reading the newspaper article.
See an example from a real newspaper on the next page.
OR
WRITING ACTIVITY NUMBER TWO: AN OBITUARY
An obituary is an announcement of death, followed by information about the deceased, accomplishments of his or her life, and
information about his or her family.
Directions: Write an obituary for both Curley’s wife and Lennie. (1 page each- Curley’s wife on the front, Lennie on the
back). Make it as detailed as possible. It is not uncommon to find the following information in a person’s obituary –
-first name and last name
-reason for death
-siblings’ names
-hobbies
-deceased’s favorite saying
-time/place of wake
-age or date of birth.
-address/town where lived
-location, date, and/or time of death
-relatives’ names
-contributions to the world
-quotes from people about the deceased
-time/place of funeral
-pets owned
-spouse’s name
-occupation
-life achievements
-mention of funeral services
Obviously you won’t be able to include all this information for your character based on what we know about them in the
novel, but you can make it as detailed as possible. You can also make some information about the character up (as long
as it fits what else we know about the character from the novel.
See an example of an obituary on the next page.
Newspaper Article Example:
Clerk shot to death at Fort Worth gun store
STAR TELEGRAM 12/14/2014 5:05 PM
12/16/2014 3:30 PM
Fort Worth police are looking for a man seen on video in a gun supply shop before the store’s clerk was gunned down Saturday night.
The clerk, 32-year-old Eric Kent Peterson, was shot several times at about 6:01 p.m. at the Military Gun Supply store at 2901 S.
Cravens Road off East Loop 820, according to police. He died at the store, police said.
Police are now asking for the public’s help identifying a man caught on surveillance video purchasing an item from Peterson before he
was shot.
“I can only say that he is a person that homicide detectives would like to speak to,” said Cpl. Tracey Knight, a Fort Worth police
spokeswoman. Knight would not say whether the man seen on video is suspected of shooting the clerk. Fort Worth police would not
say whether they know of a motive for the shooting.
Anyone with information on the man’s identity or the homicide is asked to call the Fort Worth Police Department at 817-335-4222 or
Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477).
Obituary
Example: