Short Fiction 500
Hatridge
Writer’s Notebook Due Date:
Assigned Writer’s Notebook Exercises—1st Quarter
1. Read “The Ambition of the Short Story” and select two sentences: the one you agree
with the most and the one you agree with the least. Explain your selections using
literature you’ve read in the past for support.
2. Describe meaningful connections between a) “Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wollf
and “Hunters in the Snow” by William Carlos Williams and b) a poem of your choice
and a story idea.
3. Describe meaningful connections between a) “Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wollf
and “Hunters in the Snow” by Breughel and b) an artwork of your choice and a story
idea
4. Create (and describe) 2-3 original characters that face a conflict that is, on some level,
cultural(like in “Everyday Use”. Then describe the possibilities for how you might
portray the characters in an original story (round/flat, static/dynamic, epiphany,
direct/indirect presentation).
5. Read and annotate “Variations on a Text by Vallejo.” Write a theme sentence for the
poem. Create a poem of a character narrating the events of their life.
6. Choose a physical object and describe five scenarios/situations involving that object
(emulation of “Bread”).
7. Choose four very different words from your tone list. Write variations on the same
scene changing the diction to alter the tone.
8. Complete some form of emulation prewriting. (this is a “copycat write” of something
we’ve read so far.
9. Using one of the stories we’ve read in class, create a diction and a tone exercise using
two different sentences. The format of the exercises is:
a. Consider this quote
b. Discuss the significance of these choices by the author
c. Apply some emulation with a personal tweak to the quote to expand your
skills with this term
10. Read and annotate “Oranges by Gary Soto. Write a theme sentence for the poem.
Create a story which responds to the poem. Perhaps you imagine the life of the
woman behind the counter, or the feelings of the girl, or a fictionalized account of
another awkward young love exchange.
11. Write a “a man gets off the bus…” scenario from three different POVs (including 3 rd
limited).
12. Choose an interesting word with at least two different possible
applications/interpretations and apply them to a short story idea. Your story
description should cover literary aspects such as plot, structure, characterization,
POV, and theme.
13. Read and annotate “How Things Work” by Gary Soto. Write a theme sentence for
the poem. Create a story in which you respond to the poem. You might write from
the daughter’s perspective. You might create an economy of your own and lessons
you would like to pass to your own children, or which your parents have passed to
you. You might imagine “the way things work” in some far-off time or place and the
lessons someone might need to take from that.
14. Revisit a story we have read and explore how it would be different (content- and
craft-wise) if either the author OR the reader was included as a character. (Make sure
you explain the role the new character would play.)
15. Choose an experience you have had. a) Describe it in factual detail, b) rewrite it in
fictional form, and c) explore why you changed or exaggerated what you did and the
effects of those alterations.
16. Write an original statement of theme and describe six examples of symbols and/or
fantasy elements that would illustrate the theme in a single story (in order to achieve
compression).
17. According to Elaine Showalter, “For any literary subculture…aesthetic maturity
requires a rejection of special categories, and an insistence on access to any subject,
any character, and any style” (271). What new subjects, characters, and/or styles
might you explore in your original story as evidence of your “aesthetic maturity”? In
other words, what territory have you already covered in past writing, and where are
you headed?