Short Story

Hello All,

For today's creative writing, you will write a short story based on an artwork by Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz.

Every short story has its foundation in three areas: characters, setting, and plot.

Beyond that, writers must make a number of choices:

What narrative perspective do I want to use?  First-person, Second-person, or Third-person?

What additional literary devices do I want to use?
Construct your story so that it uses at least three different types of images (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile), one metaphor, one simile, one example of parallelism, one example of antithesis, and one example of irony.

Finally, give your story an ambigous ending.
Have fun!

Raymond Carver

Hello All, For this weekend, read a short story by Raymond Carver, who is considered one of the masters of the American short story, and then post your reaction to your blog. Did you like the story? What did you notice about Carver's use of literary devices? If you want to read a story on the positive, uplifting side, read "Cathedral." If you want to read a story that's a little darker but still has the heart of humanity, read "A Small, Good Thing." If you want to read a dark story that will reinforce your negative views of human nature, read "Little Things." If you want to laugh (but in an awkward way), read "Why Don't You Dance?"

More Examples of Creative Projects

Hello All,

Here are two more creative projects from last quarter.  Needless to say, both students earned As on the assignment.

Hello All, Your assignment for this weekend is to take a photograph inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short stories. Here are two photographs (starring my son) inspired by the short story "The Sea of Lost Time."   The story features characters who travel to the bottom of the sea and visit a version of the afterlife. The ocean is a strange and holy setting, and I tried to capture the same feeling in these photographs.