Writing Homework Help

Part A:

Post three potential story ideas for your short story project.

Each of your three ideas should have a different protagonist, different conflict, etc. If you can, include the narrative arc breakdown (conflict, crisis, resolution), but at least include the protagonist and conflict. If you need ideas, work from an image, or the list of encouraged ideas/topics in this module.

In response to your three story ideas, your instructor will let you know which one has the most appropriate scope for the assignment, and steer you toward the most promising notion.

In this module, we’re pitching story ideas, so that you can identify an idea that will be suitable (in terms of scope, character-driven theme, realism, etc.) for this story project. So it makes sense to look at the writing exercises we’ve done so far and think about which, if any, have inspired you enough to take a particular idea further. With that in mind, I thought I’d share a few extra writing exercises that have inspired me lately. Feel free to do a bit of free-writing on any of these, and maybe you’ll come up with something you’re excited about. All optional, of course. Happy writing!

1. Write about a character that did something bad and got away with it.
2. List three things you fear. Write about one for five minutes. Then fictionalize!
3. A doctor says, “You or the baby will survive. Not both. I’m sorry.”
4. Write about a character’s moral quandary during COVID19 quarantine.
5. Write for five minutes about your earliest memories of learning about faith, religion, or spirituality. Then fictionalize!
6. Write about a character who, acting out of desire or fear, makes a mistake. The mistake can be large (e.g., a car crash) or small (e.g., saying the wrong thing). How does the character and the people around them react? (Dance between action and defining character.)

Part B: Peer Response
After reviewing the list of topics to avoid vs. what works well, comment on a peer’s story ideas by answering these two questions:

1. Which, if any, of the story ideas are on the list of topics to avoid?
2. Which of the ideas do you feel would make the most compelling story (taking into consideration the parameters of the project), and why