Short Story Assignment

In setting out to write a short story, it doesn’t hurt to know that the short story is a fairly young genre, dating back only to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his 1837 book, Twice-Told Tales. For Edgar Allen Poe, who called them “prose tales,” the fact that short stories could be read in a single sitting was key to the form. It allowed the reader to have an uninterrupted experience of the fictional world. As a recent form, the short story has few formal elements that are not shared with the novel. The challenge for the short-story writer lies in developing the major elements of fiction (character, plot, setting, theme, and point of view) in about 10 -20 pages (the cutoff for most journals is 10,000 words). Your assignment: Write a 5-7 page (no longer, please) short story utilizing the elements that you have learned this semester, including descriptive writing, character development, plot, and voice. The story may be first-person narrative or third-person action. But keep some ideas in mind: Ø Use three characters and one point of view Ø Limit the time frame (1-2 days for action) Ø Be selective with details (this is a short story) Ø Follow the structure of beginning, middle, and end Ø Make the story distinctive Short Story Rubric For CRW 2001 Area I CATEGORY 4= A 90 – 100pts. 3=B 80 – 89pts. 2=C 70 – 79pts. 1= D Below 70pts. Introduction First paragraph has a "grabber" or catchy beginning. First paragraph has a weak "grabber". A catchy beginning was attempted but was confusing rather than catchy. No attempt was made to catch the reader's attention in the first paragraph. Organization The story is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions. The story is pretty well organized. One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used. The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear. Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged. Spelling and Punctuation There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final