Re-looking at Short stories and essays
Beginnings:
Looking at the list of beginnings from Ralph Fletcher’s What a Writer Needs, quickly sketch out at least one alternative beginning to your piece. After you have drafted it, you may decide you like it better than the one you have now.
- The Dramatic Lead – paint a picture or give an image
- Starting in the Middle of a Scene – throw the reader right in the middle of the action
- Leisurely Leads – start with a slow, ruminating beginning
- Beginning at the Ending – start at the end to explain how you got to that point
- Introducing the Narrator – introduce the character who will, in turn, tell the story
- The Misleading Lead – set up and protects the surprise element in a piece of writing
- The Ambiguous Lead – use a teasing flash of ambiguity, a purposeful lack of clarity
Endings:
Looking at the list of endings from Ralph Fletcher’s What a Writer Needs, quickly sketch out at least one alternative ending to your piece.
- The Circular Ending – gives the reader a second chance to encounter important material or a crucial detail that might otherwise be glossed over on the first reading
- The Poignant Ending – leave them laughing or crying, give a small detail, a funny remark, or a visual image
- The Ironic Ending – it is characterized by restraint and understatement – a coolness in expression when the writer’s emotion appear to be most heated.
Titles:
Brainstorm a list of at least ten titles for your piece. Select one; ask for feedback from a classmate. (This can also be done in the Poetry workshop.)
“Writing Small” Searching for Areas to add Detail:
Read though you piece, looking for areas where you have told about an experience, event, image, or emotion without showing that same experience. Experiment with one of the following to help bring immediacy to your piece:
- Add dialogue
- Drop us in a scene
- Add a scene from another person’s point of view within the piece
- Look for general statements (“What a gorgeous day” or “I’d never been so happy before in my life,” for example) that don’t give the reader a very vivid image. Work to add “one step more specific” language.
