READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 5, 2006:

Tuesday, October 31, 2006:

Please read Chapter 6 (Long Ago and Far Away: Fictional Time and Place) in Writing Fiction.

Thursday, November 2, 2006:

Please read Chapter 4 - Building Character: Characterization, Part I in Writing Fiction.

Important!! Your first fiction assignment is due in class today! Please see guidelines below.

Guidelines for Fiction Assignment #1 - Due Thursday, November 2, 2006:

The assignment is to write an opening scene (or exposition) for a short story. This will be the first installment in the 8-10 page (2,000 word minimum) short story that you will be writing in stages during this second half of the semester.

Your short story scene should be approximately 3 pages, or 750 words.

The scene should reveal aspects and traits of the characters who are in the scene.

The scene should set up a dramatic situation/narrative tension/central conflict.

Your scene should jump right in and begin in medias res and attempt to engage the attention of your reader right off the bat.

Your scene should attempt to skillfully weave together different elements of fiction writing (action/dialogue, narrative summary, scene setting/description, etc.) in ways that work best for the scene.

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And here is your memoir prompt from The Autobiography Box for blog posts due on Sunday, November 5, 2006:

Describe a significant event that brought you closer to, or further away, from your religious devotions. The spiritual life can come upon a person in a sweeping moment or over the course of a long period of time. Have you ever experienced visions or other moments of a spiritual nature? If you had a single moment that you can recall, describe the details leading up to and following that epiphany. How did it change your life afterwards? If you slowly gravitated to a religious tradition or a way of thinking about the divine, show in a series of snapshots how you were brought closer and closer to the spiritual over that time.