Dialogue

Create a scene in which a character wants something, but the expression of that desire is indirect in some way and/or a scene in which characters seem to be talking about one thing but are also talking about another. In other words, the implicit and explicit conversations will diverge, either because of misrepresentations— characters pretending to want or feel something other than what they actually want or feel-- or indirection—characters trying to get ideas across, but with language that is meant to soften, prettify, muffle, or otherwise make their desires more palatable to themselves or others.

Conflict

Write a scene in which two characters want things that are opposed to each other. The characters may or may not reveal (or even know themselves) that they want different things—remember that conflict doesn’t have to be people screaming at each other, or even explicitly disagreeing. Set the scene in a place that requires the characters to perform tasks or interact with outsiders at the same time as the central action of the scene occurs. (That is, don’t just have them order coffee at Starbucks, bring it to their table and then have an uninterrupted conversation.) Think about what the characters want in this moment (both minor and major). Bring 4 copies to Thursday’s class, limit 500 words.

Character

Do any of the character exercises below. (If you have time, you can do more than one exercise and then turn in the one you like best.)

#1. (From Robin Hemley's Turning Life into Fiction)
Recall someone you know well -a friend, a relative- preferably someone with a strong personality. Identify two or three of those personality traits and list them at the top of the page. Now create a scene that shows these personality traits in your friend or relative - but never mention these personality traits. Try to convey them with dialogue, action and salient detail. So, if your Uncle Lou is childlike, forgetful and generous, show him as such in the scene. But try to avoid easy stereotypes of generosity, forgetfulness etc.

#2. (From Janet Burrowway's Writing Fiction)
Think of a scene from your own life in which a discovery led to a quick decision. Write the scene, but change the character to someone significantly different from yourself.

#3. Create a character of your choosing, and put him/her in a situation that (1) is difficult of stressful in some way, and (2) in which he/she needs to interact with at least one other character

Beginnings

Assignment: Write the first two pages (no more than 500 words) of a short story. (You may, but do not have to, use the exercise you did in class as a starting point.) Bring five copies to class on Thursday. (Please double-space this and all manuscripts; to save paper, please make double-sided copies, if possible.) In class, we'll workshop the openings in small groups.

You may post your work for this assignment by clicking on the "comment" link below.