Q1. From your first draft, choose an important moment and write it as a scene. This will be a “conversation” between two of your characters, but very few words should be said aloud. Work mostly with gesture and body language (also called body English). Remember that we often learn more about characters from stage business than from direct dialogue (e.g., one of the characters could be cutting down a tree, playing solitaire, fixing a car, etc.). (230words)
with some modifications:
1. Like in the directions above, choose or craft (if you haven’t already) an important scene. This should be the opening scene where we see the characters together (remember Cathedral and that first scene between the wife and the narrator). The first scene introduces the conflict.
Or, choose the climactic scene like when the blind man and narrator draw a cathedral; or when Jig makes her plea to the man and “walk[s] to the end of the station.” This illustrates what the main character is willing to risk; what’s at-stake for them; and how they’ve changed.
2. If you’re decided to change the POV of your story, to tell it from the other character’s POV because of last week’s exercise, that’s great. Go with that. I’m hoping all of these revision exercises help you make some significant changes to your original draft.
3. You can have as much dialogue as you need in this scene. However, remember this nugget of wisdom from the great Flannery O’Connor: she said to use dialogue sparingly, like gold.
Q1-1. comment on peer’s post. (20words)
Please give critical feedback by analyzing how their conflict/tension or characterization changed because of this expanded scene. Respond to the following:
1. Did you learn anything new about the story’s conflict or tension or the main character’s change?
2. Is the dialogue doing two things at once: moving the actual action forward while communicating something essential about the character or tension? Where and why and how?
3. What parts of the dialogue or the descriptions–body English–were confusing or unnecessary or could be removed? Which descriptions or dialogue are the strongest? Why? Is there any dialogue or description that is too repetitive?
5. Try to give critical feedback by being thoughtful and specific so as to best help your classmates with their writing. That is, you need a sentence that has “because” clause or something like it so that you’re analyzing your peers’ writing.
Q2. Post your summary of the story using the summary evaluation. (150words)
SUMMARY EVALUATION
1. Authors name + Title of the text
2. Main topic of text is paraphrased (Topic is the literal, concrete sequence of events)
3. Main purpose of text is paraphrased (Purpose is what the story’s themes are)
4. Summary is 2-4 sentences long
5. Summary is in your own words (no quotations)
6. Vivid and precise verbs & transitions are used
7. Proofread
8. An author is always referred to by their last name (Gilman) not first (Charlotte)
Q2-1. Analyze how Jig or the man has changed from beginning to end. Remember, in character driven stories, like the kind you’re writing, the main character needs to change–it can be small–from beginning to end. (150 words)
How does Hemingway reveal this change to the reader?
Be sure to do some citing from the text.
