Author Archives: sdgibson
Dialogue tips
Consider these dialogue tips from Janet Burroway’s always excellent Writing Fiction. Burroway also points out the value of “no” dialogue.
3420 Portfolio example
In a small group, consider this portfolio. Evaluate it with the portfolio criteria. We will discuss it in detail in class. Rough Draft I keep all my memories in neat little envelopes. I keep all my envelopes in a messy … Continue reading
Lines and stanzas
Thinking about line and stanza breaks, especially as described in our textbook, revise this prose into a poem. Add punctuation and capitalization to clarify meaning. Peaches as orange as sandstone white snow-covered mountains behind them soft fuzzy cold still on … Continue reading
Identifying characterization strategies
Use “Yours” by Mary Robison, as it appears in Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction, to mark different strategies for characterization. Use the marks suggested in the margin of Stone and Nyren’s Deepening Fiction. Both excerpts appear in this pdf. I also … Continue reading
3420 final exam
The final exam is worth twenty-five points. For the final, read Julie Orringer’s “Pilgrims” as a fiction writing textbook. The story is found on page 332 of Deepening Fiction. When you write, be specific. Quote the story to support your … Continue reading
Dialogue
Consider these examples of dialogue for our class discussion today.
Setting and character
From 143-145 of Sarah Stone and Ron Nyren’s Deepening Fiction: Let a “narrator’s specific attitudes and desires color” a setting Mention “inanimate objects . . . in relation to” your character’s desire Use “an aspect of the setting to illuminate“ … Continue reading
Setting: a room
This exercise helps show how setting can characterize and how it might move a plot forward.
Slowed time, openings and endings
Consider this PDF, which combines elements from Joan Silber’s excellent The Art of Time in Fiction and Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction to discuss slowed time and openings and endings.
Responding to objections and counterarguments
From The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, consider these strategies for responding to objections and counterarguments.
Metaphor by Metaphor 