Author Archives: sdgibson
Example annotations
A good annotated bibliography should include an excellent works cited page entry a clear and concise summary of the source’s key ideas the thesis of its source attributive tags and the kind of source a plan describing how the student … Continue reading
Style
Respond in writing, in a note to yourself: If you are writing something for your portfolio that is in anyway fantastic, how might you apply what this chapter suggests? For example, what reasonable desire might you give an astonishing character? … Continue reading
Blurring character and plot
Think about your fiction portfolio by writing out answers to these questions. Your answers are not promises to me or your portfolio. Page numbers refer to Percy’s Thrill Me. What does your character look like? What do they like to … Continue reading
Influence
Influence isn’t just a matter of copying someone or learning his or her tricks. You get influenced by writers whose work gives you hints about your own abilities and inclinations. Being influenced is largely a process of self-discovery. What you … Continue reading
Reading as a writer: “The Zebra Storyteller”
Using the story below and in a group of three, identify and quote examples of three different strategies or techniques for writing short fiction. As a group, send one email that includes your work and a list of group members. … Continue reading
2010 Project Proposal
Your text book includes an example of our first assignment. Here is a PDF.
How do writers read?
Here are some of the first few pages of Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer. They describe our approach to this class (English 412R, Fall 2017).
3420 Final exam
The final exam is worth twenty-five points. For the final, read Richard Ford’s “Communist” as a fiction writing textbook. The story is found on page 529 of Telling Stories. To complete the exam, first, in no more than 500 words, identify … Continue reading
On description and setting
These suggestions are from Charlie Jane Anders’s “Description Without Boring the Reader or Yourself” on, I think, I09. (Her book, btw, is very good.) Commit to never being boring Engage all five senses: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures; temperature Try … Continue reading
Three links: punctuation, first sentences, and characterization
I found these interesting and thought you might, also. If you’re in the mood for a list, consider “The 5 Best Punctuation Marks in Literature.” It’s easy to underestimate the work punctuation can do. We tend to obsess over first … Continue reading
Metaphor by Metaphor 