Flash Fiction Unit: Process Work ​Click on the links to access materials and resources

The goal is learning what makes a good story through looking at your taste as a reader, authorial craft and writing them yourself. 

• Watch the TED Talk by Hollywood screenwriter Andrew Stanton "The Clues to a Great Story". Click video right.
• Twitterature, or extremely short form stories / micro-fiction. Read these examples discussed in class and do this writing exercise DUE Monday Sept. 23 in class. This can be handwritten or typed, but you print it in advance on your own time, and bring in the physical copy to hand in. ​

Week of Sept. 24: "Currents". Read and annotate "Currents" by Hannah Bottomy Voskuil; first published in Quarterly West in 2004. Listen to it here, but pay attention to the print text as you listen since there is at least one significant error. The link above to the story online should be Word Q compatible. Do the ​note-sheet to this story. Do the writing exercise inspired by this story typed to a minimum of 300 words.​​ Since you can write in any genre, here are some reminders for you about the conventions of different genres. See video at right, there is a good section starting at 7:20 with mystery and then covers many more genres quickly. You can also check out these articles: "What Are the Different Genres of Literature? A Guide to 14 Literary Genres" and/or "The 17 Most Popular Genres in Fiction and Why They Matter".  ​

Week of Sept. 30: "Likeable". Read and annotate "Likable" by Deb Olin Unferth. If you have Word Q, the link should be compatible.Do the ​note-sheet to this story (by hand or typed, PDF version here). Do the writing exercise inspired by this story.

​Week of Oct. 8 "Taylor Swift”. Read and annotate "Taylor Swift” by Hugh Behm-Steinberg. If you have Word Q, the link should be compatible. The story begins AFTER the review by Steve Almond. Do the ​note-sheet to this story (by hand or typed, PDF version here). Do the writing exercise inspired by this story.​​ 
AND ... Speed Dating Event for Independent Reading Flash Fiction Stories. ​

Week of Oct. 15 “The Coat”. Read and annotate "The Coat" by Lex Williford and do the ​note-sheet to this story. This will be in class time on Oct. 15. Do the writing exercise inspired by this story AND complete your Independent Reading Flash Fiction of 4 stories - the long notesheet, as well as design and complete a writing exercise inspired by ONE of the four stories you found on your own. ​