Writing Homework Help

order to craft an effective and interesting short story, a writer must be able to help the reader visualize the setting and understand the movement in the story. A loss of the story’s realistic nature could mean the loss of a reader. Writers often create this context by describing the details visible to the characters and using narration to relate the background to what is happening in the story. In this Discussion, you will examine how established writers use the development techniques of setting, plot, and time to create an effective story.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review the assigned portions of Chapters 5, 9, and 10 in Shaping the Story.

Review the following short stories and look for the techniques of time, setting, and plot: 

• Louise Erdrich, “The Red Convertible” in Shaping the Story.
• Chopin, K., & Knights, P. (2000). The Awakening, and Other Stories. Oxford, [England]: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/engl2110

Consider how the authors use the setting, plot, and time in their stories as tools to describe and narrate the scenes.

• What are the settings of each story?
• How do the authors establish plot in each story?
• In what time frame does each story occur?

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 3

Post 2 to 3 paragraphs deconstructing the use of description and narration in each story. Be sure to answer the following questions:

• How do the authors use description and narration to explain their stories to the reader?
• How do the authors develop their plots?
• How is it similar to or different from the way the other authors developed their plots?
• How do the authors create the settings?
• How does clarity of plot make a story more effective?
• How do the authors illustrate the passage of time?

Part 2: Due by 09/10/2021  8pm

This week, you will take the outline and opening scene that you created in Week 1and construct the first draft of your short story, using free writing as a tool to get you started. Once you have generated and organized the ideas for your story, you will begin to develop a setting, plot, and time frame that you will build upon as you continue to write your story. In this Assignment, you will turn your outline and opening scene into a first draft of your short story that applies the development techniques of setting, plot, and time.

Questions about this assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area on the left navigation bar. That way, everyone in the class will see, and benefit from, the Instructor’s response.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Review the Final Project Introduction and Overview document in the Learning Resources.
• Review Chapter 5, “Setting,” in Shaping the Story. Complete “Progressive Writing Exercise #5: Writing Where Things Happen” on pages 82–83.
  • List possible settings in which your short story could occur.
  • Select a setting from your list.
• Review Chapter 9, “Plot,” in Shaping the Story. Complete “Progressive Writing Exercise #9: Linking Scene to Scene” on pages 142–143.
• Review Chapter 10, “Time,” in Shaping the Story. Complete “Progressive Writing Exercise #10: Pacing, and Uses of Time” on page 159.
• Consider how you will combine these techniques of development with the outline and opening scene created in Week 1 to create a unified text.
  • How will your outline contribute to filling in the details of plot, setting, and time?
  • What details will you include for the setting of your short story? What details will you exclude?
  • How will these techniques of development be used to affect the reactions of the audience?