Writing Advice; Baseline Interview Story Draft Due!

Let's begin class today with a little pow-wow/coming to the water chat about writing. In your journal take a moment to reflect on your writing so far.

• Do you have an idea?
• Have you picked your genre?
• What problems have you run into?

Today, please continue working on your baseline interview stories. These stories are due at the end of class today. Please remember:

• These stories are DRAFTS (not final drafts); it's okay if they aren't "complete" or if they have "mistakes". Try your best, but don't over worry. You are a beautiful snowflake...
• Please proofread and correct your formatting and grammar/mechanics in the work before you turn it in. Use your Creative Grammar & Style class assignments to help you!
• We like our fiction/prose to be double spaced, 12 pt. font
• Use an MLA appropriate heading (the name of the assignment is the baseline interview story; it is sometimes helpful to indicate draft #: example: baseline interview story, draft 1)
• Do not leave a skipped line between paragraphs unless you are indicating "white space"
• Indent 1-tab for each new paragraph
• Check your dialogue punctuation carefully. (Punctuation generally goes INSIDE the quote marks)
• Keep your POV and tense consistent. If you start off the story in present tense, keep writing in present tense, etc.
• Give your story an appropriate title. Titles should "hook" or interest a reader. Usually they are the name of the main character, an important object, a quote or concept, or the name of a setting
• Use your time wisely in the lab. The lab is for writing--not chatting, or surfing the internet for unrelated topics.
• No matter what happens or how much you write, please turn in your drafts at the end of class. Listen to my instructions/announcements concerning the same.

Please refer to the following rubric for this project.

Project Rubric:

9-10: story is imaginative, clever, well written, grammatically sound (almost completely free of proofreading, mechanical or spelling errors), story uses effective dialogue and effective description, story has an interesting theme, character is based on original peer interview in some clever and creative way. Story is turned in on time and fits in the 3-5 page range, properly formatted. Story has a clever and creative title. 

8: story is mostly well written, with some gaps or weaknesses, but nothing that makes reading the story laborious or difficult. Story is mostly grammatically sound (some errors) but nothing that gets in the way of comprehension. Story has some dialogue and description, but work is not as compelling as scores of 9-10. Character is based on original peer interview in some way. Story is turned in on time and fits in the 2-5 page range, properly formatted. Story has a title. 

7: story is completed, turned in on time, but lacks the imagination and creativity of scores of 8-10. Some moments of storytelling, but story may need more plot development, conflict, character development, or attention to detail and specifics. Story might have dialogue or description, but this is relatively uninteresting, or weakly presented by the author. Character is dubiously based on details from an interview or original source, but this is not clear, or the character is too similar to the source material as to be mistaken for the peer interviewed. Story may be late (missed deadline), and is on the shorter less developed side between 1 full page to 2 full pages in length. Work may have formatting errors. Story has a title. 

5-6: story is as 7 above, but may be very late, or there are so many grammar and development or writing problems that makes comprehension difficult for a typical reader. Work is carelessly or hastily done. Student spent more time off-task in the lab than working on this project. Story lacks a title. 

0: story or project not turned in.

HOMEWORK: None.