King Exercise Due! Nightmares & Dreamscapes; The Creative Process Explained

This morning, please take about 10-15 minutes to put the finishing touches on your story drafts. Correct your grammar, check your formatting, attend to the feedback you received last class from your peers.

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 (diction or verisimilitude), story has an interesting theme, character(s) are well developed and dynamic. Setting is symbolic or used to enhance theme, character, or action. Overall, the story is well written, entertaining and creative: an excellent example of controlled storytelling. Story is turned in on time and fits or exceeds 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 (diction), but work is not as compelling as scores of 9-10. Characters are developed, but not as unique or artistically as scores of 9-10. Protagonist changes in some basic way. Setting is described or used, but not necessarily to develop plot, character, theme, or tone. Story is turned in on time and fits in the minimum word requirement. Story is properly formatted for fiction. 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, setting, or attention to detail and specifics. Story might have dialogue or description, but this is relatively uninteresting, or weakly presented by the author. Character(s) are adequately presented, but not very original from the instructions of the exercise. Story may be late (missed deadline), and is on the shorter less developed side in length. Work may have formatting errors. Story has a title. In general, scores of a 7 attempted the assignment, but without much concern for the reader/audience. Writer takes few, if any, risks and completed an assignment, but lacks imagination, creativity, or a sense of purpose.

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.

Then, please pick up Nightmares & Dreamscapes from the library. When you return, please move to room 238 to discuss the creative process.


Prepare for the take-home quiz by reading "The Cask of Amontillado". After that, please examine the creative process as detailed in Scott McCloud's "On Comics".


HOMEWORK: Read "Dolan's Cadillac" and complete the take home quiz.