Stephen King Project

Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope you had a nice time. Before you jump back into our writing project, please complete the short questionnaire about genres. In the upcoming weeks we will be focusing on specific genre writing. Turn in your survey when you have completed it.

Also, just a reminder that I will be collecting and checking your journals & blogs next week.

Stephen King--Project Assignment

Make sure you have completed the following parts of the Stephen King project for this marking period:

After reading 5 stories from Nightmares & Dreamscapes, you should POST a blog entry on YOUR blog discussing Stephen King's work.

For each of the 5 short stories you read, please complete a short 1-3 sentence summary of the story's premise. A PREMISE is the underlying story--or "what the story is about" (for example, this story is about...) This will be turned in as physical homework to my in-box.

5 story, essay, poem drafts (to be included in your portfolio for this marking period):

The prompts were:

• Apply Stephen King's advice about writing from the book we read "On Writing" to one of the stories you chose to read. Explain how he seems to follow (or not follow) his own advice. Be specific. Use textual evidence and cite passages to support your claims.
• Choose one of Stephen King's stories and kidnap a CHARACTER from it. Write a story or poem from the POV of this character. The story/poem may be from backstory information, or a reimagined scene that might have been left out of the draft, etc. The situation you place the character in is completely up to you.
• Choose one of Stephen King's stories and compare it to one of your stories. What is King doing that is effective that you might learn to do in your work? Analyze your own process compared to that of Stephen King.
• Choose one of Stephen King's stories and use the same SETTING he uses, but change the characters, situation, and all the other aspects of a short story. Write your own short story in the same or similar setting, but allow King's description to provide backstory for your own story.
• Choose one of Stephen King's stories and make a parody of it. The line between comedy and horror is often a thin one. Use hyperbole and silliness to poke fun at King's story. Feel free to change the ending so that it is a happy one, instead of horror.
• Choose one of Stephen King's stories and start your story where his ends. What happens next? You decide and write that story. You may change the genre, the POV or tense, or add or omit characters. 
• Choose one of Stephen King's stories and change the situation. Rewrite the story from that speculation (what if...)

HOMEWORK: This assignment is due April 6. You should complete all drafts of these stories/poems, essays, etc. and your reading of the 5 stories by then so you don't fall behind on our next project.

Just a heads up, we will be working on revision next class as well. Details to follow.