I am proctoring an AP exam. Please read this post and follow the links to complete your work today!
Lab: Please continue to write your fantasy story drafts today. You should complete your draft by the end of class today and turn in your draft to the substitute. Remember to proofread and include a title.
Use the archetypes, prompts, and tropes from the past few posts to help you if you get stuck with your story draft. Avoid bothering other students when you are stuck. Instead, unstick. Stuck about unsticking? Read: 25 Ways to Unstick a Stuck Story.
Remember that you can skip the boring stuff in a draft. If you don't know what the next scene will be, skip a line (use white space) and move ahead to the next scene you DO know must happen in your story. Use the archetype plots and hero's journey to guide you. You can always come back to connect the dots if you get too far disconnected.
Use the hero's journey we learned (see the previous post) if you can, and consult the advice from the science fiction unit about working through the middle toward the end of a story. Since fantasy stories rely on the setting make sure you use your poetic skills (metaphor, simile, alliteration, symbol, imagery, personification, etc.) to describe your setting. I should read several paragraphs in your draft where you focus on setting.
A climactic action sequence is also often standard in a fantasy story. To do this, slow down your description of an action. One mistake young writers make is to skip the action by speeding up and being vague. To make action work in fiction, you need to separate all the single moments of an action (or series of actions) and write then one at a time using active verbs. Imagery will be key in writing effective action sequences. Appeal to all of our senses, not just visual, but taste, temperature, movement, sound, smell, etc. Using metaphors/similes can also enhance your writing. See the following examples as to how to do this.
An example of hand-to-hand fighting (action verbs are in red for your convenience...):
Lab: Please continue to write your fantasy story drafts today. You should complete your draft by the end of class today and turn in your draft to the substitute. Remember to proofread and include a title.
Use the archetypes, prompts, and tropes from the past few posts to help you if you get stuck with your story draft. Avoid bothering other students when you are stuck. Instead, unstick. Stuck about unsticking? Read: 25 Ways to Unstick a Stuck Story.
Remember that you can skip the boring stuff in a draft. If you don't know what the next scene will be, skip a line (use white space) and move ahead to the next scene you DO know must happen in your story. Use the archetype plots and hero's journey to guide you. You can always come back to connect the dots if you get too far disconnected.
Use the hero's journey we learned (see the previous post) if you can, and consult the advice from the science fiction unit about working through the middle toward the end of a story. Since fantasy stories rely on the setting make sure you use your poetic skills (metaphor, simile, alliteration, symbol, imagery, personification, etc.) to describe your setting. I should read several paragraphs in your draft where you focus on setting.
A climactic action sequence is also often standard in a fantasy story. To do this, slow down your description of an action. One mistake young writers make is to skip the action by speeding up and being vague. To make action work in fiction, you need to separate all the single moments of an action (or series of actions) and write then one at a time using active verbs. Imagery will be key in writing effective action sequences. Appeal to all of our senses, not just visual, but taste, temperature, movement, sound, smell, etc. Using metaphors/similes can also enhance your writing. See the following examples as to how to do this.
An example of hand-to-hand fighting (action verbs are in red for your convenience...):
- "...And charged. He threw up his forearms like an offensive lineman blocking a defensive back, but Pike slipped to the side, pushed the man’s elbow down and away, caught his head, and rolled him into the floor. Third of a second once contact was made, and Pike was on his feet, watching the muscular man rush toward him in slow motion as the three other men, even more slowly, jumped to their feet. The muscular man reached under his shirt even as he pushed past the tables. Pike did not try to stop the gun; he rolled his hand under the man’s wrist, drove the man’s arm over and back, and pulled him backward and down. Pike had the gun before the man slammed into the floor, and hit him on the forehead with it two hard times."
- "I slipped to the left, which threw him off enough so that I could step inside the right cross and get a handful of his hair. I pulled his head forward and broke his nose with my head. Still holding his hair in one hand, I got my other hand into his crotch and put my shoulder into him and lifted him off the ground and slammed him down on the hood of the truck. He grunted and went limp. When I stood back, he slowly slid off the hood and lay in the street with his mouth open."
- "Sweat stung the eyes like tiny vipers, dripping down from a gore sprayed face. All around was nothing but a whirlwind of disorder and violence, a blur of color and vicious motion. The parched, panting tongue collected the dust-choked air which intermixed with the bitterness of iron. Deafening, blood pounded in the ears, drumming to a ferocious beat inside the helmet.
Read the short article about writing warfare in fantasy at the link.
Your fantasy story should include at least 1 action sequence (probably as part of your crisis or climax but can also be placed during your hero's trials.)
HOMEWORK: If you did not complete your draft in the lab today, please complete it on your own time and turn it in late next class.
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