where do ideas come from?

This module will give you the opportunity to stretch your creative writing side through exercises in plot, character, and setting development. You'll explore ideas from all sorts of angles, write a bunch of story starters, then develop one into a full-blown story!

Module summary:

• review principles of creative writing
  • plot structure
  • descriptive language
• follow prompts to create story starters based on plot, characters, and settings
• share your ideas with the group to get feedback
• choose one to develop into a full plot

The pen (or, in this case, the Waterford Kilbarry Edge) is mightier than the sword

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essential questions

• Where do we start when writing a story?
• How do we add imagery to stories?
• How does the revision process strengthen our writing?

goals

• Students will understand that ideas come from many different angles - from our lives, from idea generators - and the more you practice, the more the ideas come.
• Students will understand that key skills for creative writing (patience, trying new approaches to solve a problem, and revision) are important skills for most areas in life.
• Students will understand that revision strengthens writing by being critical, looking for holes in the story, and ensuring ideas are expressed clearly.

activities

Monday 

• warm-up: read "Snow" excerpt and highlight descriptive language
• discuss syllabus and expectations of module
• mini-lesson: descriptive language
  • turn boring sentences into more descriptive ones
  • edit student paragraph about toast
  • identify verbs, adjectives, and nouns
• write three story starters, using idea generators (write on each for 20 minutes)
  • fortune teller generator
  • Muddle and Match
  • Story Path
  • Tell Me a Story
  • Tell Tale Cards
• conference as a group, seminar-style, to review story starters

Tuesday

• watch "Coming up with Story Ideas" on YouTube
  • take notes on the 10 elements
• write three more story starters, using prompts (write for 20 minutes on each one)
  • try out story ideas based on video
  • pick random prompts from table
• conference as a group to review and evaluate story starters
• begin drafting short story
  • plan out plot using plot map
• share story idea with the group

Wednesday

• draft short story - finished story should be 500-1000 words
• highlight verbs, adjectives, and nouns in three different colors (yes, you need to really do this)
• conference with Christine

Thursday

• revise story draft
• pay particular attention to descriptive language

Friday

• final edits to story
• reflect on story with group

c-tachs

Writing

• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
• Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach

Language

• Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar when speaking and writing
• Demonstrate command of standard capitalization and punctuation
  
• Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning 
  

documents

Creative Writing Syllabus
File Size:	39 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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