Overview: For this assignment, due in Module Four, you will submit a short story draft. Because this story will be workshopped in Module Five by your peers, it is
important to submit 4 to 6 pages of your story (the final story requirement is 6 to 8 pages) so that you can receive feedback from both your instructor and your
peers that will help you develop and refine your story.
Prompt: For this draft you will want to focus on: a beginning that captures the reader’s interest, a central conflict that focuses on a single character and pushes
the story forward, an ending that has a resolution, details that clearly capture the story’s setting, and attention to detail to help immerse the reader in the story.
You also need to incorporate characters with individual personalities that display a realistic range of emotions. Remember, your character must show growth
and/or an epiphany by the end of the story.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in your story revision:
I. Storytelling
A. Create a short story with an appropriate plot progression (featuring a beginning that captures the reader’s interest, a central conflict, and an
ending that concludes with some sense of resolution for the reader).
B. Create a clear setting rooted in a character’s unique perspective through use of description.
C. Emulate the genre conventions and techniques, or the blend of genre conventions, you have observed in other works as appropriate for
communicating to your intended audience.
D. Create imagery that helps to communicate the theme of your story in your own unique voice and style, using descriptive and/or figurative
language, such as phrases or metaphors.
II. Characters
A. Utilize a consistent, appropriate point of view for the story based on a careful consideration of genre, the main character’s perspective, and the
story’s theme.
B. Incorporate characters with individual personalities that display a realistic range of emotions as you show their growth and/or epiphanies by the
end of the story.
C. Utilize dialogue that reveals a character’s unique personality and contributes toward the character’s development as well as the progression of
the plot.
Note: Your short story draft should incorporate instructor feedback gained thus far in the course. It will also be very important for you to apply feedback you
receive from this draft to your final submission. Please review the Final Project I Guidelines and Rubric document for expectations for the final short story
submission.
Guidelines for Submission: Your short story draft should be at least 4 to 6 pages, with double-spacing, one-inch margins, and 12-point Times New Roman font.
Note that the grading rubric for the draft components you are submitting during the course of the term is not identical to that of your final short story. The Final
Project I Rubric includes an additional “Exemplary” category that provides guidance as to how you can go above and beyond “Proficient” in your final submission
through incorporating the feedback that your instructors and peers provide during the term