September 17-21 The Basics of Plot

Monday:
Finalize Personal Essays

Tuesday:
What is Story?
"A story is a narrative of consequential events involving worthy human characters who change as a result of those events." —James N. Frey

Worksheet on Basics of Plot due Friday, September 21.

Protagonist's inner and outer conflict:
i.e. duty vs fear, love vs guilt, ambition vs conscience

What is the core conflict of the story?
Man against nature, man against man, man against society

Understanding the crucible: That bond or structure that keeps your characters in conflict with one another. It must be powerful enough to keep them their until the conflict is resolved.

Premise: What is the point of your story? The core, the heart, or the center of your story.
Remember Character + Conflict = Conclusion.
i.e. Greed leads to fulfillment, Love leads to death, Love leads to happiness.

Identify the genre for your story: Science fiction, fantasy, fiction, historical fiction, memoir, etc.

Wednesday:
Comment on at least two different blogs from this class. Make sure you can access every blog on Ms. Boochever's blog list. 2-3 voice poems should be posted.

Character development: Interview a character in your story. Write down the questions and the answers. Make your character squirm. When you are finished, pretend you are interviewing another student's character. You may use the questions and answers you have developed.

Make copies of the first couple of pages of your story as it stands so far.

Friday:
In peer groupings, share your answers to the questions on Basics of Plot.
Change groups.
Peer edit the first couple of pages of your story with a new group. Someone you haven't worked with yet.