Class 2

Today we talked about various ways to structure a story in one scene:

SYNECDOCHE – using a small thing to represent the larger thing, e.g. "I Didn’t Do That"

ACTION/REACTION – Your character reacts to something out of the ordinary, e.g. "Deportation at Breakfast"

INTERNALIZATION – your "plot" is told through the various musings of your character’s brain, e.g. "Passing Wind" & "The Commercials of Norway"

REPETITION—repeat the same scene again & again, amplifying it, e.g. "Reunion"

ABANDONMENT—build a scene and then leave it, e.g. "Blind Girls"

SHORTCUT—Use a well-known dramatic situation, e.g. "Space" & "Accident"

We then did an in-class writing exercise that will serve as the foundation for the story you'll be writing this week:

PART 1: BEGINNING WITH THE FAMILIAR

Describe a “first” (first apartment, first kiss, first date, first time driving a car, first lie, first big success, first roller coaster ride, first day of school, first day of work, etc.). Include as many details as possible, being sure to include an aspect relating to each of the five senses.

PART II: COMPLICATION

Introduce something unexpected, something one would not normally encounter at this place. This could be something big (the authorities show up and arrest someone, as in Larry Fondation’s story) or something small (someone passes wind, as in Lydia Davis’s story). It could be something in the moment or something in the past (as in Tom Hazuka’s story). It could be something that happens to your character or something that your character simply thinks about (as in Deb Olin Unferth’s story). Play around with several possibilities, then pick the one you think would make the best piece.

PART II: SYNTHESIS

Combine your setting and your complication. Figure out your ending. Write a flash fiction piece for next week, revised and ready to be read aloud. 500–1,000 words.

HOMEWORK:

Write a flash story inspired by the in-class prompt

Read the stories for "Smart Surprise and the End 'Turn'" for next week

Write a Reading Summary on the readings