Week 5
Story and Plot
Agenda
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Due tonight: persona poem, song title poem, and haiku
(typed)
Readings: Burroway on “Story”; Wolff and Clarke short
stories
Group warm-up Journal
Share persona and song title poems
Story vs. Plot—mini-lecture
The Short, Short Story
Exercise 1— story
Formal Assignment—writing a short, short story
Warm-up Journal
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Paralipsis—a figurative device by which a speaker or writer
feigns to ignore or pass over a matter and thus draws attention
to it; a famous example occurs when Mark Anthony is
addressing the mob in Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2, lines 145153.
Examine Tobias Wolff’s story “Bullet to the Brain,” and identify
areas where he uses paralipsis.
What is the effect of the phrase, “He did not remember” on the
overall development and impact of the story?
Freewrite your answer for 10 minutes; add it to your in-class
journal entries.
Story vs. Plot
Story
Everything the reader needs to
know to make coherent sense of
the plot.
Example from Aspects of the Novel
by E. M. Forster:
 “The king died and then the
queen died.”
 Time sequence is dominant.
 We ask: “and then?”
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Plot
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Particular portion of the story the
author chooses to present—the
“present tense” of the narrative.
Example: “The king died and
then the queen died of grief.”
Time sequence is preserved but
causality overshadows it.
We ask: “Why?”
Story,166-175
 As
a Journey
 As
a Power Struggle
 As
Connection and Disconnection
In-Class Exercise 1: And then?
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Materials: “The Wind from the Sun”; paper and pen
Group work: select a leader, a scribe, and a time keeper; then, turn
to
page 232, where the paragraph ends, “half-way to the Moon.”
Begin a new paragraph and tell us what happens next.
You should come to consensus about the what’s next and then
draft the ending. What kind of story did Clarke intend it to be? Has
the purpose changed with your new ending?
Each group will report out to the class.
Each group participant will write a response reflecting on the
collaborative effort and how you felt about the experience overall
(200 words)
Class reponds
Take home and type and revise your response
Final response due next class
The Short, Short Story
Formal Assignment 5: the short,
short, story
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Use one of the enigmatic slides from the
previous page or select your own for
inspiration and write a short, short story; the
focus should be on one of the three types
discussed in class and in the Burroway book:
The Journey: create a setting and two
characters. They discover something that
causes trouble.
The Power Struggle: Place two characters in a
dangerous setting. Each needs the help of
the other to survive. Neither wants to relent.
The Connection or Disconnection: Create a character
who is seriously disconnected from another character.
Find some positive aspect of the disconnection.
• As your cover sheet, include a picture of the
character or setting that inspired you; if you use one
of the images from this PowerPoint, describe it.
• Your story must have a title and should be no longer
than 500 words maximum.
• Be sure to include conflict, crisis, and resolution.
• Just as in a poem, every word counts!
• Type and label assignment
Due Next Class,
24 September
1.
Response to Exercise 1
2.
Formal Assignment 5—the
short, short, story
3.
Read: “Girl,” 35-36;
webpage posting of
Carver short story, “What
We Talk about When We
Talk About Love and
“Character, 95-109
4.
Journals—Groups 1& 3