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Read to Write
I) Reading like a writer means responding first and analyzing your own response. Read a short story or poem together with the class. Before you do any talking, ask them to respond.

What does it make you feel?
What scenes can you most easily recall?
What advice to do have for the leading character?
What kind of music could be played in the background?
What real-life experience does this bring back?
When should this story be read?
Who should star in the movie?

(Ask your own questions that will encourage your students to respond honestly and fully. For many teachers this is old stuff; for others it's new.)

II) Ask your students to pretend they are the author of one their favorite short stories and to answer questions from an imaginary interviewer.

1) Why did you choose this narrator?
2) Is the setting important, or could the story have happened anywhere?
3) Which characters are the most essential to the story?
4) Why does the story start where it starts and end where it ends?
5) What larger conclusions do you want the reader to draw from the story?

III. Do the same thing with a poet. Why the:

title?
tone?
form?
choice of words?
figures of speech?

What do you want your reader to gain from this?

IV. Ask your students to build a story around a character similar to a famous literary character. Jay Gatsby works well for this.

Read this to your students: "Imagine you are in the same predicament as the famous literary millionaire Jay Gatsby -- you are someone who cannot get over the lost love of your life, the loss destroys you."

Now ask your students to answer these questions:

1) Who are you? (business leader? politician? military figure? gang leader? artist?)
2) How have you been successful?
3) How do people explain your great success?
4) Who is the love of your life?
5) How did you fist meet?
6) What first attracted you to this person?
7) How did your relationship succeed for a little while?
8) Why did you break up?
9) How have your efforts to renew the relationship failed?
10) What is the sad outcome?

Ask the to write this first as a letter from their character to a sympathetic friends. Then take this letter and expand it into a short story.

V. Children's stories. Read a story for young people and then ask students to write a modern or adult version of it. This works well in groups.

VI) Ask your students to write their favorite author a letter in which they explain all the reasons they admire his/her work.

VII) Here are some short headline prompts that could be fattened up into a complete story. Following each is the name of a published story that provides a good example. .

Teenager breaks off a relationship. "The End of Something" by Ernest Hemingway.
Young person drives old person nuts. "Miriam" by Truman Capote
Student tries too hard to prove a point. "Harlem" by Roddy Doyle
Narrator misses the point. "Haircut" by Ring Lardner
Love affair goes unnoticed. "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
An old lady escapes into her past. "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield
A cruel act can make good sense. "Marigolds" by Eugenia Collier
Young person learns when to be selfish. "A Kind of Murder" by Hugh Pentecost
Young married person can't stand the truth. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" by J.D. Salinger (* Lillian Ross recalls her long friendship with J.D. Salinger)
Devotion is all it's cracked up to be. "The Chaser" by John Collier
Little things can make a big, big difference. "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury

*Write a one-act, one-location, two character play that develops these plot summaries.

"Family Squabble"
Father and son change their opinions of each other while arguing about a sporting event.

"The Amorous Bus Driver"
Clint falls in love with one of his passengers, a lady he once despised.

"Officer Jones"
Cop forgives the town bully.

"Finally"
Teacher decides to listen to one of her most difficult students.

"Prison Plans"
Two lifers plan a surprise party for the warden.

"Bad News"
Mildred must find a clever way for Billy to figure out that she no longer loves him

"Tricky Talk"
While "talking" about a movie, Gloria and Babs try to figure out what the other feels about a boy each loves.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS TO GET YOU STARTED
1) A military genius, a slob, and a tattooist discussing a recent space triumph.
2) A nerd, a jock, and a librarian discussing life after death.
3) A cook, a cop, and a carpenter discussing Homer Simpson.
4) An optimist, a pessimist, and a sadist discussing pro football
5) A coward, a fool, and a phony discussing the future.

RANTING MONOLOGUES TO GET YOU STARTED
You are a:
1) minister who discovers you no longer believe.
2) coach whose wife runs off with a nerd.
3) teacher who discovers his favorite student is a cheater.
4) store owner whose partner has run off with the money.
5) writer whose novel is blasted by a critic.

FIRST DRAFT FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS
1) PLOT: Is the conflict apparent? How do you establish it? How is it resolved? Are there several possible outcomes? Is each outcome credible? Do you have a sub-plot? How does it fit into your overall plan?
2) CHARACTERS: How does each further the plot? How have you created their personalities? Does each have a unique speech pattern? Is the motivation clear?
3) THEME: Do you have one? Is it apparent? Too apparent? How does it relate to the plot?
4) SETTING Is it important? Should it be important? How could you make it more important?
5) Have you read this aloud to others? What did they say?

Email your advice to advice@WritingTeacherHangout.com.

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