Creative Writing Assignments

All of these assignments are for high school students in a creative writing class. I take an approach for the first few weeks of class where we focus on some elements of story. Each week we study one element. I assign the story on Monday and it is due on Friday. We do a lot more with rewrites and editing later in the term. Here are the assignments I have given for every week of my creative writing class at Wayzata so far this semester, as well as the one my students will receive tomorrow. Since description is the last of the elements, we work considerably with that the rest of the semester as we move into different genres and formats of writing.

Week 1: Plot
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

For your first creative writing assignment, let’s just open it up and see what you have. You are to write a story based on one of the images from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Be sure to include everything necessary for a plot, including a beginning, middle, and an end, as well as two plot points. Polish this the best you can. There is no length requirement; make it as long as it needs to be. Last, include the quotation from the bottom of the picture somewhere in the story. Fit it in as naturally as possible, and be sure to underline it.

This assignment, like all in this class, should be typed, double-spaced, and include a heading and a title.

Points
Two Plot Points /5
Imbedded quotation /5
Beginning, middle, end /15
Usage /5
Total /30


Week 2: Setting and Audience
Fairy Tale Retelling

You will be rewriting a classic fairy tale, but it’s not for little kids. Concentrate on the time and place of your story. Give context clues to your setting instead of saying outright where and when the story is. So, decide on a fairy tale and the group of people for whom you’d like to write it. You must adapt the basic plot. Want some examples? Rewrite Cinderella for a football team. How about Sleeping Beauty for fans of vampire stories? Get creative.

Points:
Plot Points /5
Setting/Context Clues /10
Overall Adaptation /10
Usage /5
Total /30


Week 3: Point of View
“Your” Personal Narrative?

You’ve written your rough draft, and now you’re working on your spin of a childhood personal story. Remember, your new point of view can be anyone or anything but you. It can still be in first person, but it has to be in the point of view of another in your story: an outsider, a third person narrator, an animal, or an object. You decide.

Rough Draft /5
Point of View /5
Changes /10
Plot Points /5
Usage /5
Total /30


Week 4: Character

Students fill out the following dossier on Monday of the week on character. Then, I photocopy everyone's dossier and randomly pair it with one from another student's in the class. Students do not (and should not) include every piece of information found on the dossiers, but they may not change any of these facts, and they should write their characters knowing these things to be true about them:

Character Dossier

Name ____________________
Nicknames _______________ Age ______
Occupation _______________________ Gender _____
Family____________________Pets______________
Hometown_________________________________
Description of Home ____________________________
Hobbies __________________________________
Friends ___________________________________
Ethnic background __________ Religion ____________
Eye Color _________ Hair Color __________
Weight __________ Height ___________
Favorites:
Movie ________________ Color _________________
Musical Artist __________ Food _________________
Book _________________ Sport _________________
Who is your character’s personal hero?________________
What is your character’s pet peeve? _________________
Where was your character born? ___________________
What else should we know about your character?

Character Story
You will write a story of no more than 1,000 words which involves both the character you created on a dossier and the character assigned to you at random. This can take place anywhere, at any point in time, but must still involve a narrative story line. It must contain at least 10 lines of dialogue. Remember to show character through action, dialogue, examples, description, and exposition.

Points:

Character 1 /8
Character 2 /8
Dialogue /10
Plot /9
Usage /5
Total /40


Week 5: Description
Description

Choose a place. You are to write about that place in as much detail as possible. Make this interesting and readable, but full of detail. This is NOT a story, this is merely your best descriptive writing. That said, be sure to have some flow and organization to your piece, don’t just list things. Be sure to include sensory detail, power words, and your own voice instead of clichés and idioms.

Points:
Sensory Details /10
Word Choice /10
Organization /5
Words Choice /5
Total /30


For the following assignment, I actually assign it around the third week and give students most of the term (half a semester) to complete it. I give students a very long list of books to choose from, including ones from my different genres and formats. The idea is for students to study a bit more of how other authors write, especially because many students do not read for fun at all. I tell the students regularly, "A writer who doesn't read is like a band that doesn't listen to music.

Book Project

Once you have read your book, you are to write a story inspired by the world in which your book takes place. This is very open. You can explore how the main character would act in a different time and place, try a different version of the original story, or spin off into a seemingly unrelated tale based on a specific moment in your book. Write from what you find inspiring, interesting, or curious about the book. There is no length requirement—make this as long or as short as it needs to be. Play with style and formatting. Remember to use everything you have learned so far about the elements of a story. In addition to your story, write a one-page explanation of how your story has sprung from the original book. Why did you make the choices you did? How obvious are the connections?

Points:
Plot /5
Characters /10
Setting /5
Description /15
Usage /5
Explanation /10
Total /50

Assignment 3

For Homework:
Come up with your own form of poetry. Create your own set of rules that your poetry format must follow. Consider the following:
alliteration
assonance
meter
rhyme scheme
syllabification
topic
number/order of lines, stanzas, etc.
anything else we've talked about with poetry.

Next, write a minimum of three poems in your format. Try to tie them together thematically in some way.

Last, bring in the rules you've created to class. Now, try your hand at the rules of at least two other students and let them try yours, too.

Assignment 2

The History of an Object

Choose something you have in your home. This can be an item of great personal value or an everyday object you rarely think about. Study the object. Write your ideas for 5 minutes straight. Don't worry about telling a story or making sense. Any thoughts, lists, or observations will do, as long as they revolve around the object.

Now tell the history of the object. You may list different events in the "life" of the object, whether you know them to be true or not. If you want to take a conventional angle and simply write about it, go ahead. If you want to personify and write from the first person, that's okay, too.

What's important here is that you focus on the sound of your words. Be sure to include at least one example of each of the following: assonance, alliteration, rhyme, and repetition. The format is up to you.

Poem 3

When I am dead, my dearest,
You best be coming with me.
I've no time to lounge upon a cloud
To watch you cry and miss me.

You're already late, my dearest,
But then, you always were--
Taking minutes to put your shoes on
Never quite on your way out the door.

No one else may be your dearest, dearest,
You may not talk to anyone
Or meet, or sleep with, or see other people.
No work, no play, no fun.

So just stop your heart or shut down your brain,
And come join me wherever as soon as you can.

Assignment 1

Bring an item to class tomorrow. Make sure it is something important to you, but will be recognizable to others.

Next Day:
Find a partner and switch items. Take 5 minutes just to study the item. Jot down notes. Be sure to write down any memories or particular things this object reminds you of from your own life. Don't worry about what it means to the person who brought it.

Write a poem based on this object. Don't use any particular rhythm or rhyme scheme, but include at least 3 metaphors or similes. Also include at least one of your own personal memories as well as one made up or that you imagine belongs to the person who brought the item.

Share the poems with your partner and then tell your partner about the object you brought in.

Further:
Now that you know all about your partner's object for real, what would you change about your poem?

Poem 2

Freehold was the first that I remember
but the third overall

Maplewood the star of origin
then somewhere then Marlboro

Clive I picked out houses with my parents
because my grandma couldn't handle me home
to fight with my sister and brother

Austin greeted me with warmth in November
and dusted a goodbye only ten months later

Denton and Comfort drifted through my late teens

Barcelona and Prague
finally I decided where to go
like playing darts in a blindfold