17.1. "The Lottery" Writing Stories W3.

For January, we're practicing writing narratives. We're going to start by writing a classic fiction short story, which is defined as a Five Finger story where a universal theme is communicated.

Generally, for a story:

1. Everything that you can express through action, you SHOULD. This means not writing sentences like, She was mad, but instead something like, She clenched her fist tightly in anger.

2. Everything that is said in your story should be in dialogue. This mean not writing sentences like, She told me I was in trouble, but instead something like, "Just wait until we get home, missy." 

3. The mood of the story and the character's desire should be accomplished through DESCRIPTION. Instead of writing, I wanted to win the championship more than anything, you write I could picture in my mind my overjoyed teammates hoisting me onto their shoulders and parading me around the court, the championship trophy gleaming in the crook of my arm.

Here's a short story that is generally considered to be an American classic.

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

Assignment:

Shirley Jackson's story is meant to move from calm small-town life to a sense of dread. Read carefully - what does Jackson do to create this unpleasant sense of tension? Write a logical (SEE) paragraph that states what you think she does to create suspense/tension. What does she do? Why does she choose to do that? Where in the text can the reading see her doing this?