Elements of Writing: Week 1 Assignments

Fiction Writing I Lisa Lenard-Cook Assignments for week 1 Reading PEN/O’Henry Awards 2010: Kristin Allio, “Clothed, Female Figure,” pg. 30 The Mind of Your Story: Chapter 1, “Fictional Seeds,” pg. 2 Writing Obsession. What obsesses you? What do you think about those nights you can’t sleep? Are there recurrent “themes” in your life? Your first assignment is to write two pages (no more, no less) about something that obsesses you. Form isn’t important here—you can write it as fiction, from another point of view, or even just make some notes. My only caveats are that you don’t begin, “My obsession is…” and that this, and all assignments, be in a .doc or .rtf format, double-spaced, and using a basic font such as Times New Roman, with 1” margins. These are the specs that agents and editors expect, so it’s best to learn them now, at the outset. Don’t forget to give all your writing assignments titles. Writing assignments are due on Thursdays by 8 pm. Please email to lisalenardcook@gmail.com. I will return by email, with comments, before the following Monday’s class.