For your final project assignment, you will revise your short story (from Module 04) to be more interesting, more readable, and to have more impact. In addition, you will write a 1-page reflection about the processes and revision techniques you used for your final short story submission.
Step 1:
Your revision should be a complete short story of 3 to 4 pages in a Word document.
Seek out additional feedback, incorporate the revision strategies you have learned from this module, and incorporate changes based on your instructor’s comments and suggestions by doing the following:
- Seek additional feedback: Read the work out loud to someone, or have someone read it and jot down any areas of confusion. If your reader points something out to you, try not to be defensive or try to explain to them what you meant. If the story has flaws, just accept that and work to correct them.
- Incorporate revision strategies: Consider the strategies learned in this module, including the “Questions to Ask About Your Fiction.” Revise and again consider: Did you follow through on your build-up to the climax? Was the story believable?
- Incorporate instructor feedback: Look at your instructor’s comments from your original short story and try to incorporate those changes. If you are unsure about how to correct something, look back at the course material and read through some examples. You may need to make simple corrections, like learning how to punctuate your dialogue correctly. Alternatively, your revisions could entail something like adding more details to a scene or two.
As a reminder, below are the elements of your story that might need revision: .
- title
- setting
- time period
- plot – include rising action, climax, and falling action
- point of view
- character(s)
- dialogue
- resolution
- theme that motivates the main character and drives the story forward to its conclusion
Step 2: You will do this regardless of the option
After the end of the story or one of the other options, creative non-fiction or poetry submissions (5 poems) insert a page break in the Word document and begin your 1-page reflection. Outline what revision strategies you used in the final work for your short story. Answer the questions below in detail, using complete sentences that sum up your revision process.
- What strategies did I employ in my revision process?
- What specific tools did I use from the textbook, lesson content, or instructor notes?
- What ideas did I get from any peer feedback I received from my instructor in Module 04?
- What ideas did I get from doing the interactive exercise from Module 05?
- What (if any) ideas did I get from reading fiction or short stories? This does not have to be from this course. It could be that you had a favorite author that you wanted to emulate.
- The reason (or reasons) I think my revised piece is better for submission than my previous draft is ______________.