Jackie+George

__Name:__ Short Short story, or story poem

__Why I'm interested:__ I'm interested in both of these genre's because they relate to some of the things I already like to write, but they also will make it challenging for me to expand what I can already do, and make it into something different. The short short story would be a challenge for me because I write short stories but most are longer in length then what would be expected out of us for this assignment. Also, the story poem sounds very interesting to me because I used to write poetry years and years ago, but never a poem that told a story through out it. I think that would make the experience the most challenging. I am leaning towards the story poem because it will require more creativity on my part.

__What I already know:__ The only thing I know for sure about a short story is how to incorporate the characters and the message quickly in order to finish the plot in a shorter amount of time. I think what would challenge me here is having to do all of this in an even shorter amount of time while creating quality work. I know a lot about poetry, but nothing specific with a story poem.

//Dear Jackie: This// would be fun, if you find some good models of story poems. I know YA fiction has good examples, such as //__Make Lemonade__. BUt you should find shorter examples that are possible in a couple of weeks.//

//Bill//


 * //Annotated Bibliography: Short Story//**

To me, this seemed like the perfect place to start my research. This website offers twenty popular short short stories ranging over all different kinds of topics. Although some of the stories are not short short stories, they helped to provide me with some information on how a short short story should look as well as what key points to include in my short short story. This was my main source of reading because I couldn't help but read them all!
 * //http://www.americanliterature.com/ss/ssindx.html ~ 20 Short Stories//**

I used this particular source as a means of helping me put together the perfect structure for my short short story. I needed to find a source that offered more than just examples how how a short story should look. After finding this site, it helped me to understand how to begin and how to finish. It's an advanced source that helps make your writing be the best it can be because it provides you with 10 key parts of a good short story. Again, I am writing a short short story but I feel like because the length if shorter, these points are even more important to catch the readers attention, hold it, and then hope they want more from the story!
 * Jerz, Dennis G. http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative/shortstory/**

I also used this source to help me put together the perfect structure of my story. My first source provides various examples of what I am writing so I didn't need to find more examples of short, or short short stories. This was another site that breaks down how to make the perfect short story so that you can structure it accurately. The best part about this source was that it broke down every single individual part of a short story and explained how to write it well.
 * Write 101.com http://www.write101.com/shortstory.htm**

Since before I can remember I loved writing. It was always a part of my everyday routine. As I've grown older, I find that i like to be challenged more when it comes to writing since most types of writing come easy to me. In middle school, we are introduced to writing in all sorts of forms. In fact, we are taught to follow strict rules when it comes to the writing assignments in our classes. Since I've been in college, I've done a lot of writing but in the same way. A fun and interesting form of writing is something that comes naturally to you but also makes your creativity soar and challenge you at least a little but. Most all of us has heard of a short story, but a short short story takes all of the characteristics of a short story and minimizes them creating that desired challenge. To begin, you need to first pick a topic that is going to be interesting to you. Usually a topic with a direct message, or a certain point is the best to pick when writing a short short story since you don't have the length to spend getting the message across.
 * How to Write a Short Short Story**

After you pick a topic, the next step is to outline what you want to say. A normal outline for a paper or a longer story can be rather long, so I recommend just jotting down how you want to start the story, two key points to bring into the story, and how you want to end the story. Remember, your short short story is short, so you need to keep thinking of ways to make the story pop without writing more than you need. A short short story can be anywhere between 500 and 1500 words in length. If you have any experience with writing, you should know that this can be very short and you may need to spend more time then you thought thinking about how you want to get your point across quickly.

When you sit down to write your short story, make sure your opening sentence is eye catching so it can bring the reader in quickly. Since you don't have the words to spend getting the readers attention, you need to make sure you can do this right from the beginning so you leave the reader with an immediate curiosity as to what will happen in the words following your opening sentence. After this sentence, write your story while keeping in mind that the reader has never heard your story before, doesn't know your characters or where the story is going, so make sure you address this quickly and use your words carefully in order to keep the reader interested in the story.

When concluding the short short story, end in such a way that leaves the reader satisfied with what they have read. You don't want them thinking "Why did I read that?" or "Why did they write about that?" when they are done reading your short short story. Make the conclusion connect with the rest of the story and tie everything together perfectly. When writing a short short story, the most important thing to keep in mind is that your story is short, but do your best to make it short //and// sweet.

//Jackie: One suggestion is to keep the time short and the number of characters few. For example, two hours in the life of two characters. What you say about getting right into the story is crucial.//

//Bill//