Guidelines:
- 1-2 page short story (perhaps one brief scene from a larger piece) that serves as a creative homage to a writer you admire (or don’t!).
- Can be an author we’ve read, or a writer you’ve read and feel you understand their literary techniques/writing style
- Imitate/parody the author’s writing style – the literary device(s) that make them famous (plot, characters, language/dialect/syntax/word choice, dialogue, theme, symbolism, suspense, allegory/ etc.)
o At the top, on left-hand side, head your paper with:
• Your name
• Mimicking _______ (insert their name)
• ID the technique your mimicking…
Look back to the end of chapters for some suggestions in how to imitate the stories in our book. I’d like you to modernize the stories (or sci-fi them), update the language, etc. If an author is known for thick language or dialect of their time and culture – use the dialect of our time and culture. However, be true to who you are, and consider if your language might offend your audience! In other words, do your best not to have flat characters (stereotypes) unless this is part of the authorial imitation.
The ubiquitous advice to burgeoning writers (even if forced to write!) is to be honest, and “Write what you know.” However, leaving the statement at that is dangerous. Without context, it tells you to write with an authority of having the answers, when this is simply not the case What that statement really means is this:
Write from the reality and experiences of your life; what have you been through, what people in your life have gone through; what is the world you live in; what themes of humanity obsess you? What do you know, but not really know? What is worth exploring based on you and your experience?
• Your name
• Mimicking _______ (insert their name)
• ID the technique your mimicking…
Look back to the end of chapters for some suggestions in how to imitate the stories in our book. I’d like you to modernize the stories (or sci-fi them), update the language, etc. If an author is known for thick language or dialect of their time and culture – use the dialect of our time and culture. However, be true to who you are, and consider if your language might offend your audience! In other words, do your best not to have flat characters (stereotypes) unless this is part of the authorial imitation.
The ubiquitous advice to burgeoning writers (even if forced to write!) is to be honest, and “Write what you know.” However, leaving the statement at that is dangerous. Without context, it tells you to write with an authority of having the answers, when this is simply not the case What that statement really means is this:
Write from the reality and experiences of your life; what have you been through, what people in your life have gone through; what is the world you live in; what themes of humanity obsess you? What do you know, but not really know? What is worth exploring based on you and your experience?
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