Craft Assignment #3 – Character and Setting
Out of 25 marks and worth 15% – /25 and 15%
Before completing this assignment, please
• Read Burroway’s discussion of Character on pages 94 to 108 and Setting on pages 135 to 147 of Imaginative Writing
• Read Richard Bausch’s “Tandolfo the Great” on pages 118 to 127, Amy Bloom’s “The Story” on pages 270 to 279, Donald Barthelme’s “The School” on pages 150 to 152, and Angela Carter’s “The Werewolf” on pages 153 to 154 of Imaginative Writing
• Go through the PowerPoint/Camtasia mini-lessons on Character and Setting on our BB
The assignment consists of two parts:
a) A 500-word postcard story
b) A 300-word rationale
You will write on character or on setting; please choose. Please hand in the assignment as one Word document. Please include a word count, and ensure that you have stayed within 10% of the assigned lengths.
a) The 500-word postcard story –
Character options – choose one of the following pairs of characters and write story from one character’s point of view (either in first-person or limited third person point of view). Present this main character using all of the four direct methods of characterization and present the second person as a flat character. Incorporate both direct and indirect dialogue.
a. A couple on a first date
b. A couple on a last date
c. Two friends reuniting after ten years
d. A parent teaching a child something
e. A stranger helping another person
Setting options – choose one of the following locations and write a monologue (one voice relating events as done in “The School”) story about an accident that occurred in the location. Using concrete significant details, establish the mood of the setting through long shots, middle shots, and close-ups and the incorporation of props that would common to your setting.
f. A workplace
g. A butterfly conservatory
h. A retail store
i. A gym
j. A playground
b) A 300-word rationale –
Character option – Using the template that Burroway provides on page 96 of the text, write a character sentence for your main character. With reference to Burroway and by pointing to specific moments in your postcard story, write a brief explanation of how you have used image, voice, thought, and action to convey the main character’s motivation or desire. In the rationale, also point to moments at which your techniques compare/contrast to those you noticed in the Bausch and/or Bloom story.
Setting option – With reference to Burroway and by pointing to specific moments in your postcard story, write a brief explanation of where and why you have used long shots, middle shots, and close-ups. Explain the time and place and mood you are trying to indirectly create and point to specific diction that you use to create this mood. In the rationale, also point to moments at which your techniques compare/contrast to those you noticed in the Barthelme and/or Carter story.

The rubric used to grade your assignment will be as follows:

F/25% D/55% C/65% B/75% A/90% A+/100%
Incorporation of direct and indirect characterization methods
OR
Establishment of setting (as camera shots) and Indirect suggestion of setting (time, place, props) 1.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.5 5
Plot Development
0.75 1.65 1.95 2.25 2.7 3
Appeal to the five senses in the details and control of character voice (carryover) 1 2.2 2.6 3 3.6 4
Engagement with the text chapter
1.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.5 5
Engagement with the fiction readings
1.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.5 5
Grammar/ Sentence Structure
0.75 1.65 1.95 2.25 2.7 3
TOTAL /25