Craft Assignment #3 – Character and Setting
Out of 30 marks and worth 20% – /30 and 20%

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 1000-1250-word postcard story
b) A 400-500-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 1000-1250-word postcard story –
Character options – choose one of the following pairs of characters and write a story from one

character’s point of view (the central character)
• Use limited third-person (only the central character’s pov)
• Incorporate dialogue
• Write the story as one sustained scene (backstory is fine but don’t shift scenes)
Present the central 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 story about an accident that

occurs at the location
• Use limited third-person (only the central character’s pov)
• Incorporate dialogue
• Write the story as one sustained scene (backstory is fine but don’t shift scenes)
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 400-500-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:

missing 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)

0 1.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.5 5
Establishment and consistency of point limited third-person pov 0 0.75 1.65

1.95 2.25 2.7 3
Use of Dialogue 0 0.5 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.8 2
Plot Development
0 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) 0 1

2.2 2.6 3 3.6 4
Engagement with the text chapter
0 1.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.5 5
Engagement with the fiction readings
0 1.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.5 5
Grammar/ Sentence Structure
0 0.75 1.65 1.95 2.25 2.7 3
TOTAL /30