English 130 Reading Fiction
Re-Vision
Technicalities:
* One inch margins
* 12 point Times New Roman Font
* Double spaced
* Upper right hand corner includes in this order: your
name, name of assignment, English 130, Dr. Steven Thomas, and the date all
single spaced
* Title in bold, centered above first paragraph --
absolutely NO separate title pages
Length:
* 3-4 pages
* This means "significantly more than three pages but
less than five pages"
* It does NOT mean "almost three pages" or "more than
six pages"
Prompt:
*
The novel Happyland is written in the third-person. Re-write one one of
four chapters -- just one -- in the first person from the point of view of one
of its characters.
Expectations and Helpful Hints:
* This is obviously not an essay. This is creative
writing. So, you don't need a thesis, introductory paragraph, supporting
details, etc. Nevertheless, you should still have a clear idea about what you
are doing or it won't make sense.
* You will choose just one character. How would that
character see everything that happens in the chapter? How would he or she think
or feel about it?
* Keep in mind that your character might be right about
some things but is probably wrong about other things. So, as an author, your job
is to provide the reader with clues so that your reader can see more than the
character sees even though the reader only has access to the character's point
of view.
* What is the medium through which the reader receives
this character's story? For example, is it a private diary? Is it a series of
letters or e-mails to a friend or family member? Is it something he or she
confesses in a court of law? Is it what the character is thinking as he or she
experiences it? Is it something told to a grandchild years later?
* Make it interesting and fun to read -- that is to
say, make your reader want to find out how the chapter ends, which means having
a good beginning and a situation that is unresolved.