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.