English teaching: exercises in narrative development

Been working on starting and shaping stories in my sophomore classes, and thought I'd share a couple brief lessons that have gone over well. Your comments are appreciated.

Building a Story From the Character Up
Hand each student a half-sheet of blank paper (computer paper, copy paper, etc.). Students draw and describe the personality traits of a character, any character. The ground rules:

1. Even if based on a real person or previously-imagined fictive agonist, the character has to be uniquely named. No lawsuits.

2. Drawing takes a backseat to describing, and physical attributes to foibles and faults.

3. Non-human characters are okay if personified or anthropomorphized.

Circulate amongst the artistes, offering suggestions and clarifying directions. (Typical: "What's a good name for a social butterfly?" "What's a word for someone who's too trusting?") After about ten minutes, it's on to step two.

Students then pair up and discuss their characters. Afterward, each will write her own story based on a putative interaction between the two, no matter how bizarre or unlikely (Mr. Toaster-head bumps into Rock Studly at a Star Trek convention). Again, the ground rules:

1. The characters must act in accordance with their prescribed traits.

2. The characters must act in accordance with their prescribed traits.

3. The characters must act in accordance with their prescribed traits. It's all about psychological realism and verisimilitude.

If time allows, let students discuss the creative process--if starting with pre-fab characters was a help or a hindrance to their writing.

The Plot Twist

Students begin a story with a generic starter. Some examples:

The sun burned through early morning fog on a cool November morning...

_______ clutched her cell phone as she ran through the park...

The door slammed...

After about 5-7 minutes, when they've had time to initially develop the narrative, introduce the first plot twist sentence, which they are to incorporate literally and directly into the flow: "In that moment, everything changed."

After another 5-7 minutes, introduce the second (and final) twist sentence, "And then the unthinkable happened." Students then take another 5-7 minutes to wrap up the story.

Let students share stories with each other, and then with the whole class. Don't forget to debrief about the creative process, and to point out the diverse (and crazy and random) ways different authors address the same basic constraints.

In my experience, most students will notice the ideas that paradoxically arise out of limitations.