Mini Lesson on Chunking

Wednesday 8.6.08

Mini Lesson on chunking

Linda Denstaedt

Think of each chunk as a scene in a story

Act 1	Put the character up a tree
Act 2	Throw rocks at character (make problem worse)
Act 3	Get your character down (consequences of action/resolution of conflict)

You will create chunks of text that fit together, whose combination creates the story.

By the first page of a novel, you should know the problem by the end of the first page.

By the first page of a short story, you should know the problem by the end of the first paragraph.

Some editors don’t read past the first two sentences.

To begin, plot your story in three acts in order to create a problem.

Plan the back story, at least 10 things have to be disclosed about the character (show, don’t tell)

We are writing character-driven stories.

Raymond Carver story. Minimalism.

Take a look at your chunks and decide what to abandon and what to keep. Control the time setting (e.g., a weekend or a trip to the mall)