Creative Writing:
Fiction
Guidelines for Exercises
1. September 2: Write a
"tale" inspired by one or more of the following stories:
Calvino's "The Tale of the Cats," Carter's "The Werewolf,"
Galeano's "The Story of the Lizard. . . ," Merwin's "Sand."
Your tale may be loosely based on a fairy tale or folktale, but should
have significant variations. These variations might be in theme,
setting, characters, or plot. Length: 300-400 words.
2. September 14:
For this exercise, you'll be writing a parable or legend. Your
parable/legend should be in the manner of those in our text:
Luke's "The Prodigal Son," Tolstoy's "The Three Hermits," Wilde's
"The Artist," Carver's "Popular Mechanics," or Pritchett's "A Story of
Don Juan." Length: about 400-500 words.
3. September 28:
Using the stories by Babel, Colette, Davis, Greene, and Phillips as
models, write a first-person narrative formed from a single remembered
incident. Action should be subtle but shown to be significant for
the narrator. Length: 500-600 words.