excerpt from Fate

William's life was just a routine. Every day he woke up, splashed his face with water, brushed his teeth, quickly dressed himself, and headed for work. At work he sat in a chair confined to a small cubicle, where he managed the sales of a box company. After work, he picked up dinner, went home, and sat alone at the dining room table. After dinner, he tidied up his apartment, making sure every accessory was in its place. Right before bed, William walked outside and stood on his balcony, peering out over the city, smelling the fresh air, and gazing up at the stars. William was content, until one day, everything changed.

reflection of my short story

When writing my longer work, titled Fate, I had complete freedom. Very little guidelines, no required length, no specific due date. I had so much freedom that I almost got lost in it. The most difficult part of the process was the beginning, trying to configure my plot. There were many thoughts running through my head, so I looked up "short story ideas" on google. I thought that once I saw one of these ideas, it would spark something in my mind. After some browsing, I saw the words "fortune cookie". I had my story figured out. I began an outline and felt confident about my plot. As I began writing, my story slowly evolved. As I was about halfway through, the more I contemplated the ending, the more I disliked it, so I decided to take a risk. I eliminated my ending entirely, and replaced it with a far more interesting one. I decided to conclude the story by declaring that every event that has taken place in William's life for the past month hasn't actually occured. Maybe it was a dream, maybe William is in denial, or maybe he is certifiably insane. With a cliffhanger ending, I left it up to the reader to decide William's fate. The cliffhanger ending is probably what I'm most proud of, and the full circle the story makes. As of now, my work is finished and I've polished every detail. Because the ending leaves the reader unsatisfied, I could possibly revisit the story in the future and add to it.

3rd quarter reflection

During the 3rd quarter, I focused my attention mainly on my longer work. At first, I had difficulty creating a story and developing characters. I had to invent a plot that would keep the reader and me interested and intrigued. However, once I chose a storyline and developed a few characters, the words flowed effortlessly. I found that outlining the story was beneficial because it gave me something to reference every time I was stuck or couldn't decide where to go next. As of now, I'm almost done with my story, and I'm proud of it. Although I haven't completely polished the work, I'm happy with the amount of detail and the various elements of surprise. During the week we spent in Dr. Totland's room, I enjoyed creating my own version of the story of the little girl and the hare. I made a continuation of the story and created an alternate ending as opposed to editing the preexisiting story. Although in the third quarter I didn't work on many pieces, I enjoyed concentrating on one story.