Today’s goals Introduce the prose continuum Introduce strategies for outlining in open form prose

Class discussion- prose continuum What is a thesis? What is a theme? What kinds of essays use a theme or a thesis?

New Vocabulary Prose Continuum See pg 18 of A&B Closed Form Prose Delayed thesis prose Thesis seeking prose Open Form Prose See pg 18 of A&B What genres can you think of as examples of delayed thesis or thesis seeking prose?

Group Activity: Understanding Prose Type In the same groups: Review “A Letter to the Editor” on pg. 15 and “A Festival of Rain” on pg. 16 Answer questions 1-3 on pg 16 and question 4 below 4. What problem does each of these essays seem to focus on?

Class discussion- outlining What is the purpose of an outline? Do you write outlines for your essays before you begin composition? Why or why not? How does an outline in open form differ from an outline in closed form prose? What do you normally include in an outline? What information should we include in a WTR outline?

Closed form prose outlines Introduction: Hook: Thesis: Forecasting: Body Supporting idea 1: Evidence Supporting idea 2: Evidence: Supporting idea 3: Conclusion: Thesis Clincher

Open form prose outlines Should focus on the most important elements of open form prose: Characters Setting Plot Important Sections of plot/story Exposition Rising action Climax Falling action 3 traditional outline structures: Structure Plus Signpost Notecard

Open form prose outlines Structure Plus Focuses on story in three parts or acts: exposition, rising action, and falling action The whole plot is outlined Very detailed info, discussing characters, settings, and events for each section Somewhat inflexible Signpost Divides the story into the most important scenes Characters, settings, and important events are noted for each scene Not all scenes need to be fully described: focus on the important ones and fill the rest in as you are writing Allows for creative discovery and change in writing Not as detailed as structure plus, may leave certain parts of your story undescribed Notecard Important settings, characters, and events are each given their own note card (or bullet point for typed outlines) Information is fluid; everything can be moved around or changed. You do not have to specify initial order of events or what characters appear in what scenes Extremely flexible Better for fiction than non-fiction, may make it more difficult to build tension and link events together

Outline- structure plus example Act I – Exposition SETTING: The back room at Spaghetti O’Plenty; 5 p.m. CHARACTERS: Rhys; his girlfriend, Trina; Trina’s manager at the restaurant PURPOSE: To complicate the plot and build tension between Rhys and Trina a. Rhys gets his acceptance letter to a prestigious art school and, excited, goes to Trina’s work with the intention of telling her, but Trina reveals a secret of her own Act II – Rising Action Setting: Rhys’ house Characters (etc)

Outline- signpost example Scene 6: Action Scene SETTING: Sully’s backyard and the woods surrounding his property CHARACTERS: Sully, the Stalker PLOT: Sully sees the Stalker again, peeking in through the kitchen window to get a glimpse of Berta. Sully grabs his pistol and confronts the man, who runs into the woods. Sully chases him. The man stumbles, and Sully finally catches up. He points the gun at the Stalker and forces him to talk. Dialogue ensues. Man reveals he’s Berta’s father. Scene 7: Contemplative/Interior scene SETTING: The bed-and-breakfast where Berta works as a housekeeper CHARACTERS: Berta; some guests of the inn; Berta’s boss, Larrin PLOT: Berta goes about her daily task of cleaning the guest rooms, changing linens, scrubbing floors. She contemplates whether or not she wants to accept her father into her life. She feels loyal to her dead mother, who was betrayed by this man. But he also has money—he’s a retired CIA agent—and he could finally help provide for Berta and her family. She could quit the job at the inn. As she cleans in this scene and reflects on her dilemma, several guests and even her boss confront her with ridiculous demands, like refilling the cotton swabs in Room 22.

Outline- notecard example (Card 1) SETTING: Cruise ship’s entertainment deck, Friday night (Card 2) CHARACTERS: Chet, Dash, Mary Ann, a Barry Manilow impersonator (Card 3) Chet and Dash fight over Mary Ann after she leaves. (Card 4) Dash breaks a beer bottle on the bar, attempts to stab Chet. (Card 5) Barry Manilow impersonator, in the middle of his act, sees the fight and comes over to stop it. (Card 6) Dash accidentally stabs Barry Manilow look-alike. (Card 7) GOAL: To develop a major plot point that will lead to Mary Ann’s crucial decision later in the novel.

Individual activity- wtr Initial outline Identify the media that will be the focus of your narrative Select one of the three outline types and begin drafting an outline for your WTR essays. Explain why you chose that outline Identify who the most important characters are in your story (aside from yourself there should be 2-4 other important people) Identify the most important event in your story, called the climax

homework Read “Choosing the Best Outline Method For You” WTR Outline Approximately 1 page (or 200 words) (Notecard outlines should be presented in picture form with 15+ individual notecards) MLA format (no works cited page necessary) Make sure to identify: What media you are focusing on How that media may have affected you What are the major events and settings in your story Who are the major characters in your story