Spinning a Yarn Ref: Writing Short Stories p.9-32 Freud: ‘Every child at play behaves like a creative writer, in that he creates a world of his own or, rather, he rearranges the things of his world in a new way.’

Stephen King tells a good yarn, he has been called the master of the plotted short story. However, King says plots are artificial and can restrict imaginative growth. But not many great writers think this way, and not all brilliant story writers actually stick to their plots, they change them. But, a plot is a good place to start.

There are three basic story elements, according to King:

NARRATION which moves the story from A to B DESCRIPTION creating a reality for the reader DIALOGUE bringing the characters to life

How/Where do we start? King uses his intuition to create a story. He places his characters in a predicament/situation, for instance in a room from which there seems to be no escape, and then figures out what happens to them. (See list of Dramatic Situations, ref: Gozzi c )

Visualisation Activity Close your eyes. Place a car in a ditch, it’s dark, a young man is slumped over the steering wheel. There’s an upturned bag on the passenger floor, money and a gun can be seen. The man stirs. Can you picture him? For a few minutes watch what he does next. (Note: many students have based their short story on this type of exercise.)

Close your eyes again. An inquisitive 18 year old boy opens the shed door at the bottom of his dead grandfather’s garden. He noses around and finds a plastic bag full of 50 pound notes. For a few minutes watch what he does next.

Close your eyes again. You are just about to jump off a building when you are joined by another person who also wants to jump. You both sit with your legs dangling over the edge. What do you talk about?

Something that comes from your imagination Here is a short story put to film. It’s called The Black Hole.film

HOMEWORK Beginnings: –What happens next? See handout.