Creative Writing WebQwest

Introduction

Writing

This WebQuest will focus on creating a fully rendered scene. Scenes are events that take place in the narrative time frame of the story. They’re not summarized, and they’re not “back story” or history meant to help the reader understand the current conflict. A scene, in fact, should help develop the main conflict in a piece of fiction.

A fully rendered scene should have more than one character so that the tension can develop and there can be some dialogue. A scene should also have a clear setting. Choose details that help you create the world of the story, and show who the characters are.  Something should happen before the scene is over that drives the story, although the scene submitted doesn’t have to be the one that ends the story or resolves the conflict.

Task

This is an individual assignment.

Before creating your fully rendered scene, you will have to learn about what makes a scene.

First you will read about different point of views and then participate in a writing exercise to practice writing in all three point of views.

Next you will read about settings and create a setting of your own.

Third you will read about how to create a character and then create one.

After that, you will read about dialogue and form a dialogue scene on your own.

Finally, you will utilize all of the skills you have learned and create your fully rendered scene.

Process

Assignment One: Point of View

Choosing a point of view is one of the most important factors in creating a story. Each point of view offers strengths and weaknesses.

Read this article about the different point of views:

http://www.thebeginningwriter.com/2012/03/look-at-different-types-of-point-of.html

To see how dramatically the point of view changes the story, pick an incident that has happened to you recently. Tell about the event in three different ways. First point of view (I), second point of view (you), and third point of view (she).

Finally, you will decide which point of view will fit your upcoming final scene best.

Assignment Two: Setting                                        

Setting can make or break a story, so it’s crucial to find the perfect setting for your upcoming final scene.

Read this article on what makes a setting: http://www.betterstorytelling.net/thebasics/howsettingaffectsyourstory…

For your writing exercise, describe in detail a place you know well (your bedroom, your office, the house you grew up in, your church, the local movie theatre, etc.). Next, create a fictitious place and describe it in detail. Finally, consider the setting you will have in your scene for the final assignment.

Assignment Three: Characters

A story would not be complete without characters so of course, you will have to learn about characters for your upcoming scene.

Read this link on creating characters: http://www.novel-writing-help.com/creating-characters.html

For your writing exercise, cescribe yourself as though you are a character in a book. What do you look like? How do you act? Next, you will create a fictional character. Finally, consider what characters will be used in your scene.

Assignment Four: Dialogue

Dialogue pushes a scene forwards and helps create tension and goals within the scene.

Read this link on dialogue: http://writetodone.com/10-easy-ways-to-improve-your-dialogue/

Check out this link on words to use other than “said”: http://www.spwickstrom.com/said/

Now, take the character you created in your last writing exercise and form a conversation between them and another fictional character.

Assignment Five: Scenes

We’re so close to creating our fully rendered scene! But first, you will have to know what makes a scene. Read this article and find out: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/writing-the-perfect-scene/

No writing exercise for this one!

Final Assignement: Creating a Fully Rendered Scene

For your final assignment, you will utilize all of the skills you have learned from our writing exercises to create a fully rendered scene. Remember to touch on everything that “makes” a scene like you read in the last task. Write the scene out on a word document. The scene must be a minimum of two pages but a maximum of eight.

Evaluation

Your scene will be graded in two parts! The first half is thirty points.

10 for SPELLING

10 for GRAMMAR

10 for CREATIVITY

The second half of your grade will be based on what happened in your scene.

10 points for DIALOGUE

-Is the dialogue belieavable?

-Is it delivered well?

10 points for CHARACTERS

-Are the characters creative?

-Are the characters thought out?

10 points for your SETTING

-Does the setting make sense for the story?

-Is the setting described well?

Conclusion

Hopefully this assignment has all made you better writers in the long run! From it, you have learned how to create characters and setting, write dialogue and wrap it all together in one scene! Consider these factors the next time you read a book and analyze whether or not the author uses everything you learned about.

To further your education, check out these links!

This site gives you a random writing prompt so that you can practice creating more scenes: http://thestorystarter.com/

Click here for grammar guides, style tips and other resources for creative and academic writing: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

Hemmingway is an app that edits your writing and helps you make it better: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/

Credits
Teacher Page

This WebQwest was made to help students improve their writing capabilities. Through creating a scene, they learn important lessons about dialouge, settings and characters. Along with this, they will be able to better analyze anything they read in the future.

Writing Applications Informative - The student develops and demonstrates technical writing that provides information related to real-world tasks.