Question 1

1.•  A man is killed. 
•  A man is driving his car and is cut off by another driver. He becomes enraged and in trying to take out his revenge behind the wheel, he crashes his own car and is killed. 
Why is the second plot description better?

Accepted Answer

Motive is more clear.

Question 2

2.•  A man and a woman marry. 
•  A man and a woman marry and soon find that the woman has a secret past that the man hadn't known of and which he finds troubling. 
Why is the second plot description better?

Accepted Answer

The conflict is clearly stated.

Question 3

3.•  A family dog is lost; another dog is purchased. 
•  A family dog is lost; after going to efforts to find him and after a time of mourning by some of the children, the family learns to love another dog. 
Why is the second plot description better?

Accepted Answer

Connections are stated; we see how one thing leads to another.

Question 4

4. I once went hunting and fell from a cliff. Maybe this would be a good short story. What dangers do I face as I try to write this?

Accepted Answer

A true-life story is hard to write as fiction because reporting things just as they happened isn't usually effective.

Question 5

5. A family is on their summer vacation, traveling by car across America. They have a good time and enjoy themselves seeing various sites. What is missing in this plot summary?

Accepted Answer

There's no hint of conflict or tension.

Question 6

He works at a law firm and doesn’t get much time off. But he had a few days off, and he asked if I wanted to go on a backpacking trip. (6)

Accepted Answer

This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.

Question 7

There's a lot of neat stuff I could put in about what kinds of things you have to pack for a trip like that (7).

Accepted Answer

This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.

Question 8

The weather was looking kind of bad when we left home; it was getting cloudy and we wondered if rain would ruin the trip (8).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Question 9

I remember it was the day there was a big fire in a shopping mall in Florida; we heard it on the news as we drove, and I remember it because my mom's from that town (9).

Accepted Answer

This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.

Question 10

We stopped for breakfast in a little town on the road to the mountains. I had pancakes and dad had hashbrowns and eggs (10).

Accepted Answer

This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.

Question 11

We asked the waiter in the restaurant what he'd heard about the weather in the mountains and he said rain was predicted but that he'd hiked up there a lot in bad weather, so he didn't think we'd have a problem (11).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Question 12

He was a college student who worked as a waiter in the summer (12).

Accepted Answer

This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.

Question 13

When we got to the trailhead, it wasn't raining, but was still cloudy. We put on our packs and started out (13).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Question 14

I was kind of grouchy by now (14).

Accepted Answer

The motive isn't clear; the reader will want to know why the character would do this and why this matters in the story.

Question 15

About a mile up the trail, we started to hear distant thunder (15).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Question 16

Pretty soon, the thunder was closer and it started to rain (16).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Question 17

Before we could get our ponchos on, we were in a cloudburst (17).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Question 18

We got under some trees and finally got our ponchos on, but we were already soaked (18).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Question 19

It's dangerous to be near trees during a lightning storm, but it was raining so hard, we didn't want to go back onto the trail (19).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Question 20

When it finally let up, all we wanted to do was go back to the car and get warm and dry (20).

Accepted Answer

No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

Creative Writing

Lesson 2- Rain Story

Question	Answer
1.• A man is killed. • A man is driving his car and is cut off by another driver. He becomes enraged and in trying to take out his revenge behind the wheel, he crashes his own car and is killed. Why is the second plot description better?	Motive is more clear.
2.• A man and a woman marry. • A man and a woman marry and soon find that the woman has a secret past that the man hadn't known of and which he finds troubling. Why is the second plot description better?	The conflict is clearly stated.
3.• A family dog is lost; another dog is purchased. • A family dog is lost; after going to efforts to find him and after a time of mourning by some of the children, the family learns to love another dog. Why is the second plot description better?	Connections are stated; we see how one thing leads to another.
4. I once went hunting and fell from a cliff. Maybe this would be a good short story. What dangers do I face as I try to write this?	A true-life story is hard to write as fiction because reporting things just as they happened isn't usually effective.
5. A family is on their summer vacation, traveling by car across America. They have a good time and enjoy themselves seeing various sites. What is missing in this plot summary?	There's no hint of conflict or tension.
He works at a law firm and doesn’t get much time off. But he had a few days off, and he asked if I wanted to go on a backpacking trip. (6)	This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.
There's a lot of neat stuff I could put in about what kinds of things you have to pack for a trip like that (7).	This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.
The weather was looking kind of bad when we left home; it was getting cloudy and we wondered if rain would ruin the trip (8).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.
I remember it was the day there was a big fire in a shopping mall in Florida; we heard it on the news as we drove, and I remember it because my mom's from that town (9).	This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.
We stopped for breakfast in a little town on the road to the mountains. I had pancakes and dad had hashbrowns and eggs (10).	This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.
We asked the waiter in the restaurant what he'd heard about the weather in the mountains and he said rain was predicted but that he'd hiked up there a lot in bad weather, so he didn't think we'd have a problem (11).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.
He was a college student who worked as a waiter in the summer (12).	This sounds like true-life or news reporting or gives detail not helpful to the story.
When we got to the trailhead, it wasn't raining, but was still cloudy. We put on our packs and started out (13).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.
I was kind of grouchy by now (14).	The motive isn't clear; the reader will want to know why the character would do this and why this matters in the story.
About a mile up the trail, we started to hear distant thunder (15).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.
Pretty soon, the thunder was closer and it started to rain (16).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.
Before we could get our ponchos on, we were in a cloudburst (17).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.
We got under some trees and finally got our ponchos on, but we were already soaked (18).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.
It's dangerous to be near trees during a lightning storm, but it was raining so hard, we didn't want to go back onto the trail (19).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.
When it finally let up, all we wanted to do was go back to the car and get warm and dry (20).	No apparent problem; this sounds like it may contribute to the plot development; at least it moves the plot forward, rather than just leaving it sitting there.

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