Portfolio Assignment 8.5: Poes Narrative Style, and Your Own Despite how you might feel about Poes work yourself there is no denying the brilliance of his writing. His ability to weave a tale which toys with our imaginations is nearly unsurpassed. Think back on his stories which youve read and see if you can remember these hallmarks of his style. In fact, these are generally good traits for any narrative. An opening which introduces the audience to some or all of these elements: narrator, setting, the problem, characters. (Think about the opening of William Wilsonwhich of these were introduced?) Notice how he uses reflection to get the reader inside the head of the narrator. Poe varies the pacing of his stories, often using dialogue to slow time down and insert the reader into the story. Description which does not detract from the story. Good detail and sensory description (description using the five senses) is key to a story but if it is done with a heavy hand it can ruin the story. Poes conclusions, while often surprising, still feel as if they flow naturally from the previous scenes and details of the story. Instead of relying upon one specific literary style or trick, Poe uses these and other techniques in combinations to draw the reader deeper into the story. Now that youve recognized these techniques and seen them used by a master, you get to implement them yourself. Poe uses his excellent prose and narrative style to write fictional tales of suspense. You will do the same. I will walk you through the process of pre-writing then leave you to write your story. The first thing youve got to determine is what kind of scary or suspenseful story are you going to write. Will it be a supernatural thriller, or a suspenseful murder mystery, will there be ghosts, or an insane asylum? Use the following activity to get some ideas on what to write your story about. Get out a sheet of paper and a pencil, along with a timer. Set the timer for one minute. For each of the topics, you are going to do a free write. Start the timer, choose a topic and start writing everything that comes to mind. The goal is to never let your pen/pencil stop writing for the full minute. Write about some scary dreams or day dreams youve had. List some suspenseful movies youve seen. What made them intense? Many people believe that Poes worst fear was being alone; others think it was being buried alive. What do you think his worst fear was? Why? What is your worst fear? Read over your writing, look for things that are similar in each list, or items that stick out and catch your interest. These might be things that would make a good story. Here are some ideas to keep in mind when brainstorming and writing your story: Poes stories were scary without being overly gory. There are horrific images in his stories but they arent necessary described in ways that make them bloody and gruesome. In other words bloody doesnt equal scary. Most of his stories only give enough detail to let the readers imagination take over and make it truly scary. You now have an idea for your story. The last bit of prewriting to do is to create a brief outline. This is a short story; it will be a maximum of two pages single spaced. Use the basic elements of plot to create your outline. Exposition Rising action Climax Falling action Resolution Protagonist (person who moves the plot forward; many of Poes protagonists were murderers) Antagonist (the force which works against the protagonist) Now you have an outline you are ready to go for broke and write your suspenseful story. Here is the rubric which will be used to grade your story. Please read it before you start writing your final draft.

Portfolio Assignment 8.5: Poes Narrative Style, and Your Own Despite how you might feel about Poes work yourself there is no denying the brilliance of his writing. His ability to weave a tale which toys with our imaginations is nearly unsurpassed. Think back on his stories which youve read and see if you can remember these hallmarks of his style. In fact, these are generally good traits for any narrative. An opening which introduces the audience to some or all of these elements: narrator, setting, the problem, characters. (Think about the opening of William Wilsonwhich of these were introduced?) Notice how he uses reflection to get the reader inside the head of the narrator. Poe varies the pacing of his stories, often using dialogue to slow time down and insert the reader into the story. Description which does not detract from the story. Good detail and sensory description (description using the five senses) is key to a story but if it is done with a heavy hand it can ruin the story. Poes conclusions, while often surprising, still feel as if they flow naturally from the previous scenes and details of the story. Instead of relying upon one specific literary style or trick, Poe uses these and other techniques in combinations to draw the reader deeper into the story. Now that youve recognized these techniques and seen them used by a master, you get to implement them yourself. Poe uses his excellent prose and narrative style to write fictional tales of suspense. You will do the same. I will walk you through the process of pre-writing then leave you to write your story. The first thing youve got to determine is what kind of scary or suspenseful story are you going to write. Will it be a supernatural thriller, or a suspenseful murder mystery, will there be ghosts, or an insane asylum? Use the following activity to get some ideas on what to write your story about. Get out a sheet of paper and a pencil, along with a timer. Set the timer for one minute. For each of the topics, you are going to do a free write. Start the timer, choose a topic and start writing everything that comes to mind. The goal is to never let your pen/pencil stop writing for the full minute. Write about some scary dreams or day dreams youve had. List some suspenseful movies youve seen. What made them intense? Many people believe that Poes worst fear was being alone; others think it was being buried alive. What do you think his worst fear was? Why? What is your worst fear? Read over your writing, look for things that are similar in each list, or items that stick out and catch your interest. These might be things that would make a good story. Here are some ideas to keep in mind when brainstorming and writing your story: Poes stories were scary without being overly gory. There are horrific images in his stories but they arent necessary described in ways that make them bloody and gruesome. In other words bloody doesnt equal scary. Most of his stories only give enough detail to let the readers imagination take over and make it truly scary. You now have an idea for your story. The last bit of prewriting to do is to create a brief outline. This is a short story; it will be a maximum of two pages single spaced. Use the basic elements of plot to create your outline. Exposition Rising action Climax Falling action Resolution Protagonist (person who moves the plot forward; many of Poes protagonists were murderers) Antagonist (the force which works against the protagonist) Now you have an outline you are ready to go for broke and write your suspenseful story. Here is the rubric which will be used to grade your story. Please read it before you start writing your final draft.