Microfiction Assignment: Day Three

Previous exercises here:

Day One: Intro and Drafts

Day Two: Get Concrete

Look over your rewrite from yesterday.

Now we're going to glance again at the stories we read on Day One, noticing where they start (Point A), and where they end (Point B). Determining this isn't an exact science. Here are some ideas about what the A-to-B progressions might be:

In “derelict,” we move from a zoomed-out, distant view of the yard—seeing it as if we're passing by—to a zoomed-in view, or at least sense, of the inhabitant of that yard, its resident consciousness: the “weathered body freckled with birdshit,” “the punched-in shadow still aglint with thoughts.”

In “Bras” we move from a man the narrator desires, who doesn't want her back (“You can have any guy, he says, meaning, besides me.”) to another whose macho posturing suggests he wants to to be desired (he “talks big hunting game and football”), but whom the narrator decides to leave (“I tiptoe through [the kitchen] in the morning.”)

What about “Furniture?” What do you think the progression is there? Does the narrator come to any realization about his childhood by the end of the story?

Now mentally sketch an A -> B progression for your own story. If it already has one, think about how to strengthen or clarify it.

Don't worry about getting this “right.” This is an experiment. You're just going to try it out; you can always change it later.

Set your timer for ten minutes and rewrite. Don't worry about word count for this draft.

Next: Day Four: A New Draft