Researching the Short Story Genre (History etc.) (1 Viewer)

[boasboy]

Do we really need this stuff? like yeh.. lol

will any of you experienced 04'ers care to share your knowledge and wisdom?

i need to hand in a portfolio of my work and letter of application and everything just to apply for extension 2 english..

do any of you know any good sites or books or any other material that had some good information on the short story genre.. cos yeh independent research. . . i will acknowledge yous .! :

 

[jhakka]

Your school is asking for a bit. :|

All I had to do was fill in my name and why I wanted to do Ext 2.

 

[fuckfoot]

wow, that's pretty heavy. look for something on mansfield- her stuff is apparently the epitome of traditional short story (don't bother acknowledging this, all knowledge is borrowed anyway), if they're looking for a range of short stories you could delve into style. at the beginning of eng xx i had to read hemmingway, james joyce, some post-modern stuff... ended up with some good related texts too.

pick up one of those writing guides, it'll help you bullshit a bit more.

this is odd though. my 'application' process involved walking up to the teacher one lunch time and saying "hey, i'd like to do extension 2" and then nodded my head a lot. do you have a lot of kids trying to get in? i couldn't take it if there was competition.

 

[jhakka]

How many people did you have in your class, fuckfoot? Mine was 13. Pretty big for an Extension 2 class, I've heard.

 

[ur_inner_child]

That application thing wouldn't be too much of a big deal. We also had an application and contract, signitures and all but when I think back to it.... The concept and medium of my project is completely different to what I had in the beginning of the year. Chill, you won't get marked for it.

Your portfolio, I'm not so sure.

You're school's probably afraid of (as much as our school was) of people realizing how demanding this course can be and having students dropping it. Meh. I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[ur_inner_child]

My class had 12 people. Not too far off from you, but that's average for our school each year...

 

[goldendawn]

I was the only person in my Extension 2 class. We had two periods a week cut back. Nonetheless, it has been one of my favourite subjects.

Researching the origins of the short story? Find a book called "Approach to Literature" by Graham Little. This book is a gem. It will give you a run down on the historical context of the genre, and sketch its general stylistic features.

(I'm suprised no one has mentioned Edgar Alan Poe for research into the short story... He was one of the most influential writers in this genre). These are Poes principles of short story writing:

"A short story should create a single impression. It must be capable of being read in a single sitting. Every word should contribute to the planned effect. The effect should be created in the opening sentence, and developed throughout the work. The story should end at its climax. Only such characters as are essential to the effect should appear."

Remember, you don't have to be constrained to these principles. Don't let stylistic nazi's tell you how to write. Take advice, but stick to your guns. My only piece of universal advice would be CLARITY (unless you are using ambiguity as a literary technique, which is different ). Ask yourself: do I know what I mean? Have I said it? But don't be afraid to be arty! People contemptuous or defensive may deride you for having ideas and feelings, and being unafraid to give them form. Ultimately, your work must satisfy YOUR OWN world view and aesthetic values. People will appreciate a work which you have obviously enjoyed, which is confident, and which is unified and insightful. On this point, I have to say that a trap that many young writers fall into is trying to force "something profound" from the end of their pen, and losing the imaginative aura which their earlier works may have possessed; earlier works which were truly more profound and enjoyable in their creative zest and sincerity. Many young writers fall into angst and nihilism in an attempt to give their work a dramatic depth; and which ultimately results in a whiny and unispiring melange of verbs and adjectives. When I read something, I read to be inspired. If a writer expresses deep woe, then I believe that that woe should be resolved. If it is unresolved, it becomes despairing - a major turnoff for me. But, this is just my opinion. I belive vehemently that if you write what is truest for you, then you will produce a work of depth and originality.

 

[boasboy]

hmm thanks guys!
because the extension 2 teacher is like this evil person ._. and she was like "if u doing this as a 12th or 13th unit forget it" and stuff like "oooo i got 20/20 in extension 1 im gona do ext 2.. but i'll still check ur marks and if not in top 20, don't consider it" .. >_<" annd she was talking about things like Barth or something but i wasnt paying attention.

i'm really reconsidering extension 2 because of the teacher oO ... lol .. even if u do something good she makes u feel bad ._.

my portfolio is about 5% complete atm ._.

oh and also... is it a maximum number of 2 units of english that counts towards your UAI? i know this may not be the appropriate thread .. but u guys are experts

 

[glitterfairy]

Well, back in Term 1 Yr 12 (ie Term 4 2003) when we had "offline group classes" I had about... 20-22 people in my class, and there were three EE2 classes (yup, it was like, half the grade! go us!).

Your teacher sounds like a real scary beast... I learnt a lot about writing and the writing process during Yr 12, it's not like you're expected to be a "superstar" before you even start your MW... :S

I was always (and still am) a writer that's in the mid-length to 'Wannabe Epic' category, so my short story research really just consisted of reading short stories and realising that you have to have less characters, and that you have less words with which to work - ie you have to condense everything and you don't have as much space to play around in. There's usually a twist at the end.

Aside from that, the space is yours. Read short stories (can't believe i'm repeating what my teacher said to me about this time last year), and write. Obviously how much actual research you do depends on what you're doing. A friend of mine did a story on Japan and so she had like 5 journals full of research. My story was pretty much pure introspection, so I didn't need that kind of physical research.

goldendawn said some excellent points. Your story is your own - respect it for that and give it (and yourself) the thinking space it deserves. Aside from motivating you to start writing, no book or any person can actually teach or force you to write a story - it comes from inside you.

but, in the case of RS's and funny things like this, you can always go around reading a whole bunch of "How to write short stories" (James Marsden, Art of Fiction - David lodge?, Kate Grenville etc) and waffle on about how they "taught" you to write and "taught" you the conventions.

 

[boasboy]

i assume you go to james ruse or even a school above that? (omg there might be a school above james ruse) lol...

atm there are 25 people in my grade applying.. and the teacher said that she only wants about 15 ..

so yeh.. i'm pretty scared because she was like.. "u have to research everything about the history of literature and the different genres and the short story and this and that" and then i tuned out .. >_<"

 

[Saul]

the deal with english is that at least 2 units have to count towards your uai... in my hsc i assumed 2 unit english wouldn't count, didn't do any work on it, took my time in the exams- they hated my 4 unit piece and i got shat on... moral of this story is to not try to plan what units will and wont count and just do everything well.

 

[Monkey Butler]

Hmm, I don't think a school's allowed to tell you what courses you can and can't take for the HSC. I mean, this is your HSC, which is going to determine what kinda of courses you take at uni (well, you can say that anyway ) so who are they to say that you can't do a course because too many people want to do it. But you have to assert your rights - YOU want to do it, make it hell for them to stop you. My "head of student services" (utter bullshit, he didn't serve the students at all) said that I couldn't do a 4-unit course unless I was doing thirteen or more units, because otherwise if I wanted to drop a 2-unit course, and ee2, and ee1, I'd be stuck. So I just told him if he didn't let me drop the course I wanted (giving me only 11 units) I'd just do no work and disrupt the class. He saw my point.

My point is, tell your teacher, the headmaster, the head of english, whoever you have to, that you want to do the course and that your marks are good. As far as I know, they can't say no. And making you do a portfolio is just bullshit, all I had to do was list ee2 on my year 12 course form thing and turn up to class. You gotta wonder about some teachers

 

[glitterfairy]

Boasboy,

Your teacher sounds like she's just too lazy or incapable of dealing with more than 15 students.

I'm at HGHS, for the record. I don't think I could stand James Ruse - We're a bit more Artsy-and Humanities-y here at Hornsby. We R Cool! lol (to say it the way my brother would say it... if he was a girl...)

If I had to do all that "history of blah blah blah" stuff, I wouldn't have done EE2. you in it to write a story. YOUR story. Why should you have to research all this background info? It's not in the syllabus!!!!! I'd do what MonkeyButler suggested and talk to people. Your Year Advisor, the Principal, the Board of Studies (like, the actual BOS... lol). I only do 10 units, and I had no troubles doing EE2 (in fact its highly encouraged here... ).

there's no-one that can force you to do anything other than 2U of english. I have absolutely no respect for anyone that wants to bend rules to "maintain reputation of the school" or something equally pathetic. It's your HSC. your marks, your UAI, the rest of YOUR life. Petty things like how high a school ranks on the list is just immature. A bit hypocritical since one of our Deputy Principals is obsessed with how high we are on the list (HGHS can be such a private-school wannabe. We're not going to beat North Sydney Girls, because they're smarter over there. It's not us - it's just structured that way) but anyway.

Do what you want, because no-one has the right to stop you.

 

[jhakka]

That teacher sounds like the Head of English here. She didn't want one of the girls in my class doing Ext 2 because she wanted to do poetry, and it was viewed as a "soft option". And here I was thinking "Whose HSC is it again?"

 

[gordo]

there is a good book called
how to write short stories
by sharon sorenson

have a read of it

 

[goldendawn]

Your teacher sounds like a cow. Since when have writers been historians or fact-whores! I don't think writing is purely cold and intellectual, and I don't believe that anyone has the right to put you through a trial of fire just so that you may be "allowed" to do what you love doing. If she is going to have an application, it should not be based upon historical research! It should be based upon your own desire to write and to labour with your own creation. Creativity cannot be measured by a facto-pedia!

You should definitely inform her that she cannot dictate what courses you do. She can only guide. Any attempt on her part to do more, would be an abuse of teachers privilege, and poor conduct for an"educator".

 

[glitterfairy]

Hear Hear!