This document provides an overview of various craft techniques used in short fiction writing, including point of view, characterization, setting, theme, and the use of time. It discusses E.L. Doctorow's short story "A House on the Plains" as an example, analyzing the opening sentences, characters of Mama and Earle, and descriptions of place. The document also contrasts the use of scene versus summary to represent the passage of time in a story and how this relates to plot and structure. Students are assigned readings to help prepare for a future lesson on these topics.

1. POV, Characters, Setting
Last week’s exercise

2. Theexercise
 15-minute timed exercise
With a dash of influence writing:
 Write your own “Reunion” story. Use the setting from
Monday’s exercise. Now, put two characters running
into one another in the setting for their own “Reunion.”
 Their meeting should have some significance behind it.

3. “AHouseonthe
Plains”
 E.L. Doctorow based the story on multiple murders
that took place in Indiana in the 19th century.
 We also learn about some of the author’s ideas and
motivations in terms of theme and character
development.
 You’re going to discuss some aspects of this story
through the lens of craft technique and then present
your findings for our discussion.

4. Themes
 “Yes, speaking of Dora, evil can be thought of as an
absence—I think Augustine said something along those
lines—it is an absence that paradoxically can be made
visible by dealing with what is not absent: her charm,
her intelligence, her self-confidence, her sexiness, her
charisma.” — “What’s Buried on the Farm,” New
Yorker, 6.18.2011

5. CraftThoughts
 “I think it’s a condition of the short-story form that the
first sentence should predict everything to come, as the
acorn predicts the oak.” —Ibid

6. Voice/Character
 Mama said I was thenceforth to be her nephew, and to
call her Aunt Dora. She said our fortune depended on
her not having a son as old as eighteen who looked
more like twenty. Say Aunt Dora, she said. I said it. —
”A House on the Plains,” EL Doctorow

7. SmallGroup
CriticalExercise
 Group 1: Read the opening sentences together. Discuss E.L.
Doctorow’s statement that those opening sentences predict
everything that is to come. How do they do that?
 Group 2: Discuss examples of direct characterization for the
character of Mama. How does Doctorow’s use of appearance,
action and dialogue help construct this character?
 Group 3: Discuss examples of direct characterization for the
character of Earle. How does Doctorow’s use of appearance, action
and dialogue help construct this character?
 Group 4: Discuss the descriptions of place(s) in this story. How do
Doctorow’s descriptions help reinforce the thematic idea of
examining evil as the absence of good?
 You will discuss in small groups for 15 minutes. Then designate
someone in your group to present your “findings” to the rest of the
class for discussion.

8. Time
 ”...a period of time can be as useful an organizing
principle for a writer as a piece of real estate.” —
“What’s Buried on the Farm.”

9. Summaryand
Scene
 Summary and scene both are used to represent time in
fiction
 Summary moves quickly over longer periods of time
 Scenes slow down time and deal with shorter periods of
time

10. Scenevs.
Summary
 Scene is always necessary in fiction
 Summary can be useful, but not always required
 Scene mostly takes place in “real time”
 Scene allows the reader to experience the action
 Summary can span any period of time
 Summary is more distancing/un-experienced

11. Time,Plotand
Structure
 On Wednesday, I will present a lesson on plot in fiction,
along with fictional time and structural choices. To
prepare, please read the following:
 “Getting Started” by John Irving, page 143, Great
Writers on the Art of Fiction
 Read “The Girl Who Left Her Sock on the Floor” by
Deborah Eisenberg, page 257, Contemporary American
Short Fiction
 Read with an eye to all the fictional techniques we’ve
discussed, but specifically, ask these questions:
 1. What time frames are used in the story?
 2. What do you observe about the author’s use of scene
versus summary?