Short Story
Guide
A Short Story is a short piece of prose fiction, having few characters and
aiming at unity of effect.
Rationale: Empathy with historical characters and events
has been proven to dramatically increase retention. Research demonstrates that synthesizing
information, or taking information and creating new and independent work,
increases understanding and retention.
Writers will be able to practice their talents.
Instructions: Plan the desired effect. Write a short story based on a few distinct
characters.
General
Guidelines
·
Be creative
·
Apply learned knowledge
·
Plan your effect on the
audience
·
Insure ease of interpretation
Short Story Rubric
|
possible points |
expectations |
points earned |
|
4 |
Demonstrates understanding of relevant
knowledge |
|
|
4 |
Reveals empathy with character or
emotional impact of the event |
|
|
3 |
Has clear and discernable effect or purpose |
|
|
2 |
Exhibits creativity and originality |
|
|
2 |
Conveys voice and tone |
|
|
15 |
|
|
Short
Story Example
For Kosovo!
M.
Stanly Bubien
"The date, tell me the date!"
"T-t-today,"
I said, hands clasped behind my back, hiding their trembling, as I concentrated
upon the words. "Today i-is---"
"Not
today," our leader barked, "The da---" he fell into a fit of
coughing, leaning front-wise upon the table, though it hardly bent under his
form. His aid, and second-in-command, moved to intervene, but he waved the
assistance aside.
We waited until the tremors in his body
slackened, and he dropped, breathing wetly, into a chair.
"Thehhh..."
he rasped in an attempt at speech, but shook his head. Clearing his throat
several times, yet to no avail, he finally gestured to his aid.
"Our
instructions for you are clear," the aid lifted a pistol from the table.
"You will be first in the line."
"F-f-f-first?"
I stammered. "Are-are you s-s-sure?"
"Absolutely!
You are our most capable shot, and the automobile will pass first position the
fastest."
I nodded.
"Freedom for
Kosovo!" the aid stated solemnly as he presented the firearm.
"F-f-f-reedom."
I replied, unclasping my hands slowly, but before bringing them forward,
clenching my fingers into a fist. Yet that simply caused the whole of my
forearm to tremble as I reached toward the pistol. I closed my eyes as I
grasped it, but another palm, cold and clammy, laid itself upon mine.
"Unity!"
our leader said, having found voice once more. "Won with the blood of
their 'fearless leader.' Pah!" He spat on the floor. "Our hands are
already blackened, but blood will pave our path. Are you up to this task?"
I stiffened, for
to express doubt now would certainly mean my own death. "A l-l-land united
for u-u-s and all Serbians, its r-r-rightful heirs." I said, though my
hand still shook.
At that moment,
his grip tightened, the firmest grasp he had ever thrown upon me. "Ah! You
are for the task! These aggressions will not abide, and you, my friend, you
will have the first opportunity to free our land from such treacheries.
"The instant
that he dies, it will be for Kosovo. And his people---all people!---will know
the Serbian wrath cannot be contained."
The three of us
stood there at that moment, each with a palm surrounding the pistol.
"The date, I
ask again. The date?" our leader said in a tone that had earned him his
post, though in contrast, he had become so pale, he seemed to fill the darkened
room with a glow.
"Twenty-eighth,
June," I stated with perfect annunciation.
"In the year
of our Lord 1914," our leader continued. "Then, the Archduke
Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne will fall."
And as one voice
we repeated our rallying cry. "For Kosovo!
They released the
pistol, leaving it fully in my possession. They had finished with me, this I
knew, and made my exit. I fled to the street, and falling against an alleyway
wall, I held my hand before me. Through the moonless night I could not see it,
but I knew that, still, it shook as though it would never stop.