Sentence Manuscript + A Monologue

A 3 Sentence Manuscript

Length: three sentences.

Grade: Out of 5 marks, 5% of final grade.

Objective: To carefully consider scale and goals of your manuscript.

Instructions:

You will be describing what your manuscript is about (or going to be about) in three sentences. Youll want to balance the main ideas, themes, plot, and potentially character(s).

This assignment will be based on the six-sentence description youve written in class.

You want to cut to the core of your story: what is it really about? What parts are the most important to describe?

If you find this task impossible, you may need to either reconsider the scale and goal of your manuscript or have a conversation with me to create a plan to better implement your existing ideas.

This assignment will be graded on:

If your ideas make sense. (Can I follow what you mean?)

Originality. (Is this something new?)

Clarity of objective. (Do you know what youre writing? Can you describe it?)

Thoughtfulness. (Have you considered what youre going to write about? Have you spent time thinking about your project outside of class?)

Feasibility. (Is this project something you can reasonably accomplish within the confines of this class?)

A Monologue

Length: 650-800 words

Grade: Out of 15 marks, 15% of final grade

Objective: To develop dialogue and characterization skills.

Instructions:

You will write a monologue of approximately 650-800 words in the voice of an original character. Your character may be addressing a reader, audience, or unseen figure.

Your characters monologue should reveal a conflict, and your speaking character should have a distinct, unique, and idiosyncratic voice.

The monologue will tell the audience/reader something about your character: the philosophical lenses they apply to themselves, their position in the world, or their position relative to others in the world.

I should be able to infer details about your speaker that are not explicitly mentioned in the monologue, I should have a sense of knowing them. Think back to our discussion of Doug Stanhope vs David Sedaris!

Consider employing slang, accents, uniquely qualified statements, or other traits that help make your character stand out from a crowd.

On a separate page attached to your assignment, I want a few sentences (1-4) explaining who your character is, what theyre talking about, and who theyre talking to.

This assignment will be graded on:

The believability of the characters voice. They should sound like a real person, not just a cardboard cut out or stereotype!

The use of exposition through dialogue. The character should be able to tell the audience/reader details about their circumstance, life, situation, and ongoing conflict.

Tone and characterization. Your character should sound unique. Are you able to establish a clear mood, atmosphere, and even genre through dialogue?

Consideration of positionality/worldview. How does your character see him/her/themselves in the world? Does that come across in your writing?

Dialogue should feel organic.