Storytelling: Weeks 3-5-7-9-11-13

For the rest of the semester, the odd-numbered weeks are Storytelling weeks where you will be adding a story to your blog based on reading you have done so far in the semester. For detailed instructions, see the Week 2 Storytelling assignment. (During the even-numbered weeks, you will have an option of writing a story OR doing a "story laboratory" option; you'll learn about that starting in Week 4.)

Here are the key items to remember:

• Use your Reading Notes. It's usually easiest to use a story from the current week's reading since that is going to be most fresh in your mind, but you can also go back to your old Reading Notes posts and use a story from a previous week. That's why you need to focus your Reading Notes on the specific story you think you might want to write about; that way, you can quickly find a story to use just by looking through your notes.
• Experiment with different styles.  You can find lots of storytelling ideas here, and you can also get ideas as you read other people's stories each week.
• Write from scratch. When you are writing your story, do not look at your source material; all the words, sentences, paragraphs, etc. need to come from you. Review the information about Original Writing versus Copying if you have any questions about that.
• Length. Your story should be between 300-1000 words long (word count tools). If your story is coming out too short, add some dialogue, description, visual detail, etc. If your story is coming out too long, here are some tips for shortening the story: Short and Sweet Writing. And..... if you are interested in microfiction formats, you can also write multiple 100-word stories. Here's an example of how that can work: Stories of Lord Ganesha (there are 6 there, but you only need 3... although you could do as many as 10!) 
• Author's Note. Make sure to provide detailed information about your source story in the note, especially if you have made big changes to the plot, characters, or setting. Remember that the person reading your story might not have read the same source that you used, so they are relying on you to tell them more about that source.
• Read out loud. After you publish your story, read through the published version out loud, and then go back and edit as needed.
• Bibliography and image information. Make sure to credit your sources, both for the story bibliography and image information you include. 
• Title. Include "Week ## Story" plus your own title (e.g. Week 3 Story: The Purple Goblins).
• Labels. Use Story for the label, plus the week number (e.g. Week 3, Story — separate the two labels with a comma). 

When you are done, here's the Declaration you will complete: