Writing short stories with sixth and seventh graders is always rewarding, in the end. I say, "at the end," for a reason, though.
When the students realize they will be writing a short story, many of them get excited, wanting to start their story before it is actually assigned. Visions of vampires, futuristic wars and fairies begin to write themselves into the epic tales that will be a breeze to tell.
Then they find out what the assignment is.
My goal, with the students' stories, is to help them see the subtlety of a short story. With only 700 words to use, they cannot solve the apocalypse or find happiness for a zombie. What they can do is help their character grow up just a smidgen, helping them mature just a bit, along with the reader, and themselves.
The process goes something like this. Student shows me his or her "Think Sheet," which is an outline for their story. I see a problem that can only be solved well in a novel, after the character development, setting description and plot unfolds reasonably, or I see they want to write about places or events of which they know little and I start asking questions.
For example, If they have never lived in Vietnam, setting a story there would take a whole lot of research. Not that it is something they can't do, but their time is limited. Sometimes, the problem is too unwieldy for a 500 to 700 word story, so we talk about how their idea can be pared down to a more subtle problem and solution.
This is all just writing, though. And most of these kids won't go on to make a living at writing short stories, as that is a lost career. So, what do they get out of this process?
The future, for these kids, holds many kinds of writing. They will be asked to choose topics to write about for the rest of their lives. Knowing how much topic can be covered well in the time and space allotted is a skill they will always need.
But more than that, what I get to see is a maturity; that ah ha! moment when they realize that there is importance and drama in the every day details of life. One does not have to be the most popular kid in school to have quality friendships and one can find deep happiness and meaning in simple things.
That is my joy and why I love to teach short stories and short story writing. We mature in bits and pieces at a time, rarely jumping huge leaps and bounds in 700 words, we struggle for our growth, line by line.
And that, my friends, is a theme for my life. It won't be on a test, but you can write it down anyway. Growth comes word by word, line by line, struggle by struggle. Even when we are far too old to be cool.
