Writing Assignment: Three Characters and One Setting
Writing Assignment: Three Characters and One Setting
You heard some powerful stories in class. Writers use their own lived experience as a starting point for their books and stories. Read this from a National Endowment
of the Arts guide to our book:
Like miners digging for precious metal, novelists often “mine” their
personal histories for compelling story ideas and characters. Growing up
in Tijuana and San Diego with an American mother and Mexican father,
Luis Alberto Urrea was familiar with the complex realities of the border
from an early age. He has said that the idea for the novel, in part, came
from his own history. A branch of the author’s family resides in Sinaloa,
which resembles the fictional village of Tres Camarones, where many of
the novel’s memorable characters reside. Urrea actually had an uncle who
owned a tropical movie theater much like the memorable Cinema Pedro
Infante, and a “terrifying” Aunt Irma. Today, Urrea is an acclaimed author
and creative writing professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Whether his subject is Mexico or the Midwest, he often incorporates the
people and places he encounters into his fiction.
I. For this assignment, start by listing 5-10 biographical details about your life, family, and/or communities you have been a part of.
2. Think about how some of these details can be incorporated into a short story or novel.
3. After providing your biographical notes, write about three characters and one setting. For example, write a character based on a friend who motivated you at your
community college, a family member, and your current roommate in Isla Vista. And write about a setting that is based on a location you know well from your life.
4. For organization and for the ease of grading, start each character/setting on its own page. Begin each character/setting with some notes and then present a
narrative of the character or setting.
Note: This is not an academic writing piece, so you don’t need to worry about format or citations. But, make sure your writing is free of typos and grammatical errors.
As always, consult the rubric for help.
Grading criteria
Your teaching team will follow this rubric to grade your writing assignment.
Followed Directions: One page (2 pages OK) per character/Setting . 3 characters and a setting.
No assignment submitted.
0points
Some Directions Followed
5points
At least half of the directions followed
10points
All directions not followed
15points
All directions followed so closely that the final assignment transcends the directions
20points
Level of Detail. Every great character and setting demonstrates at least a few very specific observations/details
No assignment submitted.
0points
Very few details
5points
Each character description has something specific
10points
Details are thoughtful and we get a clear insight about the character
15points
The details show a high level of focus on the character/setting and tell us something unique
20points
Writing Quality. Did the assignment contain grammatical/spelling errors?
No assignment submitted
0points
Poor writing quality (many errors that disrupt clarity and flow of assignment)
5points
Fair writing quality (noticeable errors throughout)
10points
Good writing quality (several small errors that don’t detract from overall quality)
15points
Excellent writing quality
20points
Earnest Effort. This student, no matter their fiction writing skill level, clearly “stepped up” to this. They gave it a sincere try
No Assignment submitted
0points
Not a lot of effort. If this was Karaoke night, they just mumbled into the microphone
5points
Not all of the characters were earnestly described
10points
This writer clearly made an effort.
15points
We may have ourselves Santa Barbara’s newest novelist. TC Boyle and Sue Grafton (both famous, local fiction writers) better watch out!
20points
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