Sci-fi rough draft due Thursday

Here are some notes I discussed today.


Science-Fiction Story Rubric

Read the story from start to finish before marking any of these.

Story Telling
5(a) = Gripping story, developed characters, action moved to a climax.
4(b) = You were curious about the end, some characters, conflict present.
3(c) = It was a story, had characters, some conflict.
2(d) = It was barely a story. It did not go anywhere.
1(f) = Unacceptable

Was it a science fiction story? (Author's purpose was clear.)
What is the writer’s purpose/lesson about technology? Will science be the savior or the destroyer? What do we need to be doing right now to attain or avoid this?

5 = The writer made you really think about the future of some science idea.
4 = The story contained some type of science idea and its future.
3 = There was some science thing in the story.
2 = It was just a story.
1 = Unacceptable.

Dialogue
5 = Excellent use of dialogue for effect and character development.
4 = 15 exchanges with mostly correct indenting, punctuation, paragraphing.
3 = Not enough exchanges and/or incorrectly punctuated.
2 = Barely used dialogue and/or totally incorrect punctuation.
1 = Unacceptable

Sensory Details and Thoughts
5 = Vivid setting and details. You feel immersed in the story.
4 = Many sensory details like feel, see, smell, and some thoughts.
3 = Some sensory details like feel, see, smell, and some thoughts.
2 = Not very descriptive. The story was mostly just plot details.
1 = Unacceptable

Grammar
5 = Almost perfect. Very few errors
4 = Some errors. They were minor and did not distract. Writer proofread.
3 = A few too many errors. Many should have been caught.
2 = Proofreading appears to have been skipped. Distracting errors abound.
1 = Seriously?

Total: ________ divided by 5 = average
4.5 = A
3.5 = B
2.5 = C
How do you punctuate thoughts?
        “That will be $31.04.”
        Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four pennies. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars, she mused as she gave up on the pennies and handed over two twenty dollar bills to the cashier.


Use italics sparingly to indicate thoughts
       Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four pennies. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars? she mused as She gave up on the pennies and handed over two twenty dollar bills to the cashier.

Punctuating thoughts is not totally necessary.
        “That will be $31.04.”
          Maddie dug through her purse, hoping to find the four cents. Since when did feeding sandwiches to three kids end up costing over thirty dollars? She gave up on the pennies and handed two twenty dollar bills to the cashier, continuing her musing as he got her change.

(You don't need to punctuate thoughts like you would actual dialogue, especially when you're writing from the individual's point of view. It doesn't matter if it's first person or third person, you are obviously writing from Maddie's perspective. Because of that, things like "The sky was really blue that day" or "Since when did feeding three kids sandwiches get so expensive?" are both her thoughts and are just additions to her perspective of the world around her.)

The whole goal of punctuation is to help the reader follow what you are trying to say! If it is obvious that it is a thought, then just write the thought. Your reader will follow you.

Save “Quotes” for spoken dialogue. Use thought cues (He thought…) for thoughts.
(http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123312)


Start a new paragraph…
           every time you switch speakers.
          when you switch what you are talking about.

Think about television. 
          When a character is speaking, the camera is on him/her. All the action and dialogue that concerns that character is in that camera shot, including description of what is going on around him/her. If a new character speaks, the camera focuses on the new character. When people speak, there is a natural back-and-forth. Your written words have to show this back-and-forth visually using new paragraphs.

           Don’t be afraid to use too many paragraphs. It is when you use too few that the back-and-forth gets lost and the reader looses focus.