Next the class gives orally incidents that might or might not be expanded into short stories.  The students soon discover that some of these require the lengthy treatment of a novel, that others are good as simple incidents but nothing more, and that still others might develop into satisfactory short stories.  The class is now asked to develop original plots.  Since plots cannot be produced on demand, but require time for the mind to act subconsciously, the class practises, during the “period of incubation,” the writing of dialogue.  For these the teacher suggests a list of topics, although any student is free to substitute one of his own.  Among the topics that have been used are:  “Johnny goes with his mother to church for the first time,” “Mrs. Hennessy is annoyed by the chickens of Mrs. Jones,” “Albert applies for a summer job.”  Sometimes the teacher relates an incident, and has the class reproduce it in dialogue.  By comparing their work with dialogue by recognized writers the youthful authors soon learn how to punctuate and paragraph conversation, and where to place necessary comment and explanation.  They also discover that dialogue must either reveal character or advance the story; and that it must be in keeping with the theme and maintain the tone used at the beginning.  A commonplace dialogue must not suddenly become romantic in tone, and dialect must not lapse into ordinary English.

INTRODUCTION

The original plots the class offers later may have been suggested in many ways.  Newspaper accounts, court reports, historical incidents, family traditions—­all may contribute.  Sometimes the student proudly declares of his plot, “I made it out of my own head.”  These plots are arranged in outline form to show how incident 1 developed incident 2, that incident 3, and so on to the conclusion.  The class points out the weak places in these plots and offers helpful suggestions.  This co-operation often produces surprisingly good results.  A solution that the troubled originator of the plot never thought of may come almost as an inspiration from the class.  Criticism throughout is largely constructive.  After the student has developed several plots in outline, he usually finds among them one that he wishes to use for his story.  This is worked out in some detail, submitted to the class, and later in a revised form to the teacher.  The story when complete is corrected and sometimes rewritten.

Most of the class prefer to write stories of plot, but some insist upon trying stories of character or of setting.  These pupils are shown the difficulties in their way, but are allowed to try their hand if they insist.  Sometimes the results are good; more often the writer, after an honest effort, admits that he cannot handle his subject well and substitutes a story of plot.