You are welcome to turn in a poem or a short fiction piece. Make sure your short fiction piece is 500 – 1,500 words in length. This can be a “to be continued” story if you want to work on a longer story. Your first assigment is due Feb. 14th by midnight. Please upload this assignment to your group and to this assignment section. You have an extra week to respond to everyone elses’s work in your group. I do not accept late work on assignments after three days past the due date. There is a point deduction for latework. You are welcome to turn in work early. Guidelines for Fiction/Nonfiction Your word count should be 500-1,500 words. Focus on characterization—write about a character you like and enjoy writing about. Consider the setting and how this might affect the character. Work on your opening and closing. Consider a surprise ending since this is a short piece of fiction. If you choose to write a nonfiction piece, make sure that you still use characterization in places. Guidelines for Poetry Include at least one strong image in your poem. Do not use form or a set rhyme scheme unless you are making it “new” and not forced. Consider using the medium of poetry to loosely tell a story. (This is not a requirement.) Choose your language carefully and make every word count. Limit yourself to one page. If you need inspiration for poetry, be sure to check out The Poetry Foundation and the American Academy of American Poets. They even have iPhone Apps. ***I do accept late work up to three days after the assignment is due. However, I do count off late points.