Timothy A. Grady
This unit wrestles with a complex, deep concept in the creation of fiction. While I, like every teacher, would like to believe that there exists some perfect unit that will teach something so well that a student will forever after have mastered it, it is important to remember that learning is an iterative process, and that mastery develops over years. The goal of this unit is not mastery--it is growth. If by the end, a student is better able to evoke images in the fiction he or she creates, then it will be an overwhelming success.
As you use this unit, keep in mind the inherent mystery that lies at the heart of creation. It will be tempting at points to create hard and fast rules to help yourself as a teacher manage the wide variety of work students will produce; in general, this is a good practice, just be careful to limit rules to procedural activities, rather than creative ones, whenever possible.
