Response To Short Story

Task 1:
My personal reaction was that I thought the story was fairly creepy. It was based off of events in which a man killed 3 young women, which makes it all the more disturbing. I think the main character draws you in because she could be described (at least for me) as someone you can love to hate because she is so vein, it can be frustrating. I think what happened after she went in the car would probably be similar to what happened to the girls who were killed in real life, they were raped and then killed so that is what I assume would happen to Connie as well. I don't really know how you could explain the actions of the male antagonist, and considering you would probably have to actually be that disgusting to understand how you get to that point, I really have no idea how it would happen. He is important to the story because he practically IS the story. This story would mean nothing or be worth nothing if this guy wasn't there to creep the crap out of you and make you want to sleep with your lights on.

Task 2:
I think there are a handful of things that make a good short story. I think I am a very funny person, so I like to use a lot of humor in my short stories, and using that creatively makes it even better. I think the plot should be interesting, and should be something the reader can relate to, like if you were writing about a first date and it was funny, then I think it would be appreciated and liked. I like action novels, such as... anything Dan Brown has written, because there is lots of character development and twists happen all the time. Now, I don't look for that as much in short stories, because I think short stories are more appropriate for humor and comedy. Aside from humor, creativity and an interesting plot that relates to the readers, word choice is very important because you don't have as much space for words as you do in a normal story, and it can make parts powerful. Descriptions of the setting is also important, because it can help you picture the setting and live through it in your mind. Having interesting characters and characters that can relate to readers is also very important, because that way it will apply to their lives and hook them in to the story. A love interest is also a good thing to have, because it gives more depth and maybe even a second plot line in the story, so you can use that to liven up the dull parts of the plot at times. A character that you can "love to hate" is also good to have. It draws you in and makes you think about the character a lot, and as a result you get more out of the story. I like originality as well, I don't always need to have a happy ending to a story, which I appreciate. And finally, a twist at the end that throws you off (like not having a happy go lucky ending) is very important in my opinion.