Short Story Reflection Questions

1. The greatest change was how the story ended and what the big conflict was- in the beginning, Mei was only going to have to choose whether or not to go to America, but as I was writing, I added in the plane crash, etc.
2. The msot helpful editing was probably the peer editing on the packet they had to fill out- it was also helpful just hearinf from friends and peers what they thought of my story like what stood out or what they thought should be changed- no 'official' editing.
3. I'm not sure what the story's strength is- hopefully it seems real enough to believe and enough details are evident.
4. For students (next year) writing short stories, my advice would be to plan out the story well, number of words, details, setting, etc. and if that all changes in the process, then that's fine too. But planning and having a basic idea of what you want the story's plot and stuff to be is very helpful. Also, make sure you have a good word limit.

Vocab Words (Short Story)

1. arboreal- (adj.) relating to trees
-The word 'arboreal' is used in this story to describe the way the commons were that Mei and Greg walk through.
2. benevolence- (n.) act of kindness
-The word 'benevolence' was used as a substitute for Greg's family's act of kindness in taking Mei in for a couple of nights.
3. amicable- (adj.) friendly or agreeable
-Mei was an amicable girl.
4. unheralded- (adj.) unannounced or unexpected
-The death of Mei's parents was more unheralded than it should have been.
5. effluvia- (n.) an offensive smell
-When the plane crashes, Mei experiences an effluvia, before she blacks out.
6. disseminated- (v.) spread far and wide
-At th recreational center, the other families that Mei observed were disseminated in the large room.
7. paltry- (adj.) samll or worthless
-This word describes the dragon that Mei receives from her unknown aunt and uncle.
8. bevy- (n.) group
-There was a bevy of children living in each surviving home after the war.
9. irrevocable- (adj.) unchangeable
-As the plane was crashing, its speed was irrevocable.
10. placid- (adj.) calm
-Mei's personality was also placid.
11. acute- (adj.) sharp pain
-The acute pain was her ears popping as the plane descnded.
12. alleviate- (v.) lessen or reduce
-Mei hoped to alleviate the stress that had been put on Jai Li since tkaing in ten children.
13. anulled- (adj.) destroyed
-The plane was anulled after the crash.
14. cumulus- (n.) thick cloud
-The day was clear with a few cumulus clouds in the sky.

Author's Notes for Short Story

1. The main "point" of this story is to share about a girl who has gone through so much but in the end is still strong enough to know that she can take on whatever else she comes across.
2. I'm not sure which parts work the best, but it was actually hard to write the actual story, compare to the simple storyline, which was easy to come up with.
3. The problem with this story is that I don't know how to shorten it and include a lot of detail at the same time. It's also kind of difficult to write in explanation Mei's feelings throughout the story.
4. What should I take out to make it shorter?