This was one of the most helpful classes, in regards to helping me write a story, or how to come about planning it. There was a class activity that we all did in groups, called ‘Cause and Effect’, where we were given palm cards, that were sorted out into different categories, those being, place, time, name, occupation, and action. We had to place the cards randomly out on the table, into the structure that we were told, and then had to create a story out of the prompts that we had in front of us. Not only was it a fun way to get in touch with our creative side, but it was interesting to see how specific elements influenced the story more than others, those being gender, and location. We also decided that occupation was an influential factor as well. This meant that if we swamped out a couple of cards, and replaced them with others, does this change the dynamic of the story, or give it extra motivation? Depending on what was swapped out, like the gender and job, meant that the story changed, and how we went about telling it. Not only was it good to see this happen in front of us; seeing how a story can change, it reinforced the reading ‘Philosophy of the Short Story’ by Brander Matthews in week 1.