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Step 1: Listen to "Desolation Row" & Follow along with the Lyrics below: Chosen Quote (3-4 lines) Theme Statement Step 2: Choose a portion of the song as your influence for a short story Step 3: Write a theme statement for your short story Step 4: Plan out your story and create each part using the plot diagram below: Remember to include in your story: ❏ One - two pages of content: 12 point font double spaced ❏ At least 4 lines of dialogue ❏ 2 Figurative Language Examples ❏ The story should reference the lyrics you chose Step 5: Type your story here: Sentence starters:
○ "It had been the happiest day of his life..."
○ "With a sudden rush of panic, I realized I had no idea where I was..."
○ "The wind swirled around me and the world went black..."
● Character-based scenarios:
○ "A group of villains goes on a team-building retreat."
○ "Your character's mom seems tense during dinner and says, 'I have something to tell
you.'"
○ "A mysterious and charming stranger talks to your character at school, but there's one
major problem."
How to Write a Short Story - 4 Easy Steps (Watch this video!)
1. Character is in a predicament
2. Event unrolls that disrupts this predicament
3. Event peaks
4. Final revelation changes the predicament
Stem Ideas
“Once there was”…..characters *describe them!
“They were”….actions and conflict *include dialogue/conversation
“Then”….next action, suspense builds *be descriptive, use figurative language
“All of a sudden”….BIG CHANGE! *make it exciting! Shocking!
“And then”…falling toward resolution
“In the end”….resolution
Short Story Rubric
Ideas/Details:
▪ Story is interesting and engaging
▪ Story has a clearly defined and developed theme _______ (50)
Organization:
▪ Plot is developed (has a clear beginning, middle, and end)
▪ Characters are clearly identifiable (major and minor)
▪ Transitions used to link sentences and paragraphs
_ _ _____ (20)
Style:
▪ Makes use of dialogue/character thoughts to drive plot
▪ Uses a variety in sentence structure and length
▪ Figurative language examples are present
▪ Word choice is appropriate and thoughtful _______ (30)
Total: _______
All Answers 1
Answered by
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Chosen Quote (paraphrased, 3 lines)
- A carnival of misfits marches past a row of shuttered windows.
- Sirens and laughter tangle like ribbons in the night air.
- Lovers and strangers lose themselves on Desolation Row.
Theme statement for the song (my interpretation)
- Even in a city full of spectacle and noise, loneliness and longing can hide behind every bright face.
Portion of the song I used as influence
- The image of a strange, theatrical street where outsiders gather and reality feels like a staged performance.
Theme statement for my short story
- Sometimes the only way out of feeling lost is to stop pretending you’re someone you’re not and tell the truth to the person beside you.
Plot diagram / Plan
- Exposition: Protagonist (Mira), a quiet high-school senior, wanders into an off-kilter night market called “Desolation Row” after missing her bus. She’s full of doubt about college and identity.
- Inciting incident: Mira meets a charming, theatrical stranger (Jules) who seems to know everyone and nothing at once; he offers a seat at a small, mysterious puppet stage.
- Rising action: Mira hears dubious tales from the street performers and flirtatious whispers that mirror her inner confusion. A vendor recognizes her and calls out a rumor about her acceptance letter being lost, which panics her.
- Climax: Mira realizes Jules expects her to join the performance, to play a role she doesn’t believe in. She must decide whether to keep pretending or speak the truth about her fear.
- Falling action: Mira confesses her uncertainty to Jules and to a friend she finds there (Lena). The crowd quiets; the performer’s mask slips, revealing vulnerability.
- Resolution: Mira leaves at dawn feeling less alone; she still isn’t sure of the future, but she’s stopped acting like someone else and begins to plan honestly.
Short Story — “The Night Market on Desolation Row”
With a sudden rush of panic, I realized I had no idea where I was. The bus had taken off without me, and the street ahead had folded into a narrow lane of stalls and twinkling bulbs. People drifted in and out of shadow like actors between scenes. A banner read Desolation Row in curling letters; beneath it, a man in a battered top hat juggled knives that caught the lights and scattered them like broken stars.
“Lost your way?” a voice asked.
I turned. He was all smile and stubble, the sort of person who could rent warmth by the hour. “I missed my bus,” I said.
“You picked a good night to get stranded.” He tipped his hat. “I’m Jules. Sit. Watch the show.”
I sat on a crate by a puppet stage where two wooden lovers were forever frozen mid-embrace. Around me the crowd buzzed: a woman embroidered secrets into scarves, a boy traded fortunes for chewing gum, an old man hummed like an undone clock.
“Are you okay?” someone whispered beside me. It was Lena—my classmate, same biology class, same shaky hands during lab. “I thought that was you on the 4:15.”
“I thought I had it all figured out,” I admitted. “College, majors, a plan. Now I don’t even know if I want those things.”
Jules leaned in. “Plans are just costumes, Mira. You put them on because they look good in the light. Take them off and see what fits.”
He sounded like a magician and like a surgeon at once. The night was a velvet curtain; the market’s chatter threaded through me like a needle.
“You’re being dramatic,” Lena said, but her voice was soft. “Maybe you just need time.”
A vendor called, “Got a map! Lost and found futures! Only three coins!” People laughed. I felt my anxiety grow like a shadow swallowing the bulb lights.
“All right,” I said at last, louder so the night could hear. “I don’t want to pretend anymore. I’m not the confident Mira on Instagram. I don’t know what I want.”
Silence folded. Even the juggler’s knives seemed to hang midair.
Jules’ hat dropped to his chest. “Honesty’s rarer than a sincere applause,” he murmured. “Good. Say it again. Say it like you mean it.”
“I’m terrified,” I said. “I’m afraid of choosing wrong, of disappointing everyone, of failing.”
Lena squeezed my hand. “Then don’t choose alone,” she said. “Let us help.”
The puppet lovers’ painted eyes winked as if someone had read a secret. Jules winked back, and for a moment the whole market leaned in like a living thing. The city breathed around us, slow and wise as an old dog, and in that breath I felt less like a lone actor on a stage and more like a person with a script that could be rewritten.
By dawn, the bulbs softened. I had no finished plan, no perfect answer, but I had named my fear. That small truth felt like a key. Jules lifted his hat. “You can always come back,” he said. “Desolation Row has room for lost things.”
“And room for people who want to stop being lost?” I asked.
“Especially those,” he said.
I left clutching Lena’s sleeve. The street began to look ordinary again, but the night had given me a different view—a mirror that didn’t lie. In the end, the most theatrical thing I’d done was tell the truth, and it changed everything a little.
Dialogue count: 8 lines
Figurative language examples:
- “The night was a velvet curtain” (metaphor)
- “The city breathed around us, slow and wise as an old dog” (simile/personification)
Reference to chosen lyrics: The story’s setting and imagery are inspired by the “carnival of misfits” and the theaterlike Desolation Row described in the chosen paraphrase.
- A carnival of misfits marches past a row of shuttered windows.
- Sirens and laughter tangle like ribbons in the night air.
- Lovers and strangers lose themselves on Desolation Row.
Theme statement for the song (my interpretation)
- Even in a city full of spectacle and noise, loneliness and longing can hide behind every bright face.
Portion of the song I used as influence
- The image of a strange, theatrical street where outsiders gather and reality feels like a staged performance.
Theme statement for my short story
- Sometimes the only way out of feeling lost is to stop pretending you’re someone you’re not and tell the truth to the person beside you.
Plot diagram / Plan
- Exposition: Protagonist (Mira), a quiet high-school senior, wanders into an off-kilter night market called “Desolation Row” after missing her bus. She’s full of doubt about college and identity.
- Inciting incident: Mira meets a charming, theatrical stranger (Jules) who seems to know everyone and nothing at once; he offers a seat at a small, mysterious puppet stage.
- Rising action: Mira hears dubious tales from the street performers and flirtatious whispers that mirror her inner confusion. A vendor recognizes her and calls out a rumor about her acceptance letter being lost, which panics her.
- Climax: Mira realizes Jules expects her to join the performance, to play a role she doesn’t believe in. She must decide whether to keep pretending or speak the truth about her fear.
- Falling action: Mira confesses her uncertainty to Jules and to a friend she finds there (Lena). The crowd quiets; the performer’s mask slips, revealing vulnerability.
- Resolution: Mira leaves at dawn feeling less alone; she still isn’t sure of the future, but she’s stopped acting like someone else and begins to plan honestly.
Short Story — “The Night Market on Desolation Row”
With a sudden rush of panic, I realized I had no idea where I was. The bus had taken off without me, and the street ahead had folded into a narrow lane of stalls and twinkling bulbs. People drifted in and out of shadow like actors between scenes. A banner read Desolation Row in curling letters; beneath it, a man in a battered top hat juggled knives that caught the lights and scattered them like broken stars.
“Lost your way?” a voice asked.
I turned. He was all smile and stubble, the sort of person who could rent warmth by the hour. “I missed my bus,” I said.
“You picked a good night to get stranded.” He tipped his hat. “I’m Jules. Sit. Watch the show.”
I sat on a crate by a puppet stage where two wooden lovers were forever frozen mid-embrace. Around me the crowd buzzed: a woman embroidered secrets into scarves, a boy traded fortunes for chewing gum, an old man hummed like an undone clock.
“Are you okay?” someone whispered beside me. It was Lena—my classmate, same biology class, same shaky hands during lab. “I thought that was you on the 4:15.”
“I thought I had it all figured out,” I admitted. “College, majors, a plan. Now I don’t even know if I want those things.”
Jules leaned in. “Plans are just costumes, Mira. You put them on because they look good in the light. Take them off and see what fits.”
He sounded like a magician and like a surgeon at once. The night was a velvet curtain; the market’s chatter threaded through me like a needle.
“You’re being dramatic,” Lena said, but her voice was soft. “Maybe you just need time.”
A vendor called, “Got a map! Lost and found futures! Only three coins!” People laughed. I felt my anxiety grow like a shadow swallowing the bulb lights.
“All right,” I said at last, louder so the night could hear. “I don’t want to pretend anymore. I’m not the confident Mira on Instagram. I don’t know what I want.”
Silence folded. Even the juggler’s knives seemed to hang midair.
Jules’ hat dropped to his chest. “Honesty’s rarer than a sincere applause,” he murmured. “Good. Say it again. Say it like you mean it.”
“I’m terrified,” I said. “I’m afraid of choosing wrong, of disappointing everyone, of failing.”
Lena squeezed my hand. “Then don’t choose alone,” she said. “Let us help.”
The puppet lovers’ painted eyes winked as if someone had read a secret. Jules winked back, and for a moment the whole market leaned in like a living thing. The city breathed around us, slow and wise as an old dog, and in that breath I felt less like a lone actor on a stage and more like a person with a script that could be rewritten.
By dawn, the bulbs softened. I had no finished plan, no perfect answer, but I had named my fear. That small truth felt like a key. Jules lifted his hat. “You can always come back,” he said. “Desolation Row has room for lost things.”
“And room for people who want to stop being lost?” I asked.
“Especially those,” he said.
I left clutching Lena’s sleeve. The street began to look ordinary again, but the night had given me a different view—a mirror that didn’t lie. In the end, the most theatrical thing I’d done was tell the truth, and it changed everything a little.
Dialogue count: 8 lines
Figurative language examples:
- “The night was a velvet curtain” (metaphor)
- “The city breathed around us, slow and wise as an old dog” (simile/personification)
Reference to chosen lyrics: The story’s setting and imagery are inspired by the “carnival of misfits” and the theaterlike Desolation Row described in the chosen paraphrase.
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