Narrative Writing Unit: Writing an Alternate Ending

Alternate Ending Notes PART ONE

• When you write a new ending to a story, remember to match the style of the original story.

• If the characters have a distinctive way of speaking in the story, keep that way of speaking in your new ending.

• The story might have been written from the third-person point of view, with a narrator telling events from "outside" and using the pronouns he, she and they when referring to the character
  
  
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Alternate Ending Notes PART TWO

• When writing a new ending for a story such as this, keep the third-person point of view.

• The story might have been written using the first-person point of view, with the narrator being part of the action and using pronouns, I, me, my, and we when referring to himself or herself.

• When writing a new ending for a story such as this, use the first- person point of view.

  
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Passage 1

Well, I tell ya, I farmed this land my whole life. It's rough, hard soil, and oftentimes I've had an aching back. But I've always brought in the harvest, and we've always had enough to live on. My son Mike doesn't understand me. "Dad!" he says. "We could sell this patch of dirt and be rich! People would buy up the lots and build big houses. You're sitting on a gold mine! Let's sell!"
I almost agree to, but then I just could not do it. "Don't matter son," I said. "I'd rather live right here in our old farmhouse than anywhere else on Earth." Mike's a touch angry now. He'll come around.

Fill in the Blank

Sum up the ending of this story.

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Fill in the Blank

From what point of view is this story told?

Fill in the Blank

Write one sentence to describe a different ending to this story.

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Passage 2


Dr. Marina Hall is a scientist who works at a top-secret laboratory high in the mountains of Peru. No one has heard of the lab; it is called only "Zone 1." The people who are chosen to work there are sworn to secrecy. Their mission is to raise the remarkable alien children who have been left in their care. No one knows when their warrior parents will be returning for them.
The children are gifted. They learn subjects as difficult as microbiology by the age of three, they speak every language of this world as well as some interplanetary tongues, and they are stronger than the Earth's strongest man.
Their parents entrusted these incredible children to the most advanced citizens of planet Earth. there was only one rule: never let it be known. Dr. Marina Hall has often worried what would happen if the media ever found out about Zone 1. She is glad that such a thing is impossible. The laboratory is well hidden and well protected. She spends her days creating new and wonderful lessons for her charges.

Fill in the Blank

Summarize the ending of this story.

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Fill in the Blank

From what point of view is this story told?

Fill in the Blank

In one sentence, describe a different ending for this story.

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Short Story Notes

• A short story is a brief, fictional narrative. An alternative ending to a story is an ending different from the writer's original ending.

• The ending of a short story is important. Sometimes, endings are happy. Sometimes, it is interesting to imagine a different ending to the story.

• A good alternative has these qualities:

  • It is logical based on the events of a story.

  • It is something that might happen to the characters as they are described in the story.

  • It gives a clear solution to the problem or conflict in the story.
    
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Passage 3

The old man slowly pulled on his boots and stood up, taking a battered straw hat form the rack next to his easy chair. His roughened hands told the tale of his many years of labor in the garden, sowing seeds, pulling weeds, and planting rows of tomatoes and pepper plants. He picked up a cane leaning against his chair. Its handle was worn smooth and shiny from years of use. Leaning on his cane, the old man walked toward the back door that led out to his garden. He sat down beneath the peach tree that he had planted so many years before and closed his eyes. When his son arrived late that afternoon, he found the old man still sitting, eyes closed forever. He had died holding what he loved most-a handful of dirt that he had farmed all his life.

Multiple Choice

Why is the ending of this story logical based on the character of the old man?

• He was tied to the land and could not live away from it.

• He did not like his son.

• He was stubborn.

• He was too old to make changes in his life.

Multiple Choice

Select the answer that is the logical alternative ending based on the character of the old man.

• The old man greets his son with affection and happily leaves with him.

• The old man marries a widow in the village and moves to another town.

• The old man moves with his son to this city and starts a new life there.

• The old man refuses to leave his home, and the last scene shows him sitting under a tree.