You are to write a story about what you envision the first contact with another life form will be like. You must decide whether we will meet in person or carry on a long distance conversation. You will have to decide if we travel to their world, they travel to ours or we meet somewhere in between. The plot is entirely up to you, my intent is to allow you to have some fun with it. You can have hostile aliens bent on enslaving the Earth or they can be benign and interested in sharing their knowledge of the universe with us. The possibilities are virtually endless. The requirements for the story are as follows.
1. The story must be between 5 and 10 pages if hand written, double spaced (2 ½-5 pages if typed, 12pt type, double spaced) (25pts)REMEMBER One of the goals of this assignment is to have fun and tell a story. It should be interesting and lively and hold the attention of the reader. If you enjoy writing it the reader will also enjoy it. To check the grammar and punctuation, read it out loud as it is written, if there is a need to revise if should be apparent. (150pts possible)
2. There must be some form of communication attempted between the aliens and us (two way). (10pts)
3. There should be some description of the alien life form and its home planet. Some attempt should be made to ensure that the two are compatible. (10pts)
4. The story should be scientifically accurate, no time travel, no travel at the speed of light, though you may use theoretically possible ideas like worm holes and space warpages to aid in travel within the galaxies. (25pts)
5. The story should have an interesting and unusual introduction, note Once upon a time?.. It could begin amidst the action and then give descriptions of the characters as they become involved. It could begin with a flashback and then return to the present. It is your story so you start it, but remember it should catch the attention of the reader, (shock, humor, romance are good attention getters) (25pts)
6. Define your characters and the setting. You are to be one of the characters and the story is to be written the first person, (from your perspective). The setting can be now or at any time in the future, and you can have any career that you want (pilot of a space craft, astronomer, biologist, truck driver, student, etc). (10pts)
7. The story should have an ending that leaves the reader wanting to know more, or ready to draw his own conclusions about what happens. Though there should be no major loose ends left dangling, remember if there are too many questions at the end it will be very unsatisfying for the reader. It is often a good idea to leave the reader wondering what might happen next. (20pts)
8. Only use dialogue when absolutely necessary concentrate on the narrative and tell the reader what is happening, don?t be afraid to give details about what people (or aliens) are thinking or doing. (15pts)
9. Your story should be either in past tense or present tense but you should stick to one or the other, unless you are using flashback and then it should be clear that is what is happening. (10pts)
The following links are to the stories that were produced by a group of 8th grade students, Have fun and enjoy:
The Search for Extraterrestrial Life