For this assignment, I am considering how I would produce a final draft of an original short story. I'll try to break this down step by step, then go into more detail.

Be sure I'm not copying story ideas or characters from another source (a film, tv show, book, etc).
Check my work against the rubric.
Consider if I am satisfied by the story.
Edit for punctuation, spelling, grammar, and repetition.

Step One

The first step is to make sure that I am not borrowing from someone else. With all of the media we consume, it can be easy to take an idea from somewhere else. If my plot elements or characters feel like they are coming from some other media, I am not creating an original story. I have had students write short stories that were based only on movie trailers they have seen (having not even watched the movie itself), and I have started stories with a clear media influence. Before I do anything else, I need to read my story and think: "Have I seen this before?"

Step Two

The next step is to look at the rubric closely (I've included it here. Click to expand.) and look at my story even closer. I make sense of each bullet point and then consider whether or not I am achieving what is expected. The exemplary column is the only one I pay attention to so that is my goal.

For example, the rubric asks that I "sustain focus on setting, character, events, and/or ideas to strengthen the unity of the story." I need to make sense of what this means before I can even start thinking of how (or if) my story succeeds here. To me, this means that the story does not include unnecessary details, and everything in it feels important because each detail shows how the setting, characters, events, or ideas are connected to the climax and resolution.

I break down each of the bullets in this way. Here are the remaining bullets in the Ideas category:

Uses details throughout the plot (from exposition to resolution) that are creative and grab my readers attention so that they want to keep reading
Makes the characters feel real by using dialogue, description, and realistic responses to conflicts. The audience's understanding of the character becomes more complex as they deal with the conflict as well; this might mean the character begins to think about things in a new way, or that they realize they have traits they never knew they had.

Once I understand what I am expected to do according to the rubric, I carefully read my draft and see where I am succeeding and where I am not. I could choose to grade myself according to the rubric, or ask someone else to grade me as well. I tend to make notes all over my physical draft identifying where to add details that can be added to satisfy the rubric.

Step Three

This is purely subjective, but I read my story and ask whether or not I am satisfied by what I have done. Did everything I wanted to include make it into the story? If not, is there a good reason why it isn't there? This is where some of the biggest changes usually come, and I've had to sacrifice details I loved here when they didn't feel like they belonged. This is an important step; if nobody else is satisfied by your story, you should be.

Step Four

Most of this step is pretty basic, but I go through and look to see if I am writing according to English Convention (that is, the rules of English language we all agree to follow). I might occasionally break a rule here or there for effect - such as creating fragments or run ons to show a change in my character's ability to think straight - but for the most part I follow the rules.

Arguably the most important part of this step is looking for repetition. I find that when I'm writing creatively, I tend to describe things in the same way. This might be referring to the sun as "a giant ball of angry yellow fire," which sounds pretty good in once, but becomes boring the second, third, or forth time. So I go through and make sure I'm describing things in ways that are consistent but different, or removing the description entirely if I've thoroughly described the thing already. I also look to see if I am starting sentences the same way, over-using names, relying on the same phrases, or creating too many sentences of a similar length. Repetition like this makes for boring reading, and I do not want to bore my reader. Not ever.

I hope that has been helpful. If there is anything about this post that is useful (or not), please let me know in the comments below.