Original Fiction:  A short story with an opening and closing, a problem and solution, a clear lesson or moral,
and usually has three major events, a main character and other minor characters, and scenery.

Example:

Narrative of Personal Experience: These stories are real-life accounts of various events, including those that are humorous or tragic and those of struggles to overcome various odds. Often these stories feature the oppression of Deaf people and how they succeed in the end…or not.

Example:

Jayman Washington
“The Journey of the Ape” (5:10)

Cinematographic Story:  These stories involve cinematographic techniques that are film-like, such as close-ups, panning, zoom-in, zoom-out, medium shots, far shots, angled shots, slow and fast motion, and morphing of objects. Sometimes it is a way to retell or re-create scenes from movies.

Example:

Folk Tale: According to Rutherford (1993), there are various types: legends, tall tales, and traditions. Bodies of work whose origin is lost but that have been shared in the community for a long time; whose origins may have begun as narratives of personal experience and subsequently have been passed around. Sometimes they involve real historical events with fictional characters, or real characters placed in a fictional time. Some stories are a copy of well-known stories with an interesting twist or with replacements.

Example:

A to Z: Interplay between the community’s two languages, ASL and English, where the storyteller manipulates the phonetic system of one language with the phonological system of the other. There are four general rules when creating a story with constraints in hand shape sequencing and sign selection:

1. They must be in correct sequence (alphabetic sequence).
      
2. They must be kept within the boundaries of allowable hand shape deviations.
      
3. They must be clear use of paralinguistic and discourse mechanisms (shifting between characters, pausing, and use of space).
      
4. The story itself must make sense.

Example:

1 to 15: Interplay between the community’s two languages, ASL and English, where the storyteller manipulates the phonetic system of one language with the phonological system of the other. There are four general rules when creating a story with constraints in hand shape sequencing and sign selection:

1. They must be in correct sequence (numerical sequence).
      
2. They must be kept within the boundaries of allowable hand shape deviations.
      
3. They must be clear use of paralinguistic and discourse mechanisms (shifting between characters, pausing, and use of space).
      
4. The story itself must make sense.

Example:

Camerson Luttrell: 0-10-0
“Evolution of the TV” (1:22)

Hand Shape Set: Use a limited set of hand shape(s): one hand shape or a set of hand shapes (i.e.: 1, A, and 5). The story must follow 2 of 3 rules:

1. The hand shapes used need to comply with the original intent.
      
2. Deviation needs to be within acceptable limits.
      
3. The story must make sense.

Example:

Sethan Rolofson: AVENGERS
“Deaf Superhero in Infinity Wars Two” (1:38)

Space or Signing Cohesion: Visual poetic cohesion which manipulates space or signing, showing a visual-kinetic line:
 

• space or signing cohesion is a visual syntax of movement, design, and composition, creating an overall visual composition.
     
• cohesion can be linear, circular, dyadic, left-to-right, back-to-front, high-to-low, etc.
  
  

Example:

Hand Shape OR Rhythm Usage:  Visual syntax of movement in

• sign pattern
     
• sign repetition (3-count/2-count/1-count rhythm
     
• sign manipulation (1-handed/2-handed)
     
• sign pace
     
• sign sequence
     
• sign production manipulation (shattered, icy, happy, frightened, etc.)
     
• palm orientation manipulation

Example: