Tuesday, January 20th 2009

Your FINAL ASSIGNMENT is to create a REFLECTIVE ESSAY, following the below criteria:

DUE: Wednesday, 1/21 - end of class

Introduction:

1. Choose a "LENS" or (quotation) that represents you as a writer.

2. Interprete what this quote means in relevance to you as a writer.

Body: Your perspective on writing (e.g., why I write; influences; great writing is …; power of language; personal experience with literature) which provides context for your work (2-3 body paragraphs)

Conclusion: What have I accomplished as a writer? How have I grown as a writer? Where am I headed as a writer?

As we approach next week's Inauguration, let us reflect on our country and the world around us. In an effort to explore this with a light heart and some humor, browse Daryl Cagle's political cartoon site: http://cagle.msnbc.com/

Explore the various cartoons and choose one to critique. Write about the significance of one of the events depicted in the editorial cartoons.

The Extended Metaphor.......

Metaphors are very effective ways of developing ideas in poems; one special form, the "extended metaphor," can be particularly effective in certain situations. An extended metaphor is a comparison that provides the basis for an entire poem or for a lengthy section of a poem; its value lies in keeping the reader's attention focused on a single clear image while at the same time allowing the writer to develop a number of different aspects of an idea.

For Example: "Coming To" summarizes the life of that poem's speaker:

Like a steel drum

cast at sea

my days,

banged and dented by a found shore of

ineradicable realities,

sandsunk, finally, gaping,

rustsunk incompass grass.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!



In addition to assigned writings in Creative Writing I & II, students should compose a minimum of three independent pieces of writing per quarter. To receive credit (certainly the least of our worries as writers) the following criteria must be met for each piece:

• must be a completed piece of writing of publishable quality (i.e., edited, proofread, formatted)
  
• must have an introduction of no less than 150 words in which you reflect on the process of composing that piece, as well as the final product (e.g., inspiration, influences, conflicts, editorial comments, points of pride, lingering doubts)


• must have a minimum of 2 constructive comments from classmates specific to the piece that make at least 2 specific points each (I like..., I suggest..., I wonder about...)

Just to be pragmatic, please identify each piece in the title column on your blog as follows: Independent Writing #1, Independent Writing #2, etc.

Place the original title of your piece at the top of the post itself.

November 19, 2008

One-Act Plays can run anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour or more. While technically, the one-act gets its name from having only one act (however long that might be), it's more commonly thought of as a play that isn't long enough to constitute a full evening. Arguably the most popular length for one-acts is around a half-hour.

Assignment: Collaborate with a fellow classmate to create a One-Act Play. You will be limited to a 30 minute duration. DUE: TBD

Criteria:

1. A good one-act focuses on one main action or problem; there's not time to get into complicated layers of plot.
2. Keep your play to one set and as few scenes as possible.
3. Develop characters only necessary to the plot.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMEBER 5, 2008
"All the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts" ----William Shakespeare

Today, we begin working on the "10-minute play." Follow the outline below to get started:
A ten minute play takes place in ten minutes. One page of dialogue and stage direction is typically one minute of stage action.

1. Introduce Your Characters: Even if they’re just “boy” and “girl” with no stated names, you need to introduce your characters quickly and without reserve. Exposition and back story need be brief.
2. Build tension: Keep the tension taught. What mood or atmosphere would you wish to create at the beginning? At the end?
3. Add Conflict: Plays are, by and large, drama and drama is conflict.
4. Leave Audience Wanting More: Unlike most every other kind of art form, the ten minute play doesn’t always have an easy answer; it doesn’t always even have an answer at all! Ten minute plays are notorious for having endings which are glib, open ended, without resolution, left up to the audience to decide.

SHORT STORY ASSIGNMENT

DUE: October 31, 2008

Over the next week, your assignment is to complete working on your short story.

Final criteria is as follows:

• Well developed, organized exposition (character, plot, conflict...)
• Intriguing/creative title
• Four typed pages (minimum)