11/30

We are on the hunt for short stories that we like personally.  In class today we spent time leafing through anthologies and a few checked out the NY times site here.  Another site to look at is this list.
Here is blog post with 25 favorite short stories listed and most are linked.

11/29

We are going to reread "No Face" today and complete the close reading activity.

Tomorrow we will begin our hunt of short stories.  If you want head start check out some of these. (only the ones without the blue locks!)

Wednesday 11/28

Good Morning.  Here are a few prompts to get you started and to keep you going all period.  This will count as an independent write.

Three characters enter a room; an old embittered woman, angry at life and full of regret, a young idealistic boy, and a mother of a newborn baby. How does each character describe the room?

Tell one of these people's stories.

Or try this one.

Tuesday 11/27

Happy Birthday Emily.
We viewed a quick slideshow on showing vs. telling.  Then wrote in our notebooks trying to play with character.

People Meshing

This one’s fun: pick a few people you know and merge them into a fictional character. Merge their bodily features, combine aspects of their personalities (maybe a tendency to be overly angry when standing in lines), and mix and match family members to create a single person. Think of speech mannerisms, nervous tics, and favorite hangout spots.

Don’t force elements together. If one doesn’t seem to fit properly, change it. For instance, if the character gets overly angry while standing in lines, he’s probably not usually a patient person. Mixing and matching has its limits.

Monday 11/26

Welcome back.  Today we read "No Face" with the intent of understanding it.  We then wrote about it in our writer's notebooks.  We were assigned to write about what happened and to describe the boy and the setting.  We will work toward unpacking the story in class tomorrow.

11/19

Good Morning.  In honor of my favorite holiday, I thought the prompt would be about my favorite thing--dinner.  I thought we would write long about the following.  Everyone has a good story that revolves around food!

Write about a memorable meal, a disastrous dish or just a favorite food.

FRIDAY 11/16

Complete this activity today.  It will count toward your independent writes.  Have FUN.

Housebuilding - Chiwan Choi |

Build four walls around you. One at a time. Then a ceiling.

Walk around in it. Decorate it. Find things that were already there.

Identify the room. Just because you put a bed in it, it doesn't mean it's your bedroom.

Tell us where you are. Tell us of all the things that are dying in this room.

Tell us why you need to get out.

Tell us where you need to get to.

Tell us why you can't.

Tell us why you won't.

11/15

Good Morning.  Here is today's prompt for you to use or not.  We are working toward 3 250 word independent writes. I am asking that you push yourselves to try writing in amore mindful way.  That is noticing the craft as you write.

Wednesday 11/14

Good Morning--Today we transition back to fiction writing and will begin to focus on some techniques to improve our fiction writing.  Today's prompt is one that invites lots of creativity. We will also e-mail the blue bomber times out poetry pieces today. Don't forget to cc me!

11/13

Welcome.  Today we highlighted our poems to show the writing devices we employed.  We also shared our poems and we then did an 8 minute write in class.  This counted not as a free write but as an assigned write.