4B: Why semi-colons are evil and other things: HERE
4C: Write your own PUNS. Then, write them in 1 minute contests. Topics: kangaroo, donkey, phys ed teacher, mime, ventriloquist, juggler, judge, doctor, and then a long one like Ghandi pun
5. Read the short story "Bullet in the Brain" and apply some of the elements you see into a story of your own: PRINT IT OUT. After reading it, write a proposal that includes THREE specific elements you will incorporate into your own story
6. Importance of reading out loud: HERE 6B: CW competition. Create your own phrase and spread it around! Swag, YOLO...look out!
7. Looking beyond something HERE 7b) Hemingway gives some TIPS
Hemingway wrote the shortest story ever told. "Baby shoes. For sale. Never worn" see HERE. Six words. Try it.
10B: Write a three page story that incorporates one of the following lines (all famous opening lines from famous novels). You will be graded based on how cleverly/creatively you incorporate the line and also the quality of the story itself (characters, setting, PLOT). Put the line in BOLD in the story 1. When Dick Gibson was a little boy he was not Dick Gibson-The Dick Gibson Show 2. Psychics can see the color of time. It's blue-Blown Away 3. It was a pleasure to burn-Fahrenheit 451 4. 124 was spiteful-Beloved 5. Where now? Who now? When now?-The Unnamable 6. Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board-Their Eyes Were Watching God 7. Dr. Weiss, at forty, knew that her life had been ruined by literature. --The Debut 8. They shoot the white girl first 9. There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it-CS Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 10. In the beginning sometimes I left messages in the street 11a. It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York
Kurt Vonnegut gives tips for writing a short story: write them down, follow them and then create your Vonnegut-inspired PIECE
Do famous authors consciously plant symbolism in their works? Well, their answers might surprise you HERE
15B: 1 page. Goal: condensed, tight writing. Write one page describing a family member or friend. By the time we get to end, how well do we know this person? First list eight traits of this person (4 physical, 4 internal). Incorporate them. Ex: two traits are stubborn and short. Try to SUBTLY fit them in: "Stan has always been a mule, never relenting to anyone else's opinions. For a man with such diminutive stature, it's certainly a thing to behold. "
17. The Writing Class Jincy Willett adaptation. Create a classroom setting with rich characters and lively dialogue HERE
18. Be a teacher. Print out and grade this for author choice (style, wording, plot, connection, etc. HERE
19. THE ONE ACT PLAY EXAMPLE HERE AND ANOTHER EXAMPLE HERE and critique the following example HERE and another HERE. How to write a one act play suggestions HERE.
21. Create a short story around a subtle allusion to a published short story. The goal is the subtle underlay you create around the allusion. Here are the choices for your short story: "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson HERE"A&P" by John Updike HERE
22. All A Twitter...create short story under the rules of twitter http://twitter.com/
22B: DEATH BY TWITTER: Write a murder mystery in 10 tweets
23. Clips from authors/inspiring writing hints HERE and HERE and HERE then Vonnegut tells the keys to writing a short story. TAKE NOTES HERE. The general author interview site is HERE so go here and tell me what you learned after to listening to multiple authors
24. Create a digital story that captures the true essence of what EGHS is all about in your eyes
24B: Write a satire. Look at "A Modest Proposal" and read analysis of it and elements of satire HERE. Read the satirical site "The Onion" and immerse yourself in satire. HERE is an article satirizing US citizens being gluttonous. HERE is a handout with examples. Watch the new "Onion" version of The Today Show....perhaps develop your own skit in a group with connection to your town/school. Some hints for satire are HERE and HERE (there are two pages) PRINT THESE OUT AND MARK UP. Check out a Jon Stewart clip about how people just don't get satire HERE and read a story about the Obama cover HERE Look at an example from a student HERE
27. Learn from Authors. Read the following and incorporate TWO suggestions into your next piece. Indicate what they were: HERE
28. Tell us a story! Do some brief research on the keys to storytelling. If you cannot tell a good story, chances are you cannot write one. Hand in your research and indicate how you used it in the exercise.
29. Utilize this image to write a brief piece that uses both internal (mostly) and external dialogue and narration. You cannot extend beyond 1/2 page. Load your sentences. Ex sentence: Jack often thought about his battered background, a used car lot full of unfulfilled personal promises, internal apathy and downright anger. "Shit," he uttered softly, looking through the birds and rummaging into his pathetic past, unable to stop his childhood from dominating his thoughts. Notice the narration gives you more than the direct dialogue. HERE
30. Famous opening lines to novels HERE Begin to write your own opening lines. This is a story about a boy who finds out he has the ability to read minds...write the opening line to it. ETC
31. Poetry Slam. Use Iphone application
FINAL EXAMINATION HERE NOTE: YOU ARE WRITING THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS OF THE NOVEL, TO BE FOLLOWED BY SYNOPSES OF THE REMAINING 17 CHAPTERS!!!