Week of 12/11/12

12/13/12

Goal: Wrap Up.

First Step: Housekeeping. Disclaimer

Go to Infinite Campus. See if you have any "blanks" or "M" grades. Then, on a piece of paper, everybody answer the following questions (even if you've already told me these things.)

1. Do you have any missing poems (old work)?

2. If you turned them in, where are they? (Edmodo, your blog, your portfolio?

3. Is your 6-week paper missing? If you turned it in, where is it?

4. Of the 8 blog posts, do you have anything missing or blank?

5. If you turned it in, where is it?

6. What is your blog URL?

7. Is it posted correctly on Edmodo?

8. Did you turn in your portfolio (Wix site)?

9. What is your Website URL? 

10. Where did you post  the URL?

11. Give me your paper copy for the final packet.

12. Did you submit to Muse on Edmodo?

Now, Carl Sandburg:







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12/11/12


Goal: Wrap-up, portfolios, etc. A couple are done. Check these out!

First Step: Muse Submission: Muse needs submissions. Submit to Muse. Everyone pick your favorite piece and post it on Edmodo. This is for credit.

HW: Duh. Portfolios due Thursday.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (NPR Story)

Today: Wrap up Portfolios.

Another note: I need a hard copy of a piece of writing by Thursday (for the final reading)

Week of 12/4/12

12/6/12

Goal: Introduce websites. Submit short stories. 

First Step: Muse Submission: Muse needs submissions. Submit to Muse. Everyone pick your favorite piece and post it. 

Start building your Wix website. 

Friend's website
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12/4/12

Goal: Introduce the concept of the final project. Workshop at least one piece. Work. Meet with Spare if you didn't last week. 

HW: Complete Character-Based Short Story is due Thursday. 

First Step: "Portfolio" Final

Next: Workshop protocol:

Share your blog address with at least three other people. Track down three other people's blog addresses. 

Respond by commenting on one post per blog. When you respond, do the following: 

1. Point out one moment where the author could use more specific description (show don't tell). Tell them how they might rewrite.
2. Suggest one detail that would make the character or storyline more interesting.
3. Point out one grammar, usage, or spelling mistake.

Example: (Who wants to volunteer?)

When you finish, use these comments to improve your short story for Thursday. If your story is done, work on your website. Remember: Wix.com is a good option. 

Week of 11/27/12

11/29/12

Goal: Housekeeping. Time is getting short.

First Step: H.W. due. Anyone have a playlist piece to read? 

Announcement: There will be a final portfolio due (on the last day of class if you want feedback, at the final if you don't). Details to come on Tuesday, but know that you will be required to compile your poetry and fiction writing and include a reflection about the class. 

Next Step: Catch-up day. 

My goal is to check in with all of you today. If you are behind in class, this is a great day to catch up. If you are caught up completely, work on your character-based story. Make sure to include the following.

There is no minimum length, but the story needs to be long enough that we believe in the characters and the conflicts. Strong theme and/or tone is also essential. Above all, none of you are ordinary in here, so don't write ordinary work!!!


1. Character/s
2. Setting
3. Goal, conflict or problem
4. Major events (4 or 5)
5. Ending/Resolution
6. Theme

HW: Your complete story is due next Thursday
11/27/12

Goal: Another angle on your character...

First Step: Ms. LeClaire's rules of memoir club and 6-word short stories: 

1. The first rule of memoir club is that you don't talk about memoir club.
2. The second rule: Be fearlessly honest in your writing.
3. The third rule: Trust your instincts.
4. The fourth rule: Dedicate yourself to revising your essay to work on your craft.

6-word memoir: Ernest Hemingway was once prodded to compose a complete story in six words. His answer has been said to be his best prose ever. Some people say he did it to settle a bar bet. Others say it was a personal challenge directed at other famous authors. The death of an infant in his family was thought to be the inspiration. The story? "For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Examples: 

• Hilary Clinton: From Ill., met Bill, iron will.
• Rip Riley: No wife. No kids. No problems
• After Harvard, had baby with crackhead
• Found true love, married someone else.
• He seemed so sweet. At first.
• Thought I'd be special by now.

The Challenge? Create a story about your character in just 6 words… Often, the inferences are much more powerful than what we beat readers over the head with. You might come up with more than one; try humor, seriousness, sarcasm, student-you, home-you, past-you, current-you…

John Updike - A & P: The topic no one wants to talk about in school.

• What do we know about Sammie that he doesn't know about himself?
• Does Sammie do the right thing? Why or why not

HW: Mix Tape/Playlist. Write one for your character. 

week of 11/13/12

11/15/12

Goal: "Flesh out" our characters more.

First Step: Say congratulations to Charlie, Jackie, and Gabe! We are so proud of you!

Intro: What Time O'Brien does with a character.

Next: Character Mapping:

1. Review the character you've been developing for two or three classes now.
2. On a note card, come up with one adjective to describe your overall impression of the character. Use your phones for a thesaurus if you need to.
3. Now, map your character as depicted on the board!

HW:

Come in after break with two possible plans for a plot. Include the following in two brief outlines:

1. Character/s
2. Setting
3. Goal, conflict or problem
4. Major events (4 or 5)
5. Ending/Resolution
6. Theme



11/13/12

Tuesday:

First Step: Slam is tonight. Who wants extra credit????

Warm-up:

More with your character:

Pair-Share on your character.

Writing time: more with your character

Choose four and write from your character's point of view. Try to get a well-developed paragraph for each:

1. When are you most content?
2. Are you an expert at anything?
3. What do you believe in?
4. Speak about darkness
5. Describe your vision of the future.
6. What do want to be remembered for?
7. Do you have theories about things?

HW: Finish this assignment for Thursday and post on your blog.

Week of 11/6

11/8/12

Goal: Build a more developed character--a new one!

First Step: Any more slam poems? 

More on characterization.

Thought: Character-driven fiction is more sophisticated than plot/formula-driven fiction.

Complete this sentence: 

Sentence 1. (Name) is (age).

Example: "Bob is 14."

Note. You must write from the persepctive of the opposite gender, and the person may not be a teenager. 0-10 and >20 is okay.

Sentence 2: He/she (verb) (object) today. 

Example: "He stole a car today. "

Then, free write the rest in 3rd person. Probably best to do it on your blog, or at least in google docs so you can post it.

HW: On your blog, describe this character's face and body in as much detail as you can. Then, have the character describe his or her own face and body in 1st person. Post both pieces.

11/6/12

Goal: Plug the poetry slam, which is one week from today!

First step: Posters. Where should they go for maximum impact?

Also: "After I was Thrown in the River..." Anything stick with you from last week?

Writing and sharing topics (choose one)

From the perspective of one of the characters you've already created, create a performance (slam) piece using one of the following topics:

If you prefer to write from your own perspective, that's fine. 

1. Write a sarcastic love letter to something/someone you hate. No real names, please.
2. What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and you had wings?
3. What lies in the basement of your mother's heart?
4. Describe yourself from your pet's perspective. 
5. Cloudy with a chance of meatballs prompt: What would the world look like if it were made up of your favorite things? For example, what would the rain, trees, grass, etc. be made of?
5. How do you medicate a heartbreak?
6. DYT

Let's write these on paper so we can get up and perform them.

HW: Post your slam poem to your blog. 

Week of 10/30/12

11/1/12

Goal: Continue work on characterization

First Step: Phil Kaye

Persona: How different can you be? How far can you get from autobiography?

Dave Eggers: "After I was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned"

Eggers Prompts:

1. Write about something you do that makes you "in love with all this" (127)

2. Write about the "squirrels" in your life (131).

3. Write about a scar (like Victoria's - pp. 135 and 136).

4. Write about a "Franklin" moment (136 & 138).

5. Who are the "cranky" people in your life (140). Why are they like this?

6. DYT

List: What are the 2 characters that you are least like? (Make a list with a partner). Come up brief descriptions using these traits:

Physical Description
Personality
Relationships
Speech/(how they talk)
Actions
Motivations
Conflict
Capacity for change

more description of these elements of character at the below link.

http://msansbach.edublogs.org/the-study-of-english/8-elements-of-character/

HW: None! 

10/30/12: 

Sub Day: Blog sharing. Begin work on your character conflict post.

week of 10/23/12

10/25/12

Goal: Look at the effects of dialogue on character development. 

First Step: Any character sketches to look at first?

Now, let's try the exercise we were going to do on Tuesday before the computers got crazy.

HW (for next Tuesday): Dialogue Sketch. Two characters. Allow them to be characterized predominately through dialogue. Think about the below characteristics of effective dialogue.

10/23/12

Goal: Revisit Character Sketches, talk about dialogue.

First Step: Grab a laptop. Make sure everyone has a blog. There are still some to set up. Post your blog address on Edmodo. 

I want you to post fiction on your blog so it is easier for me to read. 

HW For Thursday:

Post the following on your blog:

1. Character sketch (already done). More than a list. Using the answers to your questions, pretend that you're writing a description of a character for a novel or story.


Example of Dialogue:

A Clean Well-Lighted Place


Listening for Dialogue:

Watch for how Hemingway does the following: 

The following tips come from "Top 8 Tips for writing dialogue"

1. Really listening to speech: notice how people basically communicate. Do they have to explain a lot, or is much understood? Do they talk in complete sentences or fragments? How does rhythm come into play in everyday speech? Also pay attention to how little it takes for you to understand what they're talking about.

2.  Not exactly like real speech: Alfred Hitchcock said that a good story was "life, with the dull parts taken out." This very much applies to dialogue. A transcription of a conversation would be completely boring to read. Edit out the filler words and unessential dialogue

3. Not too much info!  It should not be obvious to the reader that they're being fed important facts. Let the story unfold naturally. You don't have to tell the reader everything up front

4. Break it up with action. Remind your reader that your characters are physical human beings by grounding their dialogue in the physical world. Physical details help break the monotony of dialogue.

5. Don't overdo the dialogue tags. Veering too much beyond "he said/she said" only draws attention to the tags — and you want the reader's attention centered on your brilliant dialogue, not your ability to think of synonyms for "said."

6-8: Read widely, avoid stereotypes, and punctuate properly.