More McSweeney's Sestinas

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-forest-of-barbaric-sestinas

McSweeney's sestina

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/columns/sestinas

Remember!

Your short story is due on Wednesday 12/16. Please bring rough drafts and copies of peer reviewed (and signed) peer edited rough drafts!

Here are some resources we talked informally about in class today that you might find interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzQYA9Qjsi0

https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/superpacs.php

For Thursday 12/10

• Be sure you bring 3 copies of your short story rough draft to class. This is a graded assignment, and we will spend Wednesday working on peer review in class.

Friday 11/20

• We wrote for 20 minutes on an image we brought to class, and we put this in our writing folder.
• We began a story outline for our short story. Be sure to have this completed before Thanksgiving break.
• We handed in writer's notebook. These were due in class on Friday.

Short story schedule and assignment

Creative Writing                                                                                          Name

Short Story Assignment

100 points

 

We have been studying how different writers approach the short story, and what we might learn from these writers for the last several weeks.

Now, your work is to write a short story of your own. The story needs to be original, and it needs to be seven to fifteen pages in length. Several of you have asked if you might write a chapter of a longer work for this assignment, and that is perfectly acceptable. If you choose to do this, please remember to contextualize the short story for me, particularly if what you hand in is not the beginning of the story.

The timeline for our work is outlined below:

1.      Complete short story study notebook is due on 11/20 (This grade is separate from the short story)

2.      Group discussion and short story outline due 11/24

3.      Research questions due via email by 11/25

4.      Library research 11/30

5.      Writing Days 12/2, 12/14 and 12/8.

6.      3 Copies of the draft due for peer review (graded) on 12/10

7.      In class revision day 12/14

8.      Short story due on 12/16

11/16 in class

Today in class we will be doing the following:

1. Using the "cards" you created to begin some freewriting for the short story.

2. Discussing the short story "Redeployment"

For Thursday's Class

• Be sure to watch the TED talk and take notes on the question, "What makes a good story?" https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_great_story?language
• Your homework is to read the remaining stories in the short story packet, finish the discussion questions (if you didn't do this in class), and be prepared for the class discussion.

Homework for 10/30

• Be sure to have read the short story that was assigned to you. If you were absent, there are copies of the stories available in the ERC, in my mailbox.
• "Pharmacy" Jackie, Maddy E., Ben, Sam
• "Redeployment" Josh, Sean, Alta
• "The Kugelmass Episode" Alice, Maddy L., Natalia, Claudia

Flash fiction piece is due on 10/28

• Be sure to bring peer review sheets and a rough draft!

Due in class on Monday 10/26

• Three copies of the rough draft of your flash fiction short story is due on Monday. Having three copies of the draft is a homework grade. If you were absent from class on Thursday, be sure to get in touch with your partner, and you can finish the story on googledocs.

Have a nice weekend!

For class on Monday, three copies of  your flash fiction story (a story under 1,000 words) is due.  The primary requirement is that the story  convey characterization through dialogue.

In order to proofread your short story, I've copied a resource on punctuating dialogue that you will find useful.


https://blog.udemy.com/english-conversation-dialogues/

Character Sketches Due

Final copies of the character sketch are due in class today. Please bring your completed peer review sheets as well.

Character Sketch assignment (3 copies) due in class Tuesday

THE CHARACTER SKETCH

 Descriptive Writing

 

 

When you write a character sketch, you are trying to introduce the reader to someone. You want the reader to have a strong mental image of the person, to know how the person talks, to know the person's characteristic ways of doing things, to know something about the person's value system. Character sketches only give snap shots of people; therefore, you should not try to write a history of the person.

A good way to write a character sketch is to tell a little story about one encounter. If you do that, you could describe a place briefly, hopefully a place that belongs to the person you are describing, focusing on things in the scene that are somehow representative of the person you are describing. Describe how the person is dressed. or facial expressions. From time to time, describe the person's gestures to put words into the person's mouth in direct quotations.

As you work on this sketch, you should decide what kind of emotional reaction you want the reader to have in relationship to this person. What kind of details can you select to create that emotional reaction? Avoid making broad characterizing statements; instead, let the details you give suggest general characteristics. Let the reader draw her own conclusions

Example Sketch

Eudora Welty’s Sketch of Miss Duling

 

Miss Duling dressed as plainly as a Pilgrim on a Thanksgiving poster we made in the schoolroom, in a longish black-and-white checked gingham dress, a bright thick wool sweater the red of a railroad lantern--she'd knitted it herself--black stockings and her narrow elegant feet in black hightop shoes with heels you could hear coming, rhythmical as a parade drum down the hall. Her silky black curly hair was drawn back out of curl, fastened by high combs, and knotted behind. She carried her spectacles on a gold chain hung around her neck. Her gaze was in general sweeping, then suddenly at the point of concentration upon you. With a swing of her bell that took her whole right arm and shoulder, she rang it, militant and impartial, from the head of the front steps of Davis School when it was time for us all to line up, girls on one side, boys on the other. We were to march past her into the school building, while the fourth-grader she nabbed played time on the piano, mostly to a tune we could have skipped to, but we didn't skip into Davis School.

 

Your Assignment

Write a character sketch. Avoid telling everything about the person, instead, select two or three outstanding traits to illustrate with incidents and examples. Use description to convey the impression. You may find it helpful to follow the pattern of the model by beginning with an incident showing the person performing a typical action. As you relate the incident, or soon afterward, give vital information about the subject - name, age, and occupation, for instance. Is it important that the reader see the person? If so, give details of physical appearance. After finishing the sketch, reread it to be sure that it creates a vivid impression, making any revisions that you feel will make it more effective

Paper Requirements:

Ø  Typed Size 12 Font, Standard Margins (1 inch all sides)

Ø  1 page

 

Light verse work on 10/6

• Today in class we peer reviewed our light verse. If you were absent, you need to take a peer review sheet (there is a copy below), bring it to the Academic Resource Center in the library and peer review it with a writing tutor.
• The final copy with peer review and draft and due in class on Thursday.

Creative Writing                                                                                Name

15 points

 

This piece of paper must be attached to the final copy. No final copy will be accepted without it.

 

Names of Members in my Revision Group:

 

 

Peer Review Discussion:

 

The “gems” my group found in my piece were:

 

1.  

 

 

2.  

 

 

 

3.  

 

 

 

 

My group discussed the following possibilities for revision of my piece:

 

4.  

 

 

5.   

 

 

6.   

 

 

Post Revision Reflection: Explain how you changed the piece and why. Be very specific about what were you trying of accomplish and what specific strategies you used to achieve your goal. Remember that revisions should be global and that this discussion should not include any proofreading corrections that you needed to make.

 

Monday's Class

• In class today we read and discussed a light verse model "The Spider and the Fly".  https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~aathavan/poems/The%20Spider%20and%20The%20Fly%20A%20Fable.htm
• We spent time in our small groups planning ideas for our light verse assignment. The assignment is on the previous blog post.
• In class on Wednesday and Friday you will have time to draft your light verse assignments.
• 3 copies of the drafts, ready for peer review are due next Tuesday 10/6

Light verse Assignment

Creative Writing                                                                               

Light Verse Assignment

100 points

This Little Light of Mine

 

            Light Verse: Comic, witty poems that feature grace and ease of expression, fancifulness and will to delight, and frequently—but not always—a satiric intent.

 

Your assignment is to tell a story using the conventions of light verse. Since you will be telling a story, you’ll need to have characters and some sort of plot, no matter how simple. To tell that story, your poem should be anywhere between 30-50 lines long. Don’t forget to use the conventions of sound strategies and wordplay that we’ve discussed. The main requirement, though, is that it be fun!

 

Your rough draft is due next class period (      ). It should be typed, and to aid the revision process, you should bring three (3) copies.

 

Rough Draft Due: _________

 

Final Copy Due: __________

 

 

 

 

Homework for 9/28

Be sure to bring in the draft of metered light verse that you completed in class on Thursday. The assignment was to take a metered story, substitute words and phrases in the metered story to create your own metrical light verse. You can use any metered light verse that suits your fancy.

Homework for Thursday

• Bring the peer review sheet, a copy of your original draft and the final copy of your college essay.
• Make sure that your writing folder is up to date! Especially if you have been absent

Homework for Thursday!

1. Be sure to bring 3 copies of your college essay to class on Thursday. These should be drafts, not revised and polished essays. I will teach you the process of revision in class.

2. If you forgot to bring in an example of light verse, be sure to get one!

I'll see you on Thursday.

Welcome to Creative Writing 2015! The syllabus

Creative Writing

Dr. Moore

kmoore@niskyschools.org

http://niskayunacreativewriting.blogspot.com/

 

 

Welcome to Creative Writing! This course is intended for students who wish to create original poetry, drama, non-fiction, and fiction. We will work on becoming more observant readers, more constructive critics, and writers who are able to use a wide variety of strategies, styles and genres for a wide variety of audiences.

 

In order to make the most of this class, you will need to be open to sharing your work and to offering constructive criticism of the work of your peers. Because this is a workshop class, regular class attendance is imperative.

 

 

Student Expectations:

Improving your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills will require that you work diligently over the course of the year. In order to reach our goals for this year it will be necessary for students to meet the expectations below.

 

• Active class participation in class activities and discussion
• Serious effort (seven to eight hours of work a week)
• Ability to work on long term projects
• Maturity of thought and expression
• Willingness to work both collectively and independently
• Willingness to revise written work
• Willingness to thoroughly complete reading assignments
• Ability to adhere to deadlines
• Ability to listen and learn from constructive criticism

 

Materials:

• A notebook devoted only to English
• An assignment notebook
• A folder or binder devoted to English handouts
• A blue or black pen

A writing folder, which will be kept in the classroom

 

 

Evaluation:

Students will be evaluated on a wide-range of assignments, both individual and collective. Students will be evaluated through tests, writing, discussion, projects, research and presentations.

 

 

Reading Quizzes and Notes Quizzes                                            25-50 pts

Tests                                                                                        100 pts

Major Writing Assignments                                                         100-150 pts

Major Projects                                                                          100-150 pts

Presentations                                                                             50-100 pts.

Homework                                                                                20-50 pts

Participation                                                                              50 pts  

Writing Folder                                                                           10%                                                    

 

• The writing folder is a place for beginnings, in class writings and drafts. At the end of each quarter the writing folder will be assessed for effort, completeness and organization. A comprehensive list of writing folder assignments will be kept in the classroom.

• The final examination will consist of a project worth twenty percent of the student’s final course grade.

• Each quarter grade will be calculated by a point system; the grade will be determined by dividing the number of points the student earned with the number of possible points in the quarter.

• Final school marks will be determined by using quality points.
• The final examination is a requirement for the completion of the class. In order for the exam to be counted as a course requirement, the final exam must demonstrate proficiency.
• Students who fail to complete major writing assignments in the fourth quarter will not be allowed to take the final examination. A grade of zero will be assigned for the final exam grade.

 

 

Policies:

 

• Students who miss 8 class periods will be denied credit for the class, unless they complete a Stage III assignment. Any absence of more than twenty minutes constitutes an absence.
• Students are encouraged to seek extra help; please make an appointment.
• Students may be offered the opportunity to rewrite certain assignments after a conference.
• No late homework will be accepted, unless a student has been absent.
• No assignments will be accepted via email—unless the student has received prior permission from the instructor.
• Ten points will be deducted each school day an assignment is late.
• Tests, presentations and quizzes missed due to absence must be made up within one week. Failure to make up work within one week will result in a zero. All missed quizzes will be available in the English department. It is not necessary to make an appointment.
• Students are expected to follow the guidelines for academic integrity and plagiarism outlined in the Niskayuna Student Handbook. All work a student hands in is expected to be wholly his or her own. If a student consults outside sources, he or she must properly cite his or her work using MLA format. Students are encouraged to consult their teachers, the MLA handbook, the media center, and the Niskayuna Research Guide with any questions. All suspected violations of this policy will be reported to the administration. Students found guilty of academic dishonesty will be subject to failure, reduction of grades and disciplinary action.

           

 

 

 

 

 

Block 5, Semester 2, Creative Writing reminders

• Draft Annotated Works Cited is due on Monday
• We will also be brainstorming for dramatic monologues

Important Reminders

If you did not complete your written response for the final exam, you have the opportunity to complete your short response in the English Resource Center. You are not to remove your exam from the ERC.

All exams must be completed before next Friday. On Friday, what I have for you will be graded.

Please remember to bring in a copy of your play to class on Tuesday. You will receive credit for this.

Schedule for the End of the Semester

1/13- In class writing of the drama draft

1/15- We will be reading the play Trifles, and completing our observation about what the model has to teach us. These observations will be part of the final exam grade.

1/20- The draft is due in class. We will exchange plays, and perform scenes. After each scene, there will be a peer review discussion for the benefit of the writers.

1/22- We will finish the performances and peer review. If there is additional time, we will work on the revision of the scene.

1/26- Final scene revisions are due. The final scene and the reflection piece are part of the final exam.


Final Exam pieces:

Performance- 10 points
Trifles piece- 40 points
Reflection paper- 25 points
Scene Revision- 25 points