Thursday, October 25, 2012

Epitaphs - Thursday and Friday

An epitaph is a poem to remember the dead. Your poem will let the person reading it know the following:
  1. Who is in the grave?
  2. How they lived? or died?
Your task is to write a poem (or lyrical prose) that will be displayed on tombstones in the graveyard. You may choose to make them serious or humorous, depending on the person the epitaph is for. Many famous writers use lines from their own fiction on their tombstones (included is the picture of F Scott Fitzgerald's grave) to further immortalize their words.

You will be writing 10 of these in total, with one of them being an epitaph for your own tomb. Each one of the epitaphs needs to be a minimum of 4 lines long.
Here is an example of a humorous epitaph:

Here lies my dear friend Ben.
He walked into a lion's den.
He made some noise, that silly fool,
and turned up in the lion's stool.
 

Friday, October 19, 2012

Bio and Favorites

For the purposes of "The Spectrum," please write a 100 word bio - include information about yourself appropriate to be published on the school website.
Also, include a list of your 5 favorite books, 5 favorite songs, and 5 favorite movies.

"A Killer Assignment" Days 5 and 6 (Mon and Tues)

Days Five and Six: During the next two class periods of this assignment, you are to spend your time:
  1. Creating Scene 2. Thinking in cinematic fashion, write a one-page, typed, single-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman narrative that describes the first killing. You have used the previous classes to establish your killer's identity, and to give the readers an indication of who the victim is. Today is the day to do some dirty work. This scene should focus on the killing, from start to finish. Remember that you are trying to create a scene that the reader can imagine as if he/she were watching it at the movies.
Hint: If you have previously revealed too much (or not given enough detail on the killer or victim) go back and edit - 1 page should focus on the killer only (background, motivation, style, appearance), 1 page on the victim (what kind of person they are? why are they chosen? should we feel sorry or glad that they die?), and 1 page is the killing(s).

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

"A Killer Assignment" Days 3 and 4

Days Three and Four: During the next two class periods of this assignment, you are to spend your time:
  1. Creating Scene 1. Thinking in a cinematic fashion, write a one page, typed, single-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman, narrative that sets the stage for the first killing. DO NOT include a killing in this scene. The purpose of this scene is to give an overall impression of the general setting where the killings will take place, and most importantly, to familiarize the audience with the first victim. You should try to establish a connection between the reader and your victim. Make the victim come to life, using tools like dialogue and description. Let the reader know who this person really is. What is this person's personality like? You want to make the reader feel something strong about the character, be it positive or negative. Decide whether you want the reader to feel sympathy or anger towards the victim.
If you have trouble getting started, think about any horror films that you've seen. How did you feel about the victims? Did they deserve to die? Did you feel anxiety or sadness when you knew they were about to die? What did the film-maker do to make you feel this way? Here are a few suggestions for how to pursue writing this scene:
  • Show the victim interacting with friends.
  • Show the victim doing something he/she feels passionately about.
  • Show the victim doing something to justify his/her death (a "bad" thing they might be "punished" for).
Include details to help the scene come to life for the reader. Your goal is to allow the reader to visualize your scene as if he/she were watching it in a movie theater. Here are a few suggestions in that regard:
  • Sensory details: smells, colors, sounds, touch/texture
  • Descriptions that accompany dialogue. How does someone say what they're saying? Gestures and emotions.

Monday, October 15, 2012

"A Killer Assignment" Days 1 and 2

Your assignment is to create your own, original horror movie star. Motion picture companies are looking for a new alternative to Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers, and Pinhead. Can you create a new character to base a horror franchise on? Do you know what it takes to create the perfect psycho-killer?

Here are some things one needs to consider when taking on this assignment:
  • What does he/she look like? (body type, features, clothing)
  • History (what was his/her childhood like?)
  • Motivation (why is he/she doing these things?)
  • What is his/her M.O? (how do they kill? does he/she have a particular method or reason for killing? does he/she leave the victims displayed in a certain way?)
  • Setting (in what location is the killer residing?)
  • Victims (do they have something in common? is there a particular quality about his/her victims that draws him/her to them?)
Days One and Two of Assignment: During the first two class periods of the assignment, you are to spend your time:
  1. Writing a few brief notes pertaining to each bullet in order to sketch out your character. This should only take about 10-15 minutes. You can do this on a scrap sheet of paper or post the information to the blog as proof of work.
  2. Writing a one page, typed, single-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman, focusing on the history, or background of your killer. You could take this in any direction you want as long as it is in narrative form (no scripts). You can choose to write as the killer (sort of like a journal entry), or in third person (as someone else discussing the killer). A good idea would be to describe the killer's early life, perhaps providing a good deal of insight into why he/she came to be this way.
Remember, this is a story - not just a description or summary of a killer. Include sensory details and emotion.

This assignment will have other parts to follow, so make sure you create something that is interesting to you. The completed 6 day assignment should read like one continuous story.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Urban Legend


URBAN LEGEND

An urban legend is an apocryphal (of doubtful authenticity), secondhand story, told as true and just plausible enough to be believed, about some horrific, embarrassing, ironic or exasperating series of events that supposedly happened to a real person.   It’s likely to be framed as a cautionary tale.

Factual or not, an urban legend is meant to be believed. In place of evidence, the teller of an urban legend relies on skillful storytelling and/or reference to relatively trustworthy sources — e.g., "it really happened to my hairdresser's brother's best friend" — to convince hearers (or readers) of its truth.

Your assignment is to create an urban legend of 300 words or more.  It is due at the end of Monday’s class.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

My Entrance Music

Write a 200 word piece about what song you would choose if you could have a song played to announce your presence every time you walked into a room.  Explain the reasons behind your choice.  How does the song serve as a proper representation of you?

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

My Favorite Character


My Favorite Character

 

Your assignment is to write a five-hundred word piece about your favorite character.  This can be from a book, movie, comic book, or TV show. 

Here are some suggestions for where you can go with this:

·         Explain the reasons for why you like this character so much. 

·         Talk about whether you relate to the character or view him as absurd.

·         Discuss whether the character is realistic or not.

·         Discuss your thoughts about whether or not the character’s creator keeps the character’s actions consistent.

·         Explore a moment where you believe the character’s creator failed to portray the character in a consistent way.

·         Try to describe the character’s philosophy on life.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Respect

Create a poem or story that discusses respect.  Consider what the concept means to you.  The only requirement is that it must be 250 words.  It is due at the end of the period.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Visually Inspired Story




Choose a piece of art (photograph, painting, illustration) from a published (well known) collection or from your own life (your own artistic creation or photo). Write a story that the image conveys to you. Please print the image and hand it to your teacher, with your name on it, for reference (since you cannot post an image in the comment box) OR include the website for the image at the beginning of your post. The completed 500 word (or more) story is due at the end of class on Tuesday.
Provided are some images for inspiration; however, you are not limited to these. 










Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Mini Story 1


Write a 300 word story inspired by the following prompt:  There was only one left.  This was going to make things impossible.”

 

Your Name

In a minimum of 200 words, write about your first name—why you were given it, what associations or stories are attached to it, what you think or know it means. Do you think your name fits you? Do the same for your last name. Given the chance, what name would you give yourself?
If you are not sure, invent a history for your name (both first and last).

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

End Word Poem


Write a poem of twenty original lines that contains end words that when extracted from the rest of the poem, stand as another poem.  Here's an example:

He carries unbalanced parcels of sorrow

As his silent shoes move among masses like empty measures

No one hears the echoes, the throbbing cadence of memories

Now relegated to the faceless insignificance of amplified light, blown out

A loud white storm, no one else knows what it sounds like

This is the point when reason and knowledge become cruel

The empty, un-reflected truth rains down like beatings,

The poison of logic is administered

To the servants he left his soul to

Intelligence, sentience, introspection, those

agents that render the mind helpless

When the hunched beast of emotion descends on men

in times most trying

When there is no one to talk to

Finally, he falls down on the cold ground, a slave to the process

The machinations of his own mind, in the onslaught of grief

Monday, October 1, 2012

The New You

You wake up, go to the bathroom, and look in the mirror. A different face stares back at you. Begin your story here. Use your creativity to construct a story that explains the change that you see. Is it mental only? Is it a physical change? Was it voluntary or forced?
You may include a visual as a reference. You may choose to go back in time to explain what account for the change.
Stories should be a minimum of 400 words.