Short Story Assignment

Your assignment for this week is to compose a short story of 1500 words or more.  Students who are here for only part of the week have a minimum requirement of 1000 words.  Your story should be constructed in Microsoft Word during the week.  It should be proofread and posted with a minimum of errors by the end of class on Friday.  You will be graded on punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

Object Poem

Write a poem from the perspective of an object.  Don't mention what it is.  The idea is to write as if you are that thing.  It can be in any format you like, as long as it is 200 words or more.  Other students will view your post and try to guess your object.

Walk Poem

The walk poem involves a walk. The interesting thing is that there are so many ways for the walk to be a part of the poem, and the poem to be a part of the walk. There are at least four basic types of walk poems, of which there are a great many variations and blends:

a.       A poem about what the poet sees during a particular walk.

b.      A poem about a walk that produces a revelation of some kind.

c.       A poem whose length, style, and shape mirror the length, style, and shape of the walk.

d.   A poem that reflects the way the mind works during the walk. (When you are out walking, the mind flows somewhat differently than it does when you are sitting at home.)

No single poem fully represents all these types and their variations, but this one gives the general sense of the genre:

A Late Walk – Robert Frost

When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you.

Your final poem should be a minimum of 20 meaningful lines (the influence of the walk should be apparent).

Create Your Own Assignment

In the response box below, make a suggestion for an assignment that appeals to you. You may choose to give specific guidelines or leave it more to the writer's interpretation.

Ottava Rima

Originally used for long poems on heroic themes, the ottava rima later came to be popular in the writing of mock-heroic works. The lines follow a rhythmical pattern of iambic pentameter (un-stressed and stressed syllables alternating) with an abababcc rhyme scheme. Each stanza is comprised of 8 lines, with the first six encouraging the unwinding of the imagination, while the last two rhyming lines (cc) often give a short pause to rest before continuing and express a truth. Write one ottava rima of 3-5 stanzas by the end of the period.

Example of iambic pentameter:

The da-DUM of a human heartbeat is the most common example of this rhythm.

A standard line of iambic pentameter is five iambic feet in a row:

da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM

The tick-TOCK rhythm of iambic pentameter can be heard in the opening line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 12:
"When I do count the clock that tells the time”

 Example of an ottava rima:

Our Canine Paladin

We're sure the robbers shudder in the night (a)
just thinking of our canine paladin, (b)
while Lucy sniffs the air for signs of plight, (a)
in every nook and cranny that's within (b)
her boundaries, in case intruders might (a)
ignore the risk of scratched or punctured skin. (b)
Alas, we've seen the mighty Lucy hide (c)
behind us when she hears a noise outside.(c)

Portraying fearlessness is just a show,
for terriers project their self-esteem
for all to see, from breeding long ago,
they are the leaders of their home regime.
From safety Lucy barks to let them know
to keep this house apart from any scheme,
but with a simple knock she hits the floor
with body wags for any at the door.

Pantoum

The pantoum is a poem of indefinite length made up of stanzas whose four lines are repeated in a pattern: lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are repeated as lines 1 and 3 of the next stanza, and so on as shown below.

___________________________(Line 1)
___________________________(Line 2)
___________________________(Line 3)
___________________________(Line 4)

___________________________(Line 5) - same as line 2
___________________________(Line 6)
___________________________(Line 7) - same as line 4
___________________________(Line 8)

___________________________(Line 9) - same as line 6
___________________________(Line 10)
___________________________(Line 11) - same as line 8
___________________________(Line 12)
And so on...

Part of the pleasure of the pantoum is the way its recurring lines gently and hypnotically twine in and out of one another, and the way they surprise us when they fit together in unexpected ways. Write a pantoum comprised of 6-8 stanzas, with meaningfully intertwined lines. Try to create an unexpected juxtaposition between the lines to achieve surprise or irony.

Example from Christopher Lane:

A man outside my window

The cat meowed and purred
I kneel by the fire
The darkness comes soon

The cat meowed and purred
She walked between my legs
The darkness comes soon
The stars will guide my way

She walked between my legs
She ran into the house
The stars will guide my way
I walk the beaten path

She ran into the house
Hiding away from me
I walk the beaten path
Stone, sand, and shell

Hiding away from me
The man peeks out
Stone, sand and shell
I stumble to the ground

The man peeks out
He hides behind the tree
I stumble to the ground
I'm running out of steam

Night turns to day
I kneel by the fire
Tapping at the glass
A man outside my window

Why I Write

Write 250-500 words describing what drives you to express yourself in writing.  Does it help clear your head?  Does it make you feel alive?  Where did this desire come from?  A person?  A thing?  Tell us in any format you choose.  This assignment is due at the end of the period.

Sestina

The sestina has six unrhymed stanzas of six lines each in which the words at the ends of the first stanza's lines recur in a rolling pattern at the ends of other lines. In the diagram below, the letters A-F stand for the six end-words of the sestina. The sestina concludes with a tercet (three-line stanza) that also uses all the six end-words, two to a line.

Stanza 1:
__________A
_________B
_________C

In this Sestina by Elizabeth Bishop, the six simple end-words are:
A: house
B: grandmother
C: child
D: stove
E: almanac
F: tears

__________D
__________E
__________F

Stanza 2:
_________F
_________A
_________E
_________B
_________D
_________C

Stanza 3:
________C
________F
________D
________A
________B
________E

Stanza 4:
________E
________C
________B
________F
________A
________D

Stanza 5:
_______D
_________E
________A
________C
_________F
_________B

Stanza 6:
________B
_________D
__________F
_________E
__________C
_________A

Tercet:
________A ___________B
________C __________D
________E ____________F

"A Presence" Associative Prompt

In at least 200 words, describe a presence in your house (childhood home/current place of residence)—a person, a pet, a piece of furniture, an illness, a secret, a "ghost." Use all five senses. Be as detailed as possible. Your description could take on the form of a poem or a story and could be real or imagined.

Cinquains

Cinquains

This is another short poetic format with a set syllabic structure. 

Line 1 = 2 syllables

Line 2= 4 syllables

Line 3= 6 syllables

Line 4= 8 syllables

Line 5= 2 syllables

Construct ten of these.  They are due at the end of the period.

Free Write

Complete a 200-500 word free write on a topic of your choice. Use figurative language in meaningful way.

Lune

The lune is a three-line poem with a specific syllable count (3,5,3) in each line. Its format is based on the Haiku, with changes in the amount of syllables to accommodate the style of the English language. Traditionally, these poems were meant to express a simple truth, and usually incorporated nature. You may write your lunes on any topic you like.

Please write 10 lunes. They are due at the end of the period.

Haiku

The haiku is a three-line poem with a specific syllable count (5,7,5) in each line. Traditionally, these poems were meant to express a simple truth, and usually incorporated nature. You may write your haikus on any topic you like.

 

Please submit 10 haikus by the end of class - Friday, September 7, 2012. Choose your best haiku to post in the comment section below after revision.

Welcome

Creative Writing is an elective course that centers around several different types of writing. Students taking this course may expect to encounter a variety of assignments, ranging from short poetic formats, to TV scripts, to novellas. The focus of the course is to provide a creative outlet for students while refining and reinforcing writing skills.

Due to the fact that one cannot grade a student on his/her amount of creativity, students will be assessed according to the total number of assignments completed. Students will also be evaluated on their ability to demonstrate mastery of each format introduced. As in any other class, work ethic and attention to detail are integral to a student's success in this class.

The purposes of this blog are multi-faceted. Often, assignments and prompts will be available for perusal on the blog and supplementary materials and creative inspiration posted by the teacher. The blog is also a venue to communicate with your classmates in reference to constructive criticism, to introduce assignments you would be interested in doing, as well as posit specific prompts of your own.

The only rules that need be followed is that we respect one another's particular vein of creativity and use the site for academic and creative purposes only, maintaining the proper voice, grammar, and tone for each assignment.