2/26/2019 0 Comments Day 9Presenting Ideas and Revising DraftsWarm Up
Today we started with another free-write. The prompt was: Take a look at the last text message you sent or received. Use the content of that message to inspire your free write. I used the message: "I dont know how to fix it" from a student because I don't have a phone lol. Here was my freewrite: I dont know how to fix it. It is broken now, and let’s face it- we can’t glue it together. Because you can see the glue, and feel it too. And it will never hold liquid again, that’s for sure. Not that we ever used it for that anyway. I shrug my shoulders and try to convince myself that it means nothing more. It is just a broken mug. These things happen. Things break. They dont have to mean something. But then it happens, just like it always does. The ideas flow and escape the prison that is my mind, breaking into the space around me -- making themselves exist. They attribute layers of meaning to the meaningless. “It is just a cup” I say out loud to myself, in an effort to silence the thoughts that protest. I grab a towel to begin to clean up the mess. “Mug” I say out loud to myself. Correcting myself as I argue with my thoughts and clean up my messes. Maybe I’m the one that’s broken. And I don’t know how to fix it. We discussed the purpose of these free writes again and shared some out. The goal is to build stamina in writing and also to cultivate a wealth of ideas and sentences and goodness to draw from in our times of writer's block. Mini Lesson Today's Objective is: Students will be able to teach the class about flash fiction by presenting an analysis of three stories and the moves used by the authors. Students came up in groups and shared their presentations. Active Engagement Next, students returned to their work on their own flash fiction drafts and incorporated moves they saw in the presentations. I conferred with students as they worked. Closure I let students know that they need to have completed drafts for peer revision next class.
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2/25/2019 0 Comments Day 8Catching up and ConferringToday, I returned from an extended absence. For that reason, we spent much of our time today reviewing the lessons I missed and discussing Flash Fiction.
We defined the genre. We read a few selections and discussed each. We discussed the themes we will be tackling in our own flash fiction pieces And finally, I was able to confer with each student about the draft they are working on currently. I believe we are all caught up, and on the same page, so to speak. Students have some direction and feel good about moving forward with their stories. Next class, we will share our flash fiction presentations (there were too many absences today to do so) and continue working on our FF drafts. 2/19/2019 0 Comments Day 7After a slew of sick days, family emergencies and writing curriculum for the district, I have been out for a long time!
That said, I am not 100% sure how far each of you is on your
Today, you will have time to work on these and to delve back into the mindset of Anne Lamott. Warm Up Free-write for 10 minutes. Just put the pen to the page and see what happens! Mini Lesson Today's Objective is: Students will be able to revise their drafts to show action. So often, we write something for school, turn it in, and never think of it again. Today, it is important to consider the difference between a first draft, and all of the rest. First drafts are sometimes unfortunate and rarely contain the genius we hope they will. All writers revise. So, even if you think you are done with your flash fiction- think again. Active Engagement Today, please read chapters 2-3 in Bird by Bird called "Short Assignments" and "First Drafts". These will offer some humor and insight into the work you are currently doing for this course. Next, return to your slideshows and make sure they are ready to be presented next class (Friday). Finally, return to your flash fiction. Ask yourself the following:
Closure Next class, we will share our presentations, discuss your mentor texts, and confer about your flash fiction drafts. I cannot wait to see your great work! If you have not yet shared your presentation with me (all of you as of 10pm Tuesday night, except for Emily lol) please do asap so I know where you are on those. Also, if you have not yet shared or attached your flash fiction draft on Google Classroom, please do so before next class. Thanks guys! Hope you enjoyed the long weekend :) 2/14/2019 0 Comments Day 6Share your ideas- work together. Then Revise.As we know, writers of Flash Fiction use strategies and techniques to create and develop their desired impact. Writers of Flash Fiction have a very limited space to accomplish large goals like delivering meaningful themes, developing complex characters, weaving together plot lines, and making their readers care, think, and feel feelings.
Today, your objective is to use your mentor texts to create a list of strategies and techniques writers of Flash Fiction use to achieve these ends. You will work together in small groups to create a slideshow presentation to share your findings with the rest of us, next class. Then, you will try a few of these moves in your own writing! For today's activity:
Step one: Notice something about the writing. Name it, using words that make sense to you.
Step two: Come up with a theory that explains why the writer used this technique. What effect does this strategy have on you as a reader? Why use it? Ex: Lott uses this metaphor to help the reader understand just how fragile the breath of his child is- a “thin frost” is something that readers already know and understand to be delicate and cold. This is a very powerful image for the reader as they learn that the child is no longer alive, and the faint breathing is really just an illusion. Step three: Try it in your own writing. Once you have completed a slideshow that lists and explores the various techniques you found in your mentor texts, share your drafts of your own flash fiction in your groups. Then, revisit your draft and choose ONE strategy from your slideshow to try in your own draft. We will share slideshows and revised drafts next class. 2/10/2019 0 Comments Day 5Characters and Action Warm Up- Spend 10 minutes writing.
Think about a person in your life that you know very well. In your notebook, describe them. Use every kind of detail you can to capture this person. Think about their physical appearance, mannerisms, behavior, personality. How they respond to situations. What they look like when they say what they mean, or don't. etc. Try to describe who they are. Write about them for 10 minutes. Mini Lesson Last class, you thought about themes you want to develop in your writing; today, you begin writing. Today's Objective is: Students will be able to develop a realistic character and drop him/her into the middle of a conflict. Great flash fiction does develop a theme or deliver some sort of powerful message or experience. But how does it do that? One thing to consider is character. Characters should be complex, likable, flawed, and realistic. It can be hard to accomplish this in the small spaces flash fiction affords. Before you start writing, think about who your protagonists are. Who are the characters? What are their motivations? Some of the best characters have a desire but something stands in their way. What do they do to get what they want? What do they believe? Once you have developed a sense of your characters, drop them into the middle of a conflict. You do not have time for introductions. One of the best ways to get to know what a character is made of, is to drop them into a situation that demands them to act. This also moves plots forward. Remember that writing is a process. Be open to the turns the story might take, or the decisions characters might make. Even if you didn't see it coming. Active Engagement Let's start writing and aim to have a rough draft of your flash fiction that:
Closure Next class, we will work in groups- be prepared to share your rough draft with your group members :D we will continue to work on these drafts and add to/revise them in the next few classes. 2/6/2019 0 Comments Day 4Telling Your Story: ThemeHopefully, you were able to pick up the following from your crash course in Flash Fiction reading:
First, you will read the first chapter of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird called "Getting Started". This is an important chapter. The takeaway: Tell your truth. Your writing will always be better if you believe what you say and say something you believe in. What kind of themes do you want to develop and explore in your work? Writers often come back to the same themes over and over. I love to write about that infuriating reality of life where, sometimes it sucks and has to because otherwise we wouldn't appreciate the good stuff. In other words: You can't have the sweet without the sour. Here is a piece of flash fiction I wrote trying to develop that theme a few years ago (I am still working on it- yes- writing is never really ever done lol) Shattered Birds It was the moment she looked at me and asked, "But, Ms. Minto, how... why, who... could, could, could... do, this? to us?" I knew. We are all broken now. I shuddered and didn't even have time to evaluate what my face was saying to her because in that moment, I didn't have the words she needed, and I am sure my face was saying, something. I hoped it was saying something, nice. or sweet. something akin to a pat on the shoulder from a stolid, wise grandparent or something. But I knew. I knew what my face was saying to her, because of the way she looked back at me. I knew my face was saying the only words I could think of, even though they weren't the ones I wanted to say. We are broken. He broke us. And it's too late. And it doesn't matter why he did it. He did. And they are gone now. And it doesn't matter that it happened. Or that we were laughing at something else when it was happening, just down the road. Because we didn't know he was breaking us, just then. It's too late now to retrace where we went wrong. or where he did. We are like that tiny glass I had at home with all of the colorful birds painted on it after my two-year-old picked it up in a fit, and threw it across the room, even though it was his favorite. It's too late to reason with him. To explain. I read books with them, these young people. And I show them the ugly parts of humanity they are afraid of. And I try to help them make sense of it all. But that day, it wasn't me showing them the pain of experiences. I was the one, though, from whom they expected an explanation. They wanted me to try and help them make sense of it all. I remember what I did, what I always do. I fell back on the sweet dichotomy of it all. The good ol' reliable 'yin and yang' explanation that seems to make everything, okay. I guess, At least, for that one glorious moment, that tiny glass, with all of the colorful birds painted on it, flew. And I bet those birds felt liberated, even when it happened. Even when that thing smashed into a thousand bits, it still looked so pretty the way those colorful shards of broken birds refracted sunlight all over the damn place. Did I develop that theme? Did I leave a lot to the imagination? Did I leave a lot of details out and drop the reader in the middle of the conflict? I think I did. Let's talk more about this piece when I return. For today- here is your focus: Read "Getting Started" in Bird by Bird. Choose a few themes you may want to develop or explore in your piece of Flash Fiction. What is your truth!? What do you want to say!? Once you do this- you can start drafting your flash fiction. Chat with the students around you. What do they want to write about? You are a community of writers. Talk about your writing and your ideas. You never know when someone will say the MOST inspiring thing to you... Have fun! 2/4/2019 0 Comments Day 3Flash FictionToday we will explore flash fiction by diving right in. From reading examples, we will form a definition of flash fiction.
Students will be reading stories from their Flash Fiction books and taking notes from each story about the various author's craft moves they notice as they read. What do I mean by "author's craft moves"? I would like students to notice every narrative technique or literary device the writer uses to develop themes. See a metaphor? Write it down! Find some Irony? Jot it down! See a bunch of literary allusions? Cool! Any weird style choices? Notice those! Students will attempt to define Flash Fiction using only the examples they have read. Definitions should include craft moves writers of Flash Fiction use in their writing. They will need to read the following stories: From the Floodlands by Adrienne Clasky 232-9979 by Carol Edelstein Love Poems by Lon Otto Night by Bret Lott Snow by Julia Alvarez Subtotals by Gregory Burham How to Touch a Bleeding Dog by Rod Kessler The Nicest Kid in the Universe by Chuck Rosenthal Snapshot, Harvey Cedars: 1948 by Paul Lisicky The Hurricane Ride by Bernard Cooper They will also need to choose 5 stories from the book to read on their own. They will need to take a few notes on each story and the author’s craft moves they notice in each story to be turned in later. So, what IS Flash Fiction? 2/4/2019 0 Comments Day 2Bird by Bird and The PiperToday we began with a free write! Well, sort of. Today's writing warm up came with a prompt. As students walked into the room, I handed them a coloring marker. Everyone got a different color. Once the bell rang, and we were situated, students were asked to be inspired by the color on their marker and to write for seven minutes. We are going to build up our stamina and endurance while writing. This is only the beginning. Students shared out their responses, and much to my satisfaction, already behaved like students in a writing workshop: with bravery and courage, and with respect and positive feedback. A strong start to the semester! Next, I handed out two books- one we will read throughout the course and one we will read for our first unit: Flash Fiction. The first book is called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Together, we read through most of the introduction and got acquainted with Anne as a person and writer. We are in for some magic :) Next, I handed out Flash Fiction: 72 Very Short Stories edited by James Thomas, Denise Thomas and Tom Hazuka. We had a short discussion about Flash Fiction and why it is so interesting. And finally, students perused past editions of The Piper: New Milford High School's Literary Magazine. Contained within the pages are several works of Flash Fiction written by NMHS students of the past. I wanted my students to understand that as we move forward with our first unit, the expectation is that they will produce content that is publishable in our literary magazine! Talk about authentic writing!
We jump into our studies head first, next time! 2/4/2019 0 Comments Day 1Good afternoon, and welcome to Advanced Creative Writing! Today, we began by getting to know the course and each other. First, I shared this fun slideshow with students, to familiarize them with myself, the course, the daily routines and the goals of this semester. Next, we engaged in some ice breakers, for to get to know each other. Turns out, we are pretty cool. Then we did, like an English Class type thing, where we read a poem together and identified the theme. The poem was Nikki Giovanni's "A Journey" I shared this poem because I feel like the narrator, and this class, is the journey (yah yah, I know the journey is really about life...). I am so excited to start!
So that is exactly what we did next. We started. Students logged into Google Classroom and completed the following assignment: Write Something. This semester will be one of listening, watching, thinking, learning, reading, experiencing and so much writing.
We will keep a collection of our noticings, our ideas, our thoughts, our conversations, and our best written lines here. We will use this space to write and to learn together. We will publish writing here, we will critique and hone and revise our projects here, and we will engage in a meaningful, semester-long, writing workshop. Let's get this party started! Cheers! M |
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