Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013


Writing Lessons
Ø  Writing Lesson #1:          Avoid clichés!
Ø  Writing Lesson #2:          Use Precise Words.
Ø  Writing Lesson #3:          Use Vocabulary Variety.
Ø  Writing Lesson #4:          Revision
Ø  Writing Lesson #5:          Vocabulary-Building:  www.freerice.com
Ø  Writing Lesson #6:          Connotation versus Denotation
Ø  Writing Lesson #7:          Advice for Revising and Editing Poetry

Welcome to Creative Writing!                          
Ø Happy Tuesday! J  April 23, 2013

The Class Poem (Collaborative Poem)

What we’re going to do:
1.      Circle up.
2.     Each write a line of poetry.
3.     Fold the paper so the next person sees only our line.
4.     Pass!
5.     Repeat!


Here’s an example: 
·                What are its strengths, things we want to emulate? 
·                What are its weaknesses, things we want to avoid?

Exhaustion

The tree leaned into the wind
Fighting against a force it did not understand
An endless battle of two of nature’s forces
A battle with many casualties
Like the Alamo
People were dying left and right
Dropping like flies
Hurt to my eyes
Hurt to my heart
Pieces so far apart
Like a puzzle I used to put together
Oh hey, how about this weather?
The birds were singing and the sun was shining
And a warm breeze blew through the air
I took a deep breath and continued on my journey
Giving all my attention to the bald eagle flying above me
I gave no notice to the happenings around me
I fell into a dreamless sleep, the day finally collecting its toll
Like a smugly satisfied turnpike operator
Grinning madly from inside his glass booth.



Writing a Class Poem Guidelines
1.      Respect the line you’re given; follow the idea(s) you’re presented with.
2.     Write a fresh line each time you receive a poem; don’t have a theme or word you put in every time you get a poem.
3.     Use only appropriate language and topics (no beer, bodily functions, sexual innuendos, etc.)
4.     Look only at the one line in front of you; fold the poem after you write so that your line is the only one the person to your right sees.
5.     Don’t pass until you hear the signal.
6.     Initial in the left margin each line you write.
7.   Create a strong title for your poem when it returns to you!
CRAFT REMINDERS: 
1.      INCLUDE ONE OF THE SENSES OR A COLOR in each line.  SHOW, don’t just tell.
2.     USE PRECISE DICTION.
3.     AVOID CLICHÉS.


Homework = FREE RICE—15,000 grains by Friday class time

Absences:  If you missed today, you will need to come in during seminar on Thursday to make up this poem with other absent classmates.  See me Wednesday for more details.  Thanks!

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