Skillbuilding Assignments -- Term 4

1. Postcard Fiction of 300 words, posted on the blog

2. Atmosphere in Setting with Constraints of Character/Point of View

3. "Outer" Character Description

4. Inner character Takeover (April 30th)


5. Writing Workshop, April 2nd

6. Self Evaluation form for #5

7. Voices Visible submission (x 3)

8. The Claremont Review submission (x 3)

9. Gestures & Character

10. Writing Workshop of Gestures piece, May 3rd

11. Self Evaluation form for #10

12. Who is Listening? (Three versions for three audiences)

13. Writing Workshop, May 9th

14. Self Evaluation form for #13

15. Feedback questions for another student's #12 assignment

16. Second set of feedback questions for a student's  #12

17. Journal reflection: What conclusions can you make about the relationship between audience & style, audience & structure, audience & tone/voice in short fiction writing?

18. Subtext dialogue

19. Subtext Writing Workshop, Self-Evaluation form

20. Web-Writing Blog post (May 27)

21. Short Story

22. Short Story Workshop copy (proof of deadline)

23. Short Story Author Reflection

24. Personal Essay -- "My Word"

25. Final Writing Workshop, June 6

26. Self-Evaluation form

27. Final Class performance/readings  X 3

Postcard Fiction

"Very short fiction pieces that wish they were poems."


Write a piece of postcard fiction no longer than 300 words, combining basic short story elements with the figurative imagery, intensity, and economy of poetry.




Post it in the comments box, below, before the end of Friday, March 29th.  (Late posts will not be counted as complete.)

LOUDER THAN A BOMB

To conclude our Skillbuilding classes on writing poetry, please post an original haiku (5/7/5) that expresses your response to the documentary, Louder Than A Bomb.

*This counts as the last Skillbuilding exercise in your Term 3 WIP file.

Prose Poem

It was midnight
Rain covered the windshield
Wipers were on high
I still couldn't see
It was like any other night
The rain gave me a sense of peace
Heavy sprinkles beaded off the windshield
Their intentions seemed innocent
Not wanting to blind me intentionally
I drive down the road
This is intertwining with istelf
Mossy filled trees engulfed it
They towered over the road
Pine needles dripping
They seemed so sad
Almost like they were crying 
But what reason did they have
To be so glum

Prose-to-Poem Assignment

Find an existing piece of prose that you've written--a journal entry, a section of a short story, a paragraph of an essay, a letter, your atmospheric description of a setting, or something else--and re-format it with a sense of line.  Create line breaks to add pacing, drama, emphasis, suspense, or new associations. 

Two rules:  

1. You're not allowed to add anything new.  What was there originally is all you've got to work with.
2. You may cut as much of the original as you want.

Lastly:  Post your new creation, your Prose-turned-Poem, in the "Comments" box of this post by Friday, Feb. 22.  Be sure to attach your name to the post.

Works-in-Progress Assignments

1. Introductory Letter

2. I remember the sound

3. I remember the colour

4. Reflection on writing #2 and #3

5. Multi-sensory Clustering: Setting

6. First draft of Setting piece

7. Revised draft of Setting piece, adding atmosphere

8. Feb. 13 Writing Workshop copy

9. Self evaluation form for Writing Workshop

10. Love poem of 15 lines

11. Monosyllabic composition--1 page s.sp

12. Prose-to-Poem:  posted on the blog

13. Feb. 22 Writing Workshop copy

14. Self evaluation for Writing Workshop

15. List Poem (10 things you love) embellished according to seven criteria

16. Second "List" poem modeled after "You Bring Out the..", "13 Ways...", or another variation.

17. Extended Metaphor poem

18. March 1 Writing Workshop copy

19. Self evaluation for Writing Workshop

20. Imagist poem 

21. Form Option A or B: e.e. cummings-esque or pantoum

22. March 11th Writing Workshop

23. Self evaluation for Writing Workshop

24. Haiku response to Louder Than a Bomb, posted no later than Friday, March 14

We're Up and Running

Chicken scratch writing, that is.  Compliments of the 2013 Writing 12 class at Sardis Secondary.  Prepare to wonder, chuckle, gasp, mmm-hmm, weep, smile, or shudder at the writing you encounter on these pages over the next five months!