Genre Brochure Project: Day 2

Period 3:

Blog Post #4: Today please take the first 5-10 minutes of class adding a post to your blog about your favorite writing genre. What do YOU like to read for pleasure? What type of books do you like? Who might your favorite author(s) be? Why do you like the genre you picked? What films or books of this genre inspire you? Why?

Classroom Project: Genre Brochure

• Choose one of the genres in bold--check the subcategories so that you know what you're getting into:
• General fiction: chick lit, domestic drama, sports, vampire lit, LGBT, humor, war, urban/black or minority literature, literary (melange)
• Historical fiction: romance, detective thriller, adventure, family saga, drama, multi-volume, African-American/urban
• Romance: paranormal, historical, regency, horror/gothic, LGBT, inspirational, contemporary, African-American/urban
• Mysteries and Thrillers: detectives, cozy, Christian, noir, forensic, police procedural, courtroom/legal, LGBT, historical, thriller, ghost story/paranormal, horror, spy, action
• Science Fiction: soft, hard, apocalypse, cyberpunk, feminist, comic/humor, first contact, colonization, military, time travel, steampunk, space opera, dystopian, speculative
• Fantasy: heroic, Arthurian, dark, urban, alternate history, RPG, high, science fantasy, speculative, magical-realism, fable
• Autobiography & Memoir: boot strap, political, family, celebrity, travel, survival, extraordinary lives, confession/conversion, spiritual memoir, writer's memoir, new journalism
• Literary Fiction: any of the above, but with better writing quality, skill, and attention to craft 
• Children's/Young Adult: any of the above, usually with more fantasy or realist elements 
• Have you chosen a genre? If so, continue on. If not, stop. Go back and choose.
• You will be expected to create a brochure for your chosen genre.
• Take a look at the questions bulleted below. You will want to be able to answer these questions in your brochure.
• In Microsoft Word, from the FILE menu, please select New From Template.
• Choose BROCHURE as a template. Select one you like. Create only a 6 panel brochure (not an 8 panel one or half page). 
• Use the handout chapter on genres to help you research your topic. You may also use the internet for sources, definitions, and graphics or illustrations for your brochure.
• Create a brochure about your chosen genre by following the steps below. Be creative. Play around with design and how you present the information in a clear and creative way. You may use graphics and lists to provide answers to these questions:

1. Describe this genre. What is it?
2. Who is the target reader (a fantasist, a realist, a pragmatist, or what combination?)
3. What are some expectations a reader of this genre might expect?
4. What are some categories of this genre? AND what are the expectations a reader might expect from this genre?
5. Examples of some popular or famous books or films that fit this genre; and/or examples of authors who write in this type of genre.

NOTE: Brochures should not have too much text--they should use graphics and pictures to get information across. Big concepts (like subgenres) can be listed, as opposed to painstakingly explained. Write your notes in your journal (double dipping!) and organize your notes to select only the most important information about your chosen genre in the brochure! More tips on the way. The brochure project is not due yet.

Period 4: 10 Minute Author Research

Please research and take notes in your journal of the author Ray Bradbury. Find out a little bit about this author. Note what he is known for, and, if possible, a little bit about his life. We will be picking up the novel Dandelion Wine (a collection of interconnected short stories inspired by the author's life & memory) from the library today. When you return from the library, please go next door to begin reading Dandelion Wine and working on some writing prompts.

Association exercise #1 

1. Select a specific noun that means or meant something to you when you were younger than you are now and write it boldly in your journal. Ex. Fried chicken or Bubble-gum ice-cream or white washed picket fences or broken concrete or boa constrictor. The noun should be specific enough and relatable to you.
2. Write the first word that comes into your mind when thinking about this noun. Add this word to your list.
3. Add at least 10 more words to your list. Do not get ahead of yourself. Only write down the next word that you associate with the previous one. Do not simply list a series of similar words.
Not: boa constrictor, gardner snake, cobra, anaconda, python... but: boa constrictor, straw, horse stall, riding helmet, green bicycle, skinned knee, mercurocrome, etc. 

Let's read a little bit of the book together. Remember to look for how an author uses memory as the ignition to his/her inspiration while writing. As E.M. Forester reminds us: we want a story to be surprising, but convincing. Let's see how a masterful author does this.

HOMEWORK: Read up to page 25 of Dandelion Wine. Write down characters names and a short 1-2 sentence description or summary of each "chapter" story. Bring your journal notes and Dandelion Wine book back with you next class as we will continue to work with it.