Blog Project; Review of Tears of a Tiger; Epistolary Project: Day 2

Congratulations Scholastic Writing Award Winners!

Blog Project & Review of Tears of a Tiger:

This semester, along with our physical journal, you will create and use your own blog for a variety of assignments. We'll be using this blog next year as you take Media Studies as well. Today, let's set up our blog by doing the following during period 3:

One of the most important marketing/writing skills you will need to succeed as a writer is having your own blog. Many authors have a blog where they can interact with their potential audience(s) and share the process of writing, or snippets of their personal lives or samples of their writing work.

First off, many of you are probably familiar now with what a blog is, but if not, here you go--some important information:

A blog is a web log or web journal. A journal written online. Just like your physical writing journal, a blog can include ideas for stories, your own personal reaction to books/films/national events, etc. It can be a good place to publish your poetry, fiction, and plays before you eventually get paid for your writing. Some companies and media sources hire writers to set up and contribute to a company blog--and they pay you for it! For more info check here.

However, there's a lot to know about blogging. Check out the links below and read a little about blogs before attempting to create one.
5 Reasons Why You Should Consider Blogging

Here's a few sample writers blogs (with tips about being a writer)

• Sample blog (writing tips)
• Sample blogs from past classes: Ja'Miah S., Alex, Jesziah V. , Karina, Sotascribes.

To set up your blog:

1. Go to blogger: http://blogspot.com 

2.  Some students like to use WordPress.com or Tumblr instead. I suggest blogger since this is tied to your student ID# and Google account. 

NOTE: If you have already started a blog as a side project, or because you have already been introduced to the idea, I don't want to stop you from using it. Use your original blog site, but I will be asking that you write things specifically on your blog for our class. If this bothers you, start a new blog. No big deal.

3. You may take a quick tour to get information about the blog site you are going to use, if interested. Otherwise, create a new account. 

4. Create a password, display your name, look at terms of service, etc. You must enter an email account (use your school email account or your own personal one, if you wish) You can set up a new email account at gmail.com. This is a free service. Your email account name will be your “username”--Write your password somewhere safe where you will remember it. You will need to keep track of this.

NOTE: Once you have created your blog site, please send me your blog address in the COMMENT section below.

5. Log onto your blog. Save it as a favorite, if you'd like. Follow the prompts to set up your page. Write down your address/passwords, etc. Again, I can't help you if you screw this up. 

6. You may provide biographical info and so on. At some point, you will need to create a NEW Post. Each new post needs a title and you should edit it before you post it.

Today, you will need to set up your Blog and write the following posts:

A. An introduction to your website. Your first blog entry should welcome your guests and explain that you are a student @ SOTA, taking a creative writing course. This is important so that people know you are a teenager. Feel free to omit (leave out) your last name. You can also use a pseudonym if you'd prefer for privacy sake.

B. Write a review of the book Tears of a Tiger. What did you think of the book? Did you think the theme or the characters were worth your time? Why or why not? It's not enough to simply say whether something is good or bad--but explain WHY you think this way. We will be reviewing several other books, poems, plays, and films as the course continues.

These two blog entries will be graded as participation credit. Please complete them today. The third post (see below) is due by next class. It is homework. You may also edit and revise your first two posts.

Period 4: Epistle Project:

Continue writing your epistle project. Work on either a piece for OPTION A or OPTION B.

OPTION A: Read this linked article. We will use this idea as a scenario for our next writing project. Take some notes on the article in your journal. Make a list of characters likely to be involved in the story.

• If you choose OPTION A: 
• Set your character in a school that has just experienced a tragic shooting (make the school a fictional place please)
• Your character can be a fictional student, a teacher, a staff member, the shooter, a parent, a sibling, a news journalist, a police dispatcher, a policeman, or any other involved character
• Give your character a name, a specific place that they were when the shooting happened, perhaps an understanding of why the shooter attacked, or perhaps a motive to be shot or explain how the character avoided getting shot
• Write a conversation between two or more characters talking about the event, perhaps a phone call conversation, a 9-1-1 report, a diary entry about the event, a police report, a poem that hints at a motive, or an elegy that mourns the wounded or dead, a note passed in class, etc. Use Draper's novel as a model for possibilities or ideas. 
• Your character cannot die in this story (at the time of their writing). You can hint that something might happen to the character later in the story.
• You can use Draper's format for dialogue (an em-dash to indicate a new speaker instead of quotes) if you'd like. 

Option B: Read this linked article. We will use this idea as a scenario for our next writing project. Take some notes on the article in your journal. Make a list of characters likely to be involved in the story.

• If you choose OPTION B:
• Set your character in a community that has just found the missing teenagers (make the setting a fictional place please)
• Your character can be a fictional student, a teacher, a staff member, a parent, a sibling, a news journalist, a police dispatcher, a policeman, a park ranger, or any other involved character
• Give your character a name, a specific place that the characters were when they "disappeared" perhaps an understanding of why the teenagers went missing, or perhaps a motive to disappear or reappear when they did. 
• Write a conversation between two or more characters talking about the event, perhaps a phone call conversation, or an online text, a 9-1-1 report, a diary entry about the event, a police report, a poem, a note passed in class, a Facebook post, etc. Use Draper's novel as a model for possibilities or ideas. 
• No one should die in this story.
• You can use Draper's format for dialogue (an em-dash to indicate a new speaker instead of quotes) if you'd like. 

Your draft will be due next class. You will have an opportunity to revise your work next week. If you finish your draft, please hand it in but PROOFREAD and CORRECT your GRAMMAR first! 

HOMEWORK: ON YOUR NEW BLOG: Write a third post. Your post should be a short non-fiction entry about something you feel passionate about. You can rant, rave, etc. but remember that your blog is a public forum (it is published!) and other people in the world can access your writing. Don't embarrass yourself. Check your spelling and language so you don't come across as ignorant or unskilled. As always, it is important for a writer to think about his/her audience.