Poetry exercise #1: (10 minutes)
Smooth over the poem, change what you need to in order to keep a theme or metaphor or to keep your poem consistent.
As we watch, take notes on the "5 Uncommon Poetry Tips to Instantly Write Better Poems" (video); then let's try another poem draft today. Follow these rules...
1. Start from an emotion: brainstorm ideas and images in your journal. Choose only one. And/or start from an image. Choose only one image to go along with your emotion.
2. Develop the tension in your poem/image. (2 elements in opposition: conflict/narrative tension, thematic/subtextual tension, or formal/structural tension--ex. enjambement, juxtaposition, syntax, linebreaks, dashes, etc.)
3. Leave some room for the reader. Less is more. It's okay a poem is short. Avoid over telling. Show the image and then let the reader put the pieces together--don't do their work for them.
4. Take a risk. Experiment with forms, syntax, structure, etc. Play with your words.
5. Steal more. Choose your favorite poem. Extract it, steal lines, steal its structure or theme, etc. Look here for some online poetry. Recreate the poem your own way in your own style...or model your work on the work of others...
Write a new original poem using these 5 tips.
Type up your new poetry drafts, along with your other 2 poems (words, words, words exercise & how to write...) from last class and submit your work to our Google classroom assignment by Tuesday, Feb. 4. Drafts are worth participation/writing credit.
Period 2:
The Creative Process: Six Steps of Art/or Becoming an Artist from Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics.
- Write 5 objects that you see every day in the order that you see them.
- Write down 3 non-primary colors (not red, yellow, orange, green, blue, indigo)
- Write an experience that made you angry (in the recent past, or years ago)
- Write a forbidden thought--something you wouldn't normally think--or tell anyone...
- Write 3 questions for which you never found an answer
- Write something about love or life that you find boring
- Write 3 slant rhymes (2 words that sound similar: moon, mine; jingle, jewel, etc.)
- Write 3 things that someone said to you in the last 48 hours
- Write 1 transitional object (an object that helped you get over a difficult time in your life; a teddy bear, for example)
- If you had a rock band, what would your band be called? Name it.
Take #10 and that will be your title.
#5 is the first line of your poem.
#4 will be your middle or volta.
Combine #3 and #6 into one thought or idea and place where you need to.
Try to find a theme
#2 & #7 combine a color with one of your slant rhymes.
Use lines #1, #9 where you can (or leave them out)
#8 is the last line of your poem.
Smooth over the poem, change what you need to in order to keep a theme or metaphor or to keep your poem consistent.
As we watch, take notes on the "5 Uncommon Poetry Tips to Instantly Write Better Poems" (video); then let's try another poem draft today. Follow these rules...
1. Start from an emotion: brainstorm ideas and images in your journal. Choose only one. And/or start from an image. Choose only one image to go along with your emotion.
2. Develop the tension in your poem/image. (2 elements in opposition: conflict/narrative tension, thematic/subtextual tension, or formal/structural tension--ex. enjambement, juxtaposition, syntax, linebreaks, dashes, etc.)
3. Leave some room for the reader. Less is more. It's okay a poem is short. Avoid over telling. Show the image and then let the reader put the pieces together--don't do their work for them.
4. Take a risk. Experiment with forms, syntax, structure, etc. Play with your words.
5. Steal more. Choose your favorite poem. Extract it, steal lines, steal its structure or theme, etc. Look here for some online poetry. Recreate the poem your own way in your own style...or model your work on the work of others...
Write a new original poem using these 5 tips.
Type up your new poetry drafts, along with your other 2 poems (words, words, words exercise & how to write...) from last class and submit your work to our Google classroom assignment by Tuesday, Feb. 4. Drafts are worth participation/writing credit.
Period 2:
The Creative Process: Six Steps of Art/or Becoming an Artist from Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics.
- Idea/Purpose
- Form
- Idiom
- Structure
- Craft
- Surface
In your journal, reflect which stage(s) do you seem to identify with most?
LAB TASK: Genre Brochure
Writing is a business. Books are published, not only because they're good for you, are beautifully written, or introduce you to human characters, events, and culture, but also because they sell. Publishers count on readers to consume books. It's all about the $, and less about the art. But it is also an art.
The first thing we should consider as writers is our reader. If we don't please our reader, we won't be able to sell a book. If we can't sell a book, we aren't going to be very successful writers, etc. It's a vicious circle. But before we continue, it's a really good idea to remember this golden rule of writing.
If you don't please your audience, you don't succeed.
So let's chat a bit about our potential audiences:
There are 3 general types of readers that a writer should be aware of:
Readers also become loyal to writers. Publishers count on this to occur. The more you like a specific author's style and writing, the more likely you will continue to buy books by this author.
In today's writing market there are a variety of genres that writers tend to write. Knowing what readers expect from these genres will help you as a writer give your audience what it wants. So let's learn about these audiences and what they expect!
Page 1: Panel 1 (most left = inside flap); Panel 2 (center = back panel of brochure); Panel 3 (title. Please include your name(s))
Page 2: Panel 1 (inside flap); Panel 2 (inside center); Panel 3 (other flap)
See my model as an example.
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.
Finally, before you leave today, please complete the short survey regarding genre units for this course.
HOMEWORK: Complete your poem drafts (4) and submit 1 file (with 4 poems) to the Google Classroom. Make sure you have taken the short genre survey as well.
Writing is a business. Books are published, not only because they're good for you, are beautifully written, or introduce you to human characters, events, and culture, but also because they sell. Publishers count on readers to consume books. It's all about the $, and less about the art. But it is also an art.
The first thing we should consider as writers is our reader. If we don't please our reader, we won't be able to sell a book. If we can't sell a book, we aren't going to be very successful writers, etc. It's a vicious circle. But before we continue, it's a really good idea to remember this golden rule of writing.
If you don't please your audience, you don't succeed.
So let's chat a bit about our potential audiences:
AUDIENCE
There are 3 general types of readers that a writer should be aware of:
- Fantasists: readers who read to escape the tediousness of ordinary life, seeking new frontiers and imaginative fiction
- Realists: readers who read about contemporary life to learn about or reinforce personal experiences
- Pragmatists: readers who read for a specific purpose--from cooking to learning history or science
Readers also become loyal to writers. Publishers count on this to occur. The more you like a specific author's style and writing, the more likely you will continue to buy books by this author.
In today's writing market there are a variety of genres that writers tend to write. Knowing what readers expect from these genres will help you as a writer give your audience what it wants. So let's learn about these audiences and what they expect!
- 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: bootstrap, 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
- New Journalism: memoirs, science, travel, history, writing about writing, creative non-fiction, etc.
- Find a partner. Together, agree upon and sign up for one of the writing markets.
- Choose one of the genres in bold above--check the subcategories so that you know what you're getting into--more details can be found in the article you should have read as homework...
- Together, you will be expected to create a brochure for your chosen genre to promote the genre to a fantasist, realist, or pragmatist reader.
- Take a look at the questions bulleted below. You will want to be able to answer these questions in your brochure.
- In a Microsoft Word Doc, 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). TIP: if you write 3 panels, your partner can write the other 3 panels...
- 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?As a general guideline:
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.
Page 1: Panel 1 (most left = inside flap); Panel 2 (center = back panel of brochure); Panel 3 (title. Please include your name(s))
Page 2: Panel 1 (inside flap); Panel 2 (inside center); Panel 3 (other flap)
See my model as an example.
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.
Finally, before you leave today, please complete the short survey regarding genre units for this course.
HOMEWORK: Complete your poem drafts (4) and submit 1 file (with 4 poems) to the Google Classroom. Make sure you have taken the short genre survey as well.
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