The Thief of Always Writing Prompts; Looking over Chapter 1 Closely; Scott McCloud's Six Steps of Art

Period 3:

In groups of 3-4, take 10-15 minutes to please discuss the book The Thief of Always so far. Start with these questions:

• How does Clive Barker capture our interest?
• How does Barker introduce the "status quo" or normal, everyday life of Harvey Swick? What do we learn about our protagonist?
• What event occurs to create an "inciting incident"--an event that changes or disrupts this status quo?
• What is at stake for Harvey? What might he gain/lose if he makes the decision to follow Rictus? Would you follow Rictus? Why or why not?
• What paragraphs/passages/lines are most compelling to you as a reader? Why? What makes the writing effective that compels a reader to continue reading? What is the author promising in chapter one (what mystery is set up or how is your curiosity piqued?)
• How does the chapter end? Literally? Transitionally?

After your discussion, please use the rest of period 3 to work on your blog. Again, many of you are falling far behind. Please use this time to write, get caught up, or read A Thief of Always.

Those few of you who have read the book and completed your blog posts, please move on to the next writing project:

• Write a story that includes the following elements:
1. A beginning, middle, and end
2. A motif (remember that you will need to establish your motif by repeating your event, object, or character at least 3 times--see previous posts for help.)
3. Personification
4. Similes
5. Names that add to the theme and tone of your story
6. Transformation (your protagonist should be dynamic)
7. Horror tropes (see link for some ideas)

Period 4: Please refer to the handout by Scott McCloud today. Let's read it, then discuss and write about what we've learned or what we've learned about ourselves.

As you read along, please do the following: While McCloud is primarily discussing visual arts, the same philosophy applies to writing. As we read take notes in your journal. Pinpoint or record questions that arise in the artistic process, or personal comments that you would like to examine. We will discuss this after completing the reading.

The Creative Process: Six Steps of Art/or Becoming an Artist from Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics.

1. Idea/Purpose
2. Form
3. Idiom
4. Structure
5. Craft
6. Surface

In your journal, reflect for a couple minutes on the different stages. Which stage(s) do you seem to identify with most?

Then: When you finish reading, respond to Scott McCloud's ideas by writing a short personal response to the following question ON YOUR BLOG. Please answer ALL parts of the question; it has two essential parts:

• What is your 4-year goal concerning creative writing and the arts. Why did you enter this program (be honest, the idea is to "discover" truth through writing about it) and where do you want to take your writing in the next four years? (i.e. what is your long term goal concerning creative writing?)--if you don't have a goal, make one now.
• Second part: What is your relationship with reading? What sorts of literary genres do you prefer? If you don't read, why not? If you do, what helps you read? If you are a skilled reader, what do you think caused you to be skilled? If you are a weak reader, why do you think you are a weak reader? Explore the concept of reading.

Please complete your response and post it on your BLOG for credit. Realize that incomplete work results in lower grades, etc. Learn to use class time and home time efficiently.

HOMEWORK: Complete any writing/reading assignment that you did not complete today in class. Aim to finish reading The Thief of Always by the end of this weekend. Bring your books and notes back with you to our next class. You will have a test and discussion on the book.