Portfolio; Mystery Post; Clue!

Period 1:

Please post on your blog one of the following:

• Discuss your process writing your mystery story draft. How did it go? What did you learn?
• Write about And Then There Were None. What did you think?

Your blogs will be checked and graded this weekend. Please make sure you have all the required posts completed by Friday this week. 

Your journals are due Friday as well. Please make sure you bring these to class to be checked for MP4. 

You should finish up your portfolios by Friday/Monday. 

Period 2: 

We will begin screening the film: Clue! (1985)

HOMEWORK: Complete all work. Turn in any textbooks to the library.

Final Portfolio

There are two (2) parts to your final portfolio.

1. A 4-6 page, double-spaced, typed self-evaluation essay
2. A variety of your best work chosen from all your CW classes

Your final portfolio will count for both 9th-grade creative writing classes and will be reviewed by Mr. Craddock & Ms. Gamzon. It will constitute 20% of your final grade.

Part A. Self-Evaluation Essay

Part B. Portfolio

Select work that you created this year in Ms. Gamzon or Mr. Craddock’s classes. All work should be copies of original work. No journals will be accepted. Follow the guideline below.

Table of contents. Your table of contents should order your portfolio into the following parts:
a. Poetry
b. Fiction
c. Non-fiction
d. Scripts
e. Special projects

Poetry. Choose 5-7 of your best poems. Select work that shows your understanding and growth in the field of poetry. Each poem’s title should be listed in the table of contents.

Fiction. Choose 3-5 of your best fiction pieces. Select work that shows your understanding and growth in the field of fiction. Each fiction piece’s title should be listed in the table of contents.

Non-fiction. Choose 1-3 of your best non-fiction pieces (including text of speeches, etc.) Select work that shows your understanding and growth in the field of non-fiction. Each non-fiction piece’s title should be listed in the table of contents.

Scripts: Choose 1-2 of your best scripts. Select work that shows your understanding and growth in the field of script writing. Each script’s title should be listed in the table of contents.

Special Projects: Choose 2-3 of your special projects (newsletter, slideshow, brochure, literary magazine, house on mango street booklet, blog, etc.) which show your growth and creative ability. Each project should be listed in the table of contents. If you have been working on a project not assigned in class, you may include this work in your special projects. (Example: I am working on a novel, and I haven’t told my teachers or I have written a musical, etc.) Please do NOT print your special project, unless you already have an extra copy. Instead, please talk about these projects in your reflection.

Self Reflection Non-Fiction - Creative Essay:

During the entire freshman year, we have thrown quite a bit of information, projects, and assignments your way. We did not do this to be cruel, but to see how you react to pressure, deadlines, writing & reading skills, and so that you had the opportunity to grow as a writer and a student. It is true that the most important qualification for writers is that they write. Apart from this, reading is also the most important way to improve your writing at this stage. These introductory courses are designed to get you to know yourself as a student and writer a little better. Part of this is the need to self-reflect. Examine the writing rubrics and the material in your portfolio. Reflect on your work this year.

Reflective piece: 4-6 pages, double-spaced. Write about how you’ve grown as a writer this year, what has been easy/hard for you, what areas you feel you need more work in; reflect on your progress as a writer, a reader, and as a student. Write about each selected piece you have chosen to include in your portfolio (per genre): why did you include these pieces in your portfolio? How does the piece show your growth and development as a writer in this particular genre? What did you learn about yourself concerning writing from this assignment or project? Discuss the writing process you used to create the work, where you got your ideas, what you learned about the form or genre of the work as you wrote and revised it, what you learned about yourself as a writer, etc. Discuss special projects and reading that had an impact on you. What did you learn about writing and about yourself through these assignments this year?

Rubric

_____ Table of Contents 10 points
_____ Reflective Essay (4-6 pages) 30 points
_____ Poetry (6-8 poems) 10 points
_____ Fiction (4-5 short stories) 10 points
_____ Non Fiction (2-3 creative essays/speeches) 10 points
_____ Special Projects (3-4 special projects) 10 points
_____ Grammar (Work is clean, copy-edited, free of errors) 10 points
Penalty: (-1/2 point for each grammar error. Up to -10 points)
_____ Portfolio turned in complete and on time 10 points

Penalties:
• Late portfolios (-10 points per day late)
• Handwritten work (-1 for each handwritten page)
• Grammar errors (see above)

Mystery Drafts Due; Portfolio & Revision

After our quiz on And Then There Were None, please go to the lab to continue to complete your mystery drafts today in the lab.

If you have time remaining, please continue working on your final portfolios. Revise old stories/poems/scripts/essays, etc. Work on your reflection, etc.

HOMEWORK: If you haven't turned in an assignment (see progress reports) please do so asap.

Mystery Draft

Please work on your mystery draft. These are likely to be due Thursday.

Complete your reading of And Then There Were None. There will be a test on this book Thursday.

If you missed these videos the first time through, take some time between periods of procrastination reviewing them for writing advice:

• A Short Guide to Mystery Genres
• Writing Detective Fiction
• How to Write a Mystery  
• Thriller Crime Fiction #1 
• Thriller Crime Fiction #2 
• A Short History of Detective Fiction
• Tammy Kaehler: The Pants Method of Writing Mysteries

8 Point Story Arc to writing a short story

When to Show instead of Tell in a Story

HOMEWORK: Complete And Then There Were None. There will be a test next class.

And Then There Were None: Chapters 4-5; Murder Most Foul: How to Write a Mystery

We will read chapter 4 & 5 in class. Finally, we’ll take a look at the Ghastlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey. When we’re done, we will go to the lab to complete the following:

Using your character design from last class, choose one of your characters to be murdered. Decide how the character died, and who of your other characters murdered him/her.

Some types of murder for writers to use:

• suicide (self-inflicted, usually by one of the methods below...)
• an overdose of drugs
• poison
• bludgeoning/concussion
• stabbing/impaling/cutting
• shooting
• hanging
• choking/asphyxiation/smothering
• running someone over (usually with a machine, like a car or a train...)
• crushing someone with a heavy object
• burying one alive
• chopping
• assassination
• exposure/starvation/hypothermia
• immolation (catching on fire, or being choked by smoke...)
• bomb/blown to bits
• drowning
• falling from a great height, usually by being pushed
• devoured by dangerous animal(s)
• electrocution

Usually, a person resorts to murder when there is no other choice. Murder is often the end result of other crimes.

Writing mysteries require a writer to consider all the possible angles of a scene. Your reader will want to trust that you know the who, what, where, when, how, and why (motive) of the crime. Take a look at this video for some good advice.

Once you decide on these details, use a flow chart graphic to work backward from the crime. You will need to know the solution to the crime before you start writing.

Create a list of clues--separate this list into obvious clues and less obvious. The ones that come to mind first are probably obvious. If you think of it, so will your reader. Your job is to throw a reader off the track by creating or choosing more obscure or difficult clues. Consider what the clues are that lead to the murder. How might the murder lead back to the murderer? This will be your solution.

Once you have a good idea of some clues to leave for your readers, add motives for the other characters you have written into your story. Make sure you have some other suspects. Throw in at least one red herring or false clue for each character or suspect.

It's okay to leave some questions unanswered. It will be the job of your detective or the person solving the crime to come up with these answers to help the reader bridge the logic gap between a clue, a motive, and the real killer. What's at stake for the real murderer? Who stands to gain by the death of your victim? Keep these questions in mind as you plan your story.

Then, using the scene started last class (or by writing a new one--see the previous post), build your mystery draft. You might start with the ending, then write the story to that point, or start at the beginning and use your list of clues/motives/suspects to work in your details. See if you can craft an effective, well-written mystery.

This assignment will be due next Thursday, June 1. Use the time in the lab to plan and write your draft.

HOMEWORK: Complete And Then There Were None (you have Monday off, remember!) Read at your own pace, but try to finish by next Friday (June 2). The more you read, the easier it will be to write your own detective/mystery story draft. Use the reading as a model (particularly about effective mystery writing, building plot, and developing characters & scenes). 

And Then There Were None (character scene exercise)

I had to be downtown at central office today during this period. Please show Mr. Greven some respect and complete the following tasks in class:

And Then There Were None

1. Pair up (or work alone--you may read silently instead of out loud if you are working alone).

2. Read 2 subchapters or sections in chapter 1 out loud (pg. 1-17). Note how the author stays closely connected to the mind and viewpoint of each character.

For example: (from section v, pg. 10)

“General Macarthur looked out of the carriage window. The train was just coming into Exeter, where he had to change. Damnable, these slow branch train lines! This place, Soldier Island, was really no distance at all as the crow flies. He hadn’t got it clear who this fellow Owen was. A friend of Spoof Leggard’s, apparently--and of Johnnie Dyer’s...He’d enjoy a chat about old times.”

Note how Christie starts this section with an action of her character/subject. She provides information about setting effortlessly:...train/Exeter/Soldier Island... She introduces a conflict: Macarthur does know who Owen is, the man who invited him to the island.

Read two other sections and note how this pattern is repeated in those sections as well: the introduction of a character doing something, information about the setting, and an introduction to a conflict. She also gets into the mind of each character, allowing the character to view and have opinions about the setting, the situation, and other characters in the scene. This is good, clean & clear writing. Learn. Your writing should be just as crafted & clear.

3. After reading, choose a crime for each character you will create for this exercise (they can either be a victim or the perpetrator--the person committing the crime). (Here are some examples):

• Abuse, Assault & battery, blackmail, bomb threat, body snatching, bribery, conspiracy, cyber crimes (hacking), domestic violence, drunk driving, embezzlement, espionage, extortion, forgery, fraud, harassment, hijacking, illegal immigration, kidnapping, lynching, manslaughter, perjury, police brutality, prison escapes, racketeering, ransom, rape, recklessness, riots, robbery, sedition, smuggling, stalking, theft, torture, treason, vandalism, etc.

4. Design your own characters: Each character description should include:

1. A name
2. A short physical description
3. A “motive” that connects the character to the crime you chose in the question above.  
4. An internal monologue from the perspective or POV of that character. What does the character value? Dislike? Believe in strongly? What does the character notice about a setting, event, or person? Try to include this information in the writing, as Christie does.

Create a list and description of 3-5 characters.

Part II:

5. Read one of the sections from chapter 2 out loud (pg. 19-41).

Notice that in chapter 2, characters speak to one another. The dialogue helps to establish character, attitude or opinion about the setting, situation, or provide details about other characters. Christie reveals motivation, reason for a character to be in a scene, and details about the setting, situation/conflict, or character in the story. Note, also, how dialogue is punctuated.

6. Choose two of your newly created characters from your list/design and write a short scene where the two characters speak to one another. They must say at least 10 lines of dialogue to each other for the scene to be complete. They may talk about anything, although they could talk about a recent crime that took place and incorporate the type of crime/motivation you created in part I.

7. Turn in your work when completed today in the lab.

With time remaining, please read your peers’ children books if they finished. Writers should also read their own work and notice and fix the typos. Remember that sentences start with capital letters and end with punctuation marks! Check your spelling carefully, since many of these books are now public.

• Victoria
• Jenna
• Javant
• Ja'Miah
• Akhiyar
• Pahz
• Britney
• Kemani
• Joshua

Good job!

If you do not see your name here, you may have sent me a file I could not share with the class, or you may have forgotten to turn in your work. Complete the children's book project with any time remaining in class (after you complete the assignment described above!)

If you did not finish your children’s book, please do so and send me your URL link in the comment section of the blog.

HOMEWORK: Please read chapter 3 of And Then There Were None on your own. Bring back your books with you to our next class. Coffeehouse tonight, 7:00 in the Ensemble theater.

Children's Book Project Due!; Mystery Writing & And Then There Was None

Period 3 & 4 (until 10:00)

Please complete your children's book project.

If you finish early, please peruse this information about the most popular writing market: The Mystery.

Click on the links and read/watch the following short videos/articles about writing for the Mystery genre:

• A Short Guide to Mystery Genres
• Writing Detective Fiction
• How to Write a Mystery  
• Thriller Crime Fiction #1 
• Thriller Crime Fiction #2 
• A Short History of Detective Fiction

TASK (homework): On your blog, write a post where you discuss some of the elements of detective fiction that you learned from these videos/websites. What do you think personally as a reader about this genre? Have you read or seen a lot of mysteries? What do you like or dislike about the genre? What are some tropes that good mystery stories usually seem to have in them? Discuss any of these issues on your blog.

At 10:00, please go to the library to pick up the book And Then There Were None. We'll return to the classroom and begin reading/discussing this book.

All good stories begin with a cast of potential characters in a specific situation (plot/conflict) and location/time period (setting). Luckily, plot and character are going to be the most important for a mystery writer.

So to start, you would do well to create your own cast of potential characters. Here's a site that might help give you some ideas when fleshing out your character(s): Fiction Character Chart

Create 5-10 characters in your journal. Name + brief description. Names can be tricky to start with. You might consult a list of baby names or take names from characters in books or movies. You might also use your middle name or the middle names of your friends/family members. Or look through a phone book.

Some authors like to pick a name then think about a description that goes with that name. Sampson Simpleton might, for example, be very strong--perhaps a physical trainer (Sampson, after all, is a Biblical allusion, and a simpleton is a very dull or simple/stupid person). But names could also be ironic. Maybe Sampson Simpleton is a very smart cookie!

Let's read and see how Agatha Christie sets up her story by focusing on CHARACTER.

HOMEWORK: If you did not complete your children's book in the lab today, please complete it as homework. If you did not get a chance to complete today's blog task, please complete that as well. Finally, please read chapters 1-2 (pg. 1-41) of And Then There Were None for next class. Bring your books with you to next class so we can examine/discuss our reading.

Children's Story Project: Day 4

Please continue your children's story project today in the lab. See previous posts for details.

The project is due Friday. Please work toward completion. If you finish early, please use the time to work on Ms. Gamzon's work or late work for my class (science fiction drafts, fantasy drafts, blog posts, poems, etc.)

HOMEWORK: None. Prepare to complete your children's story project to turn in Friday.  Join us Tuesday at 7:00 in the Ensemble theater for our senior coffeehouse. Select and prepare a reading if you'd like to attend.

Children's Storybook Project: Day 3

Please work on your children's book project. Take your ideas, learn a few tips from the videos and advice below, then use the programs to create & design your story.

• Writing for children: 5 Tips to Writing a Book Kids Will Love
• How to Write a Children's Story: Outline Ideas (short video)
• How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books (short video)

Use the storyboard templates given to you to help design and prepare your story, or use your journal to sketch & plan out your plot. Use the advice from the videos, the picture books you read, and articles above to assist you.

Once you have a text, decide how your illustration might further the story. What image or visual extends the imagination of a child reader? What colors or graphic styles might you use to catch a child's attention? Remember that illustrations are meant to further the story--not just show a depiction of the text.

Be creative with your design. Decide how many words should go on a page. Where should the text appear? What images appear with the text? Plan and design.

If you are drawing your own pictures, you will need to make JPGs of your drawings and upload them into your computer or google docs/slides. You may also use one of the following programs to help design and illustrate your text:

Children's story programs:

• My Story Book
• Storybird
• Storyjumper
• My Story: Storybook Maker for Apple (iPhone app)
• Erintigration
• Inklewriter

HOMEWORK: None. 

Children's Literature & Story Project

Brainstorm:

• What are some qualities/tropes that entertained you as a child (films/books, etc.)?
• What sort of characters/settings/events occur in a children's story?

Let's see an example film of a children's story. As you watch, see if you can identify some tropes of a good children's story...

Dr. Seuss: Putting Rhymes to Good Use
Horton Hears a Who (1970)

Please take a few minutes this morning to read/view the following:

• Writing for children: 5 Tips to Writing a Book Kids Will Love
• Neil Gaiman: Is Writing for Children More Difficult than Writing for Adults? (short video)
• How to Write a Children's Story: Outline Ideas (short video)
• How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books (short video)

In the lab, please begin brainstorming an idea for your own children's story. Use the storyboard templates to help design and prepare your story, or use your journal to plan out your plot. Use the advice from the videos, the picture books you read, and articles above to assist you.

Once you have a text, decide how your illustration might further the story. What image or visual extends the imagination of a child reader? What colors or graphic styles might you use to catch a child's attention? Remember that illustrations are meant to further the story--not just show a depiction of the text.

Be creative with your design. Decide how many words should go on a page. Where should the text appear? What images appear with the text? Plan and design.

If you are drawing your own pictures, you will need to make JPGs of your drawings and upload them into your computer or google docs/slides. You may also use one of the following programs to help design and illustrate your text:

Children's story programs:

• My Story Book
• Storybird
• Storyjumper
• My Story: Storybook Maker for Apple (iPhone app)
• Erintigration
• Inklewriter

HOMEWORK: None. Complete drafts of your science fiction and fantasy stories if you have not yet completed these assignments. Brainstorm and prepare to create your children's story with illustrations if you did not get an idea in the lab today. Next class we will design and work on this project. Please bring any necessary materials with you to class!

For fun: Futurama: The Science of Comedy

Children's Lit

Blog: Take 5 minutes today and write a response to one of the following on your blog:

• How did my writing go for the fantasy story assignment? Talk about what worked/didn't work or what you liked/didn't like about the project.
• Write about the film Legend (1985), directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, The Martian, etc.); what did you like, dislike, think about, etc.?
• What's the point of reading a fantasy novel/story? Or writing one? Why might we do it?
• What was one of your favorite children's picture books when you were young? What was the title or the story? Why did you like it?

Children's Literature Project

Much of children's literature is designed to teach children: 1. The alphabet 2. New words or concepts 3. Social mores or traditions and 4. of course to teach them or "edumacate" them about the world we live in (or wish we lived in), and what it means to be human.

Children's books are often written for elementary readers. That means that smart and talented authors target children (and their parents) as their potential audience. Techniques of elementary reading (since the focus is on new words, letters, and concepts) include several of the following tropes (or patterns):

1. Young protagonists
2. Colorful pictures that help match vocabulary to image
3. A lesson or moral
4. Short paragraphs (sometimes a picture book has only pictures) Sentence construction and syntax is simple or paired down. Noun + verb + direct object, etc. See Spot. See Jane. Spot bit Jane.

"Children's" literature, therefore, is NOT meant to be read by adolescents, since adolescents often find it difficult to appreciate simplicity or wild imagination, searching primarily to fit into a common crowd and usually resent being treated like young "children."

As you go about completing the library research project on Children's Literature, consider HOW you approach a children's book. If you are open, this can be a lot of fun. If you are close-minded (this often happens in a group setting since you don't want your peers to know you actually enjoy kids stuff) you may find yourself overly critical.

TASK: Go to the library. Select a children's picture book. Read it. Analyze it (what colors, pictures, style is the book using? How is this designed to catch the attention of a child? What is the story? What fantasy elements and tropes or archetypes are used? Examine the language and how it is paired down or more simplistic than novels we read in school. Think about the lesson/moral about life the book examines, etc.

During period 3, stay in the library and read in a corner. Then check out the book by end of period 3. Bring the book to the lab. Prepare a reading of the book to our peers during 4th period. Practice reading your book to a partner or two.

At the end of class, please respond to this entry about the books you read and your experience reading in the COMMENT section of this blog. Particularly answer: As a writer, what have you learned about children's books?

PLEASE POST A COMMENT BELOW - Please include your real NAME to get full credit!

HOMEWORK: None. Gather ideas for a children's story.