Friday, November 13, 2009

Gathering the pieces - Brokeback Mountain

Today, you will have time to do any of the following:

--gather ideas from your journal or the exercises we did in class. Begin writing a first draft of an original story. RULES: tell your story in objective 3rd person POV. Your story should include at least 3 distinct events that move the story along. Complicate your situation by giving your character(s) problems that need solving. When you get stuck, keep thinking: what happens next? How will the characters react to the trouble? What exactly is the trouble?

--add setting and characterization to one of your previously written stories. Apply what you have written to the work you have already completed. Remember to # this new draft with a new #.

--Read Brokeback Mountain. See HOMEWORK below to figure out what you need to do with this story.

--Complete homework from last class: storyboard & questions about the short story Marigolds (see below for details).

HOMEWORK: Please read chapter 10 in your Creative Writer's Craft books (pg. 196-216). This information will be helpful to you as you write your new story. You will also be tested on the information later.

Read: Brokeback Mountain. This famous story does a lot of what we've been doing in our own stories. It uses flashback, characterization, uses setting (locale) as a symbol, and moves the story along one event at a time, skipping large chunks of time in between scenes, uses white space, etc. As you read, please look for these elements. To turn in: please complete a storyboard of the PLOT (see above). For each new event or complication, draw a little picture in the box and then describe in a caption what scene this is underneath the picture. This is due next class.

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About this course!

This course stresses understanding the characteristics & techniques in the literary genres of fiction, poetry, and dramatic writing. This course will continue to build on students’ reading and writing skills begun in previous creative writing classes. Readings and discussions of works by major writers in the field will be examined as inspiration and models of fine writing. This educational blog is designed for the use of the students at the School of the Arts in Rochester, NY.