Today we are going to watch a movie based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. Before you do, take a moment to look at this brief bio.
H. P. Lovecraft
(1890-1937)
Hailed as the 20th century Poe, H. P. Lovecraft wrote fantasy and horror in the best tradition of Poe, Blackwood, Dunsany, Hodgson, Stoker, and Machen. He was a contemporary friend or mentor to such authors as Robert E. Howard (Conan), August Derleth, Robert Bloch (Psycho), and many other regular contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales. Lovecraft singled out the best elements in the work of his literary anscestors and blended these into a unique style of his own -- a style that has, in turn, had many imitators and many more admirers throughout the world, including horror writers Stephen King, Clive Barker, Brian Lumley, Neil Gaiman, and Joyce Carol Oates. Lovecraft's style was in a twilight area between horror and science fiction, an area that Lovecraft excelled and made his contribution to the world of literature: an area he called "cosmic horror."
As extra credit (and for your own benefit), you may wish to peruse the link leading to Lovecraft's writing and read a few short stories. My favorites are: The Lurking Horror, The Whisperer in Darkness, and, of course, The Call of Cthulhu (probably his best known work). After reading a few samples, try your own hand at writing a "cosmic horror" story.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Poetic Terms and Advice About Beginning a Poem
You should learn and know the following terms:
Prose
Verse
Metrical verse
Unmetrical verse
Beginning a poem:
One thing to remember is that when beginning a poem, your real "poem" may not appear until later in the draft. Often the first few lines we write are the turning the key in the ignition, the release of the brake, the shifting into gears, the checking of the rear-view mirror, until pulling out of the driveway and getting onto the road. We may be far down the road before we realize we forgot our luggage.
In other words, the REAL opening of the poem, may not be the first line we write.
An opener, just like fiction, should grab our attention and provide us with information regarding what the theme or meaning behind the poem is, provide the reader with a setting, a speaker, and an occasion for the speaker to speak.
There is no one way in which to write a good poem.
Getting started can be difficult. If you have one of these problems consider the solution:
Writer's Block: lower your standards. Just write through it; you may have to cut a lot afterwards, but you'll at least have something written. Don't let writer's block be an excuse. Poets write hundreds of bad poems to write one good one.
Busy: Set aside time to write. Make this time sacred. You are fortunate in that you have 40 minutes everyday set aside for you to write. Use it!
Not sure what to write or what your subject is: try automatic writing, freewriting, brainstorming, etc. Use your journal to come up with ideas. None of these have to be good to start off with. But by the time you have crafted your work, it should be presentable and good enough to share.
Not sure what to write or what your subject is: try reading other poems. Then borrow ideas or subjects. Don't copy, but borrow words and put them in different order, steal a subject, a setting, a conflict, etc. Then write it your way!
It may help to answer these questions BEFORE you begin:
1. Who/What is my subject?
2. Who is my speaker (or voice)?
3. Where is my setting (where is my speaker speaking)?
4. Who is my speaker speaking to? (audience)
5. Why is my speaker speaking? (motivation)
Write a series of 1st draft poems. Go. Do it. Now. The muses are waiting.
Prose
Verse
Metrical verse
Unmetrical verse
Beginning a poem:
One thing to remember is that when beginning a poem, your real "poem" may not appear until later in the draft. Often the first few lines we write are the turning the key in the ignition, the release of the brake, the shifting into gears, the checking of the rear-view mirror, until pulling out of the driveway and getting onto the road. We may be far down the road before we realize we forgot our luggage.
In other words, the REAL opening of the poem, may not be the first line we write.
An opener, just like fiction, should grab our attention and provide us with information regarding what the theme or meaning behind the poem is, provide the reader with a setting, a speaker, and an occasion for the speaker to speak.
There is no one way in which to write a good poem.
Getting started can be difficult. If you have one of these problems consider the solution:
Writer's Block: lower your standards. Just write through it; you may have to cut a lot afterwards, but you'll at least have something written. Don't let writer's block be an excuse. Poets write hundreds of bad poems to write one good one.
Busy: Set aside time to write. Make this time sacred. You are fortunate in that you have 40 minutes everyday set aside for you to write. Use it!
Not sure what to write or what your subject is: try automatic writing, freewriting, brainstorming, etc. Use your journal to come up with ideas. None of these have to be good to start off with. But by the time you have crafted your work, it should be presentable and good enough to share.
Not sure what to write or what your subject is: try reading other poems. Then borrow ideas or subjects. Don't copy, but borrow words and put them in different order, steal a subject, a setting, a conflict, etc. Then write it your way!
It may help to answer these questions BEFORE you begin:
1. Who/What is my subject?
2. Who is my speaker (or voice)?
3. Where is my setting (where is my speaker speaking)?
4. Who is my speaker speaking to? (audience)
5. Why is my speaker speaking? (motivation)
Write a series of 1st draft poems. Go. Do it. Now. The muses are waiting.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Poem #1 - Draft #1
After reading Mary Oliver's chapter from her book The Art of Poetry on Diction, Tone, and Voice, please make sure you understand the following concepts:
The Contemporary Poem
Negative Capability
Lyric poem form
Narrative poem form
Long poem form
Prose poem form
Poetic diction
Cliche
Inversion
Informal language
Effective language
Free verse
Once you have a grasp of these terms, write the first draft of a free verse poem.
The Contemporary Poem
Negative Capability
Lyric poem form
Narrative poem form
Long poem form
Prose poem form
Poetic diction
Cliche
Inversion
Informal language
Effective language
Free verse
Once you have a grasp of these terms, write the first draft of a free verse poem.
Dialogue - The Finer Points
Dialogue: What is it good for?
• Fastest way to advance the action of the story
• Reveals characters & provides characterization
• Provides exposition in a more realistic way
• Effective dialogue depends on an ability to listen and develop an ear for the way people speak.
How Can I Make My Dialogue Sound Real?
• Speak in short sentences
• Speak in fragments
• Change the subject
• Digress
• Use Colloquialism/verisimilitude
• Answer questions with questions or avoid answering
• Ignore what’s being said by the other person
• Respond to things that haven’t been said
• Repeat words or expressions
Speaker Tags
Always use tags when it may be unclear who is speaking. In two person scenes tags may not be necessary after the first one or two.
3 Types of Tags:
1. Speaker Tag
• Use “said” or “says”. Avoid fancy verbs like “ejaculated” or “spit”, “hissed” or “screeched” (unless you are writing a parody or humorous story). Use fancy verbs sparingly.
• Avoid adverbs (LY words) that indicate how something was said. (she said greedily; he said nastily; we said conversationally; It said nervously; They said happily). Adverbs suggest that your writing is not clear.
2. Action Tag
• Identify a speaker with a sentence expressing action before or after a speech
• Allows reader to “see” what is going on during dialogue
• Provides characters with movement and therefore reveals character or detail
3. Thought Tag
• Express what your character thinks, feels, knows, or wonders.
Do NOT use: “she thought”; “They felt”; “We knew”; “He wondered”, etc. Simply state the opinion on the same line, right after the tag. Overuse of this indicates telling, rather than showing.
Punctuation
“We’re going to learn how to punctuate dialogue,” the teacher said.
A groan rose from the students.
One of them whispered to her neighbor, “Oh, no. Not again! This teacher is always trying to teach us. He should mind his own business and let us get some sleep.”
Many of the students were already yawning.
“Punctuation goes INSIDE the quotes ALWAYS!” the teacher said. “If the quote does not end in an exclamation point or question mark, then after the tag line you must include a period,” he added.
“What do you mean?”
“Simple,” the teacher explained. “When you do not have a tag at the end of a line of dialogue, you can stop with a period.”
“Of course, you would have to use a comma when the complete sentence has not yet been completed,” a student realized.
“Every time there is a new speaker start a new paragraph.” The teacher emphasized this point by pulling out his hair in tufts.
A student’s hand shot up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean every time a new character speaks....”
“Or interrupts?”
“Yes, or interrupts. A new paragraph must be started.” The teacher continued to talk about dialogue and punctuation. He answered any questions the students had. Then he said, “You see? It’s easy.” The teacher knew his students were beginning to understand. He didn’t need to start a new paragraph since he had been uninterrupted in his speech.
The student in the back row smiled. He said, “I see now. Commas are placed before the quotation when the tag comes in the FRONT of the quote.”
“Yes! Exactly,” the teacher said. “Or inside the quote when the tag comes at the end.” The teacher sipped his coffee, then added, “Just like I did just now.”
“This is simple!”
“Yes,” Shirley, a happy student in the front of the class, said. “This is simple.”
The students understood so well, in fact, that they never made another punctuation error when using dialogue.
“Hurrah!” The teacher gave everyone in the class an A when grades were due because they had learned so much!
The End
• Fastest way to advance the action of the story
• Reveals characters & provides characterization
• Provides exposition in a more realistic way
• Effective dialogue depends on an ability to listen and develop an ear for the way people speak.
How Can I Make My Dialogue Sound Real?
• Speak in short sentences
• Speak in fragments
• Change the subject
• Digress
• Use Colloquialism/verisimilitude
• Answer questions with questions or avoid answering
• Ignore what’s being said by the other person
• Respond to things that haven’t been said
• Repeat words or expressions
Speaker Tags
Always use tags when it may be unclear who is speaking. In two person scenes tags may not be necessary after the first one or two.
3 Types of Tags:
1. Speaker Tag
• Use “said” or “says”. Avoid fancy verbs like “ejaculated” or “spit”, “hissed” or “screeched” (unless you are writing a parody or humorous story). Use fancy verbs sparingly.
• Avoid adverbs (LY words) that indicate how something was said. (she said greedily; he said nastily; we said conversationally; It said nervously; They said happily). Adverbs suggest that your writing is not clear.
2. Action Tag
• Identify a speaker with a sentence expressing action before or after a speech
• Allows reader to “see” what is going on during dialogue
• Provides characters with movement and therefore reveals character or detail
3. Thought Tag
• Express what your character thinks, feels, knows, or wonders.
Do NOT use: “she thought”; “They felt”; “We knew”; “He wondered”, etc. Simply state the opinion on the same line, right after the tag. Overuse of this indicates telling, rather than showing.
Punctuation
“We’re going to learn how to punctuate dialogue,” the teacher said.
A groan rose from the students.
One of them whispered to her neighbor, “Oh, no. Not again! This teacher is always trying to teach us. He should mind his own business and let us get some sleep.”
Many of the students were already yawning.
“Punctuation goes INSIDE the quotes ALWAYS!” the teacher said. “If the quote does not end in an exclamation point or question mark, then after the tag line you must include a period,” he added.
“What do you mean?”
“Simple,” the teacher explained. “When you do not have a tag at the end of a line of dialogue, you can stop with a period.”
“Of course, you would have to use a comma when the complete sentence has not yet been completed,” a student realized.
“Every time there is a new speaker start a new paragraph.” The teacher emphasized this point by pulling out his hair in tufts.
A student’s hand shot up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean every time a new character speaks....”
“Or interrupts?”
“Yes, or interrupts. A new paragraph must be started.” The teacher continued to talk about dialogue and punctuation. He answered any questions the students had. Then he said, “You see? It’s easy.” The teacher knew his students were beginning to understand. He didn’t need to start a new paragraph since he had been uninterrupted in his speech.
The student in the back row smiled. He said, “I see now. Commas are placed before the quotation when the tag comes in the FRONT of the quote.”
“Yes! Exactly,” the teacher said. “Or inside the quote when the tag comes at the end.” The teacher sipped his coffee, then added, “Just like I did just now.”
“This is simple!”
“Yes,” Shirley, a happy student in the front of the class, said. “This is simple.”
The students understood so well, in fact, that they never made another punctuation error when using dialogue.
“Hurrah!” The teacher gave everyone in the class an A when grades were due because they had learned so much!
The End
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Unit Test: Fiction
There will be a unit test on the craft of fiction, Friday, Oct. 17. The test will cover the following:
The Writing Process
Writing problems (the enemies of the writing process)
The Hook
Techniques in opening fiction/short stories
Plot: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, crises, turning point (climax), falling action, resolution (denouement), etc.
Plot structure
Character (dynamic, flat, round, stereotype, minor, major, protagonist, antagonist, foil, hero/heroinne, villain, antihero, etc.)
Finding a Fictional character
Characterization
Setting (interior, exterior, locale, weather, time period, natural, manufactured, etc.)
Function of setting
Regional writers
Endings (types of endings)
POV
Conflict
Terms you should be aware of (and know from previous classes):
Voice/Diction
Theme
Dialogue
The Oxford Book of American Short Stories:
Please read and prepare to answer questions on:
The Tell-Tale Heart (pp. 91-96)
Yellow Wallpaper (pp. 153-169)
Sweat (pp. 352-364)
The Writing Process
Writing problems (the enemies of the writing process)
The Hook
Techniques in opening fiction/short stories
Plot: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, crises, turning point (climax), falling action, resolution (denouement), etc.
Plot structure
Character (dynamic, flat, round, stereotype, minor, major, protagonist, antagonist, foil, hero/heroinne, villain, antihero, etc.)
Finding a Fictional character
Characterization
Setting (interior, exterior, locale, weather, time period, natural, manufactured, etc.)
Function of setting
Regional writers
Endings (types of endings)
POV
Conflict
Terms you should be aware of (and know from previous classes):
Voice/Diction
Theme
Dialogue
The Oxford Book of American Short Stories:
Please read and prepare to answer questions on:
The Tell-Tale Heart (pp. 91-96)
Yellow Wallpaper (pp. 153-169)
Sweat (pp. 352-364)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Final Draft of Short Story #1 - Project
Please complete draft #4 of your story project. This assignment is finally due Thursday, October 9 and will remain a major grade for this marking period.
In draft #4, you are being asked to consider plot and setting in your fiction. Setting and plot should work together with your character, beginning and ending skills. All four drafts will be collected in your portfolio for this term. Also included in the portfolio will be both drafts of your baseline project. Further questions, please see me.
In draft #4, you are being asked to consider plot and setting in your fiction. Setting and plot should work together with your character, beginning and ending skills. All four drafts will be collected in your portfolio for this term. Also included in the portfolio will be both drafts of your baseline project. Further questions, please see me.
Setting (...continued)
Setting
Setting is the when and where your story takes place.
Apart from Character and Plot, Setting is one of the most important elements in your writing.
Setting refers to:
• The location (locale) or place the story is set
• The weather (including the season)
• The time
• The time period (historical period)
What is a regional writer?
• A regional writer chooses to set all of his/her stories in one general place or time period. This place usually reflects how the author grew up.
Regional writers include:
• William Faulkner
• Stephen King
• H.P. Lovecraft
• Flannery O’Connor
• Bharakti Mukerjee
• Eudora Welty
Types of Setting:
• Interior: locales INSIDE. Symbolically often refers to private/domestic issues.
• Exterior: locales OUTSIDE. Symbolically often refers to societal issues.
Function of Setting:
1. Setting as Antagonist.
• Settings can cause problems/conflict for characters
2. Setting as reflection of mindset or ideology of one of your characters (often your protagonist)
3. Setting as character portrait
• Settings reflect or contrast character’s wants/desires, goals
4. Setting as quality of narrative vision
• Setting establishes trust between storyteller and audience
• Description of setting helps reader visualize the fictional world
5. Setting as reflection of theme or idea
6. Setting as reflection of conflict
7. Setting as mood or atmosphere
8. Setting as foreshadowing of plot
9. Setting as beginning and ending (establishing and closing shot…or frame)
Setting is the when and where your story takes place.
Apart from Character and Plot, Setting is one of the most important elements in your writing.
Setting refers to:
• The location (locale) or place the story is set
• The weather (including the season)
• The time
• The time period (historical period)
What is a regional writer?
• A regional writer chooses to set all of his/her stories in one general place or time period. This place usually reflects how the author grew up.
Regional writers include:
• William Faulkner
• Stephen King
• H.P. Lovecraft
• Flannery O’Connor
• Bharakti Mukerjee
• Eudora Welty
Types of Setting:
• Interior: locales INSIDE. Symbolically often refers to private/domestic issues.
• Exterior: locales OUTSIDE. Symbolically often refers to societal issues.
Function of Setting:
1. Setting as Antagonist.
• Settings can cause problems/conflict for characters
2. Setting as reflection of mindset or ideology of one of your characters (often your protagonist)
3. Setting as character portrait
• Settings reflect or contrast character’s wants/desires, goals
4. Setting as quality of narrative vision
• Setting establishes trust between storyteller and audience
• Description of setting helps reader visualize the fictional world
5. Setting as reflection of theme or idea
6. Setting as reflection of conflict
7. Setting as mood or atmosphere
8. Setting as foreshadowing of plot
9. Setting as beginning and ending (establishing and closing shot…or frame)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Setting - part one
Setting: The natural and artificial scenery or environment in which characters in literature live and move.
Setting includes:
• Artifacts or Props (the things characters use)
• Clothes (the things characters wear)
• Time of day, conditions of the weather
• Geography and location
• Trees, animals, and nature
• Inside and outside sounds, smells
• All physical and temporal objects
In short: setting refers to all the places and objects that are important in the work, whether natural or manufactured.
Types of Settings:
1. Natural
Nature shapes action and directs and redirects lives.
2. Manufactured
Manufactured things always reflect the people who made them.
Possessions often enter into character motivation and development.
Setting includes:
• Artifacts or Props (the things characters use)
• Clothes (the things characters wear)
• Time of day, conditions of the weather
• Geography and location
• Trees, animals, and nature
• Inside and outside sounds, smells
• All physical and temporal objects
In short: setting refers to all the places and objects that are important in the work, whether natural or manufactured.
Types of Settings:
1. Natural
Nature shapes action and directs and redirects lives.
2. Manufactured
Manufactured things always reflect the people who made them.
Possessions often enter into character motivation and development.
Announcement - Required Projects
The following is a schedule of due dates and homework assignments so far as of October 6 for the first marking period (which ends 10/17). Those entries in BOLD can still be turned in for partial credit. The deadline for those in italics has passed and cannot be made up this marking period.
Major Projects:
Baseline piece (draft #1) due 9/8
Baseline piece (draft #2 - revision)due 9/12
Short Story #1, draft #1 (composition) due 9/24
Short Story #1,draft #2 (rewrite, expansion) due 9/30Short Story #1, draft #3 (rewrite, edit) due 10/3
Homework assignments: (all from the Oxford Book of American Short Stories)
9/12 - Town Smokes, The House on Mango Street, Gravity (pp. 741-750)
Respond to each story. Focus on how the author begins the story. How does this beginning foreshadow the end, or hook the audience?
9/16 - The Management of Grief, Two Kinds, Fleur (pp. 697-740)
No written homework. Just read and enjoy.
9/18 Big Bertha Stories, Fever (pp. 655-696)
For each story, examine how the author characterizes one character in the story.
9/23 Hunters in the Snow, The Things They Carried (pp. 620-654)
Choose one of the 2 stories and respond to the story's protagonist/character.
9/25 The Shawl, Heat (pp. 601-619)
Choose 1 story to examine a foil, choose the other story to examine an antagonist.
9/29 Texts, The School, The Persistence of Desire, Alaska, Are These Actual Miles, Yellow Woman (pp. 552-600)
No written homework. Just read and enjoy.
10/1 My Son the Murderer, Something to Remember Me By, The Death of Justina (pp. 504-551)
For each story examine and comment on the type of ending.
10/3 Rain in the Heart, Where is the Voice Coming From, The Lecture (pp. 463-503)
Choose one of the stories and examine its plot.
10/6 There Will Come Soft Rains (pp. 456-461)
Examine and comment on the use of setting to reflect theme in the story.
10/8 Quiz: Sonny's Blues (pp. 408-439)(there will be a pop quiz on this story involving character, setting, and plot.)
10/14 Red-Headed Baby, Battle Royal, The Man Who Was Almost a Man, A Distant Episode, A Late Enounter with the Enemy (pp. 365-397)
Just read and enjoy.
10/16 Sweat, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Tell-Tale Heart
Quiz: answer questions about plot, character, setting, theme, and openings, endings, voice, POV.
Major Projects:
Baseline piece (draft #1) due 9/8
Baseline piece (draft #2 - revision)due 9/12
Short Story #1, draft #1 (composition) due 9/24
Short Story #1,draft #2 (rewrite, expansion) due 9/30Short Story #1, draft #3 (rewrite, edit) due 10/3
Homework assignments: (all from the Oxford Book of American Short Stories)
9/12 - Town Smokes, The House on Mango Street, Gravity (pp. 741-750)
Respond to each story. Focus on how the author begins the story. How does this beginning foreshadow the end, or hook the audience?
9/16 - The Management of Grief, Two Kinds, Fleur (pp. 697-740)
No written homework. Just read and enjoy.
9/18 Big Bertha Stories, Fever (pp. 655-696)
For each story, examine how the author characterizes one character in the story.
9/23 Hunters in the Snow, The Things They Carried (pp. 620-654)
Choose one of the 2 stories and respond to the story's protagonist/character.
9/25 The Shawl, Heat (pp. 601-619)
Choose 1 story to examine a foil, choose the other story to examine an antagonist.
9/29 Texts, The School, The Persistence of Desire, Alaska, Are These Actual Miles, Yellow Woman (pp. 552-600)
No written homework. Just read and enjoy.
10/1 My Son the Murderer, Something to Remember Me By, The Death of Justina (pp. 504-551)
For each story examine and comment on the type of ending.
10/3 Rain in the Heart, Where is the Voice Coming From, The Lecture (pp. 463-503)
Choose one of the stories and examine its plot.
10/6 There Will Come Soft Rains (pp. 456-461)
Examine and comment on the use of setting to reflect theme in the story.
10/8 Quiz: Sonny's Blues (pp. 408-439)(there will be a pop quiz on this story involving character, setting, and plot.)
10/14 Red-Headed Baby, Battle Royal, The Man Who Was Almost a Man, A Distant Episode, A Late Enounter with the Enemy (pp. 365-397)
Just read and enjoy.
10/16 Sweat, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Tell-Tale Heart
Quiz: answer questions about plot, character, setting, theme, and openings, endings, voice, POV.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Plot and Structure
Plot, Conflict & Structure
The actions or incidents occurring in a story (usually in chronological order).
Without plot, we do not have a story. A plot is a plan or groundwork of human motivations, with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human responses. In simple terms, plot deals with CAUSE and EFFECT.
E.M. Forester:
“The king died, and then the queen died.”
To have a good plot, a sequence of events must include motivation which is based on reaction to action.
“The king died, and then the queen died of grief.”
Events and time in a story are not important in and of themselves but because one thing happens because of another thing (i.e. cause and effect).
Conflict is the essential element of plot because this is where human responses are brought out to their highest degree.
Once two (or more) forces are in opposition, there is doubt about the outcome, thus producing tension and suspense as well.
Plot Structure: The arrangement and placement of materials within a narrative or drama.
Plot: Describes the conflicts in a story or narrative.
Structure deals with the way a work is laid out and given form to bring out the conflict.
Categories of Plot Structure:
Exposition
Rising Action/Complication
Crisis or turning point
Climax
Denouement/falling action/resolution
The actions or incidents occurring in a story (usually in chronological order).
Without plot, we do not have a story. A plot is a plan or groundwork of human motivations, with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human responses. In simple terms, plot deals with CAUSE and EFFECT.
E.M. Forester:
“The king died, and then the queen died.”
To have a good plot, a sequence of events must include motivation which is based on reaction to action.
“The king died, and then the queen died of grief.”
Events and time in a story are not important in and of themselves but because one thing happens because of another thing (i.e. cause and effect).
Conflict is the essential element of plot because this is where human responses are brought out to their highest degree.
Once two (or more) forces are in opposition, there is doubt about the outcome, thus producing tension and suspense as well.
Plot Structure: The arrangement and placement of materials within a narrative or drama.
Plot: Describes the conflicts in a story or narrative.
Structure deals with the way a work is laid out and given form to bring out the conflict.
Categories of Plot Structure:
Exposition
Rising Action/Complication
Crisis or turning point
Climax
Denouement/falling action/resolution
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