Today, during 8th period we will begin reading Woody Allen's "Death." Please select a character to read aloud. You get participation credit for paying attention and/or reading in class. Slumping in the corner or not gathering with your peers as we read grants you NO credit for participation today.
HOMEWORK: You may revise and correct your Hemingway drafts for a higher grade. Due Friday. Keep reading the fiction/parody stories in Woody Allen's Without Feathers. No need to read the plays yet.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
1st Period
Please revise your Hemingway stories.
2nd period, please refresh this blog for more info.
2nd period, please refresh this blog for more info.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Woody Allen's Without Feathers
Please read the collection: Without Feathers by Woody Allen. Information about Woody Allen is posted on the link on the side of the blog. Look here for a short bio.
Much of Allen's humor requires a little knowledge about form, content, or knowing a little bit about his life (or the life of a Jewish New Yorker intellectual). To help you, please refer to this page for explanation of the allusion and humor in Woody Allen's book.
The title: Refers to Emily Dickenson’s poem: “Hope is a thing with feathers.” Ergo, if you have no feathers, you have no hope.
Selections from the Allen Notebooks & The Early Essays: Both these essays parody the publishing industry’s love affair with memoir, creative non-fiction, and publishing a well-known author’s private writings after they have died. Hence, the humor of these weird insights into the famous “Woody Allen” journals. Traditionally, creative essay form always used the same form: the word “ON” and then the subject of the essay.
Examining Psychic Phenomena: The supernatural is always a good subject to parody. In this case, a review of a newly published “non-fiction” book on Psychic Phenomena. Look up Psychic Phenomena on the internet to see the sort of thing Allen is parodying.
The Guide to Some of the Lesser Ballets: When you attend an opera or ballet, inside your program you often get the story synopsis. Since opera is usually in another language, and ballet is hard to follow if you don’t know the story, these sorts of program notes are helpful in interpreting the performance. Allen, of course, is poking fun.
The Scrolls: A few years before the book was published, the Dead Sea Scrolls were uncovered. In the early 70’s this sort of thing caused a lot of controversy between religious scholars and scientists. They wondered if these scrolls were part of the Bible. Allen is also Jewish, so the humor relates to this fact as well.
Lovborg’s Women Considered: The playwright Henrick Ibsen is the bane and love of many literary scholars and theatre students. Woody Allen is poking fun of the field of literary criticism (scholars who write about books, authors, and their “private” lives).
The Whore of Mensa: Allen is parodying the hardboiled detective novel made popular by writers like Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon). Think of Humphrey Bogart as the narrator and you’ll have the idea. Mensa is a national program/club – entry into which is based on I.Q. The idea then of whores who intellectually stimulate their johns is a very funny idea.
Death, A Play: Allen was a philosophy major in college. He is also interested in psychology. The two main philosophical ideas this play refers to are existentialism and Nihilism. Existentialism is a type of writing or the study of answering the question: what is the meaning of life? Existentialism tries to explain what the meaning of life is. Some people believe we are alive for a reason, others are Nihilistic and say that there is no point in our existence, that there is no purpose to our lives. Kleinman is representative of everyman. He represents all of us. We sometimes don't know what our purpose in life is (Kleinman doesn't know his purpose in the play, for example). By the way, we are all being "stalked" by death, just as Kleinman is being stalked by the maniac. Death is the great equalizer. All living beings are going to die. Along with LOVE, DEATH is one of the most common themes in literature.
A Brief, yet Helpful, Guide to Civil Disobedience: People were protesting the Vietnam War when Woody Allen wrote this book. Even this serious topic is humor-fodder for writers. The allusion to The Trojan Women is referring to a Greek Tragedy (see: God) about the women of Troy banding together to protest the Trojan War.
Match Wits with Inspector Ford: In the 70’s books such as 5-Minute Mysteries were very popular. The idea was that the author gave you a very short mystery or crime. The answer to the “riddle” was in the back of the book. A fan of whodunits will enjoy this parody.
The Irish Genius: This is a parody (similar to Lovborg) but dealing with the poet William Butler Yeats. Yeats was an Irish culture fanatic and wrote “Irish” lyrics celebrating Gaelic and Irish legends. His poems drip with allusion and Allen plays around with this idea by providing fake “footnotes.”
God, a Play: Poking fun at Greek Theatre, Allen is also joking about writers and the process of writing a play and the challenges of performing it. Allen was a playwright before he became a film writer. So you can assume the Writer character is partly autobiographical. Of course, the character of “Woody” is also Allen’s alter-ego in the play. Enjoy the absurdist ideas of the piece. By the way, the machine reference in the play is a reference to: Deus Ex Machina (or God from the machine) referring to a contrived ending of a play (a God comes down and fixes the characters’ problems).
Fabulous Tales and Mythical Beasts: Bestiaries were an old fashion (Medieval) form of the nature guide. They were all the rage in the 1500’s.
But Soft, Real Soft: There is a scholarly debate over who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays. Many critics say that Marlowe (another Elizabethan playwright) wrote Shakespeare’s work. Others say Queen Elizabeth or Francis Bacon wrote the plays. Probably, odd as it may seem, Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare’s plays. The title refers to a line from Romeo and Juliet.
If the Impressionists Had Been Dentists: The Impressionist painter Van Gogh kept close correspondence with his brother Theo. Later a song and a movie were made from Van Gogh’s private letters. The title tells the rest of the joke.
No Kaddish for Weinstein: Kaddish is a Hebrew prayer of mourning usually recited at a person’s grave. Woody Allen often jokes about Freudian Psychoanalysis or therapy. He is using a comic technique of the non-sequiter (or surprising a reader by saying something unrelated to its subject or something that makes no sense or is nonsensical.)
Fine Times: An Oral Memoir: Another parody of a book review and autobiography of a fictional character. This one is about Flo Guinness, a speakeasy owner in the 1920’s. Alcohol was prohibited (illegal) in the early 1920’s and later repealed. Guinness is the name of a popular beer. Allen references many famous 1920’s musicians and people.
Slang Origins: The English language has so many weird expressions and sayings. Allen pokes fun at them in this “essay.”
Much of Allen's humor requires a little knowledge about form, content, or knowing a little bit about his life (or the life of a Jewish New Yorker intellectual). To help you, please refer to this page for explanation of the allusion and humor in Woody Allen's book.
The title: Refers to Emily Dickenson’s poem: “Hope is a thing with feathers.” Ergo, if you have no feathers, you have no hope.
Selections from the Allen Notebooks & The Early Essays: Both these essays parody the publishing industry’s love affair with memoir, creative non-fiction, and publishing a well-known author’s private writings after they have died. Hence, the humor of these weird insights into the famous “Woody Allen” journals. Traditionally, creative essay form always used the same form: the word “ON” and then the subject of the essay.
Examining Psychic Phenomena: The supernatural is always a good subject to parody. In this case, a review of a newly published “non-fiction” book on Psychic Phenomena. Look up Psychic Phenomena on the internet to see the sort of thing Allen is parodying.
The Guide to Some of the Lesser Ballets: When you attend an opera or ballet, inside your program you often get the story synopsis. Since opera is usually in another language, and ballet is hard to follow if you don’t know the story, these sorts of program notes are helpful in interpreting the performance. Allen, of course, is poking fun.
The Scrolls: A few years before the book was published, the Dead Sea Scrolls were uncovered. In the early 70’s this sort of thing caused a lot of controversy between religious scholars and scientists. They wondered if these scrolls were part of the Bible. Allen is also Jewish, so the humor relates to this fact as well.
Lovborg’s Women Considered: The playwright Henrick Ibsen is the bane and love of many literary scholars and theatre students. Woody Allen is poking fun of the field of literary criticism (scholars who write about books, authors, and their “private” lives).
The Whore of Mensa: Allen is parodying the hardboiled detective novel made popular by writers like Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon). Think of Humphrey Bogart as the narrator and you’ll have the idea. Mensa is a national program/club – entry into which is based on I.Q. The idea then of whores who intellectually stimulate their johns is a very funny idea.
Death, A Play: Allen was a philosophy major in college. He is also interested in psychology. The two main philosophical ideas this play refers to are existentialism and Nihilism. Existentialism is a type of writing or the study of answering the question: what is the meaning of life? Existentialism tries to explain what the meaning of life is. Some people believe we are alive for a reason, others are Nihilistic and say that there is no point in our existence, that there is no purpose to our lives. Kleinman is representative of everyman. He represents all of us. We sometimes don't know what our purpose in life is (Kleinman doesn't know his purpose in the play, for example). By the way, we are all being "stalked" by death, just as Kleinman is being stalked by the maniac. Death is the great equalizer. All living beings are going to die. Along with LOVE, DEATH is one of the most common themes in literature.
A Brief, yet Helpful, Guide to Civil Disobedience: People were protesting the Vietnam War when Woody Allen wrote this book. Even this serious topic is humor-fodder for writers. The allusion to The Trojan Women is referring to a Greek Tragedy (see: God) about the women of Troy banding together to protest the Trojan War.
Match Wits with Inspector Ford: In the 70’s books such as 5-Minute Mysteries were very popular. The idea was that the author gave you a very short mystery or crime. The answer to the “riddle” was in the back of the book. A fan of whodunits will enjoy this parody.
The Irish Genius: This is a parody (similar to Lovborg) but dealing with the poet William Butler Yeats. Yeats was an Irish culture fanatic and wrote “Irish” lyrics celebrating Gaelic and Irish legends. His poems drip with allusion and Allen plays around with this idea by providing fake “footnotes.”
God, a Play: Poking fun at Greek Theatre, Allen is also joking about writers and the process of writing a play and the challenges of performing it. Allen was a playwright before he became a film writer. So you can assume the Writer character is partly autobiographical. Of course, the character of “Woody” is also Allen’s alter-ego in the play. Enjoy the absurdist ideas of the piece. By the way, the machine reference in the play is a reference to: Deus Ex Machina (or God from the machine) referring to a contrived ending of a play (a God comes down and fixes the characters’ problems).
Fabulous Tales and Mythical Beasts: Bestiaries were an old fashion (Medieval) form of the nature guide. They were all the rage in the 1500’s.
But Soft, Real Soft: There is a scholarly debate over who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays. Many critics say that Marlowe (another Elizabethan playwright) wrote Shakespeare’s work. Others say Queen Elizabeth or Francis Bacon wrote the plays. Probably, odd as it may seem, Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare’s plays. The title refers to a line from Romeo and Juliet.
If the Impressionists Had Been Dentists: The Impressionist painter Van Gogh kept close correspondence with his brother Theo. Later a song and a movie were made from Van Gogh’s private letters. The title tells the rest of the joke.
No Kaddish for Weinstein: Kaddish is a Hebrew prayer of mourning usually recited at a person’s grave. Woody Allen often jokes about Freudian Psychoanalysis or therapy. He is using a comic technique of the non-sequiter (or surprising a reader by saying something unrelated to its subject or something that makes no sense or is nonsensical.)
Fine Times: An Oral Memoir: Another parody of a book review and autobiography of a fictional character. This one is about Flo Guinness, a speakeasy owner in the 1920’s. Alcohol was prohibited (illegal) in the early 1920’s and later repealed. Guinness is the name of a popular beer. Allen references many famous 1920’s musicians and people.
Slang Origins: The English language has so many weird expressions and sayings. Allen pokes fun at them in this “essay.”
11/23
Today, please do ANY of the following AFTER we have read Allen's Notebooks together.
A. Please submit a poem, short story, or essay to Lambent.
B. Please revise and correct any fiction drafts you have written this marking period.
C. Write new lyrics appropriate for an Improv audience to a holiday song. Keep rhythm and meter the same, just change the words and topics.
D. Complete any of the setting exercises from the previous handout.
E. Read Woody Allen.
HOMEWORK: Please read the SHORT STORIES/ARTICLES in Without Feathers. DO NOT READ the plays (God & Death) yet.
A. Please submit a poem, short story, or essay to Lambent.
B. Please revise and correct any fiction drafts you have written this marking period.
C. Write new lyrics appropriate for an Improv audience to a holiday song. Keep rhythm and meter the same, just change the words and topics.
D. Complete any of the setting exercises from the previous handout.
E. Read Woody Allen.
HOMEWORK: Please read the SHORT STORIES/ARTICLES in Without Feathers. DO NOT READ the plays (God & Death) yet.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wilderness Tips & Setting Exercise & an alternative
Please take 10 minutes to prepare for the quiz. After the quiz (or when you finish) please do one of the following tasks:
A. Choose one of the setting exercises depicted in your chapter on setting. Pick one of the 12 of these exercises and try one.
B. Choose a Traditional holiday, Christmas, or Hanukkah song and rewrite the lyrics. Our Improv troupe needs your writing abilities for their show: Dec. 3.
C. Prepare and submit work to Lambent--our literary magazine.
ANNOUNCEMENT: WE HAVE A COFFEEHOUSE DECEMBER 8 AT 7:00. We'd love to see you there. Spread the word!
A. Choose one of the setting exercises depicted in your chapter on setting. Pick one of the 12 of these exercises and try one.
B. Choose a Traditional holiday, Christmas, or Hanukkah song and rewrite the lyrics. Our Improv troupe needs your writing abilities for their show: Dec. 3.
C. Prepare and submit work to Lambent--our literary magazine.
ANNOUNCEMENT: WE HAVE A COFFEEHOUSE DECEMBER 8 AT 7:00. We'd love to see you there. Spread the word!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Reading/Writing Workshop & Setting
Today get into groups of 3-4. Together in your group, please do the following in any order, but keep track of time:
1. Read the Article on Setting (this is part of your homework and next class's exercise.) As you read together, help each other understand the article. Note questions so that you can ask me to clarify.
2. Please discuss the stories in Wilderness Tips together. Look at such things as plot, character, theme, and setting. If you were to write a similar story, what would you do differently? Where would you set your story? What character/plot changes would you make? What style of writing or genre would you use?
3. Print out a copy of your Hemingway or character story (only the most current draft). Together in your groups share your writing with your peers. Take turns to read and discuss your story with your workshop group.
HOMEWORK: Complete Wilderness Tips. Please bring your texts to class next class for the test. You will be tested on this book 11/19.
1. Read the Article on Setting (this is part of your homework and next class's exercise.) As you read together, help each other understand the article. Note questions so that you can ask me to clarify.
2. Please discuss the stories in Wilderness Tips together. Look at such things as plot, character, theme, and setting. If you were to write a similar story, what would you do differently? Where would you set your story? What character/plot changes would you make? What style of writing or genre would you use?
3. Print out a copy of your Hemingway or character story (only the most current draft). Together in your groups share your writing with your peers. Take turns to read and discuss your story with your workshop group.
HOMEWORK: Complete Wilderness Tips. Please bring your texts to class next class for the test. You will be tested on this book 11/19.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Hemingway Project Due & Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest
Please turn in your homework (response to one story regarding characterization and one story regarding setting--see below)
Note the following:
1. Your Hemingway drafts (all four of them) are due today. Please turn them in by the end of class. Work not printed and turned in today will be considered late. Please put draft 4 on top, draft 3, 2, and 1 on the bottom. Paperclip the drafts together please.
2. The Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest deadline is today. Please consider submitting 1-2 poems (of the many that you wrote). You can get information about the contest at the link. Use this link to submit your poem when you have proofread and revised it.
3. Work on your portfolio. Revise your character story or Hemingway story concentrating on SETTING.
4. Read: Wilderness Tips (all stories) Today, for homework or in the lab, please read "Wilderness Tips" and "Hack Wednesday."
Homework: Complete Wilderness Tips. For one of these stories please answer: How does POV (Point of View) and verb tense affect the writing style of one of the two remaining stories. What does writing in present tense do to us as a reader. Why is Atwood using this tense form? How does Atwood use POV effectively in the story?
There will be a quiz on this book on Friday. Please complete the collection by then.
For those of you who cannot enter Nancy Thorp (Hollins University) Poetry contest (or those who can), check here for another opportunity. Oops, this a pay contest with an entrance fee. Don't do it.
Note the following:
1. Your Hemingway drafts (all four of them) are due today. Please turn them in by the end of class. Work not printed and turned in today will be considered late. Please put draft 4 on top, draft 3, 2, and 1 on the bottom. Paperclip the drafts together please.
2. The Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest deadline is today. Please consider submitting 1-2 poems (of the many that you wrote). You can get information about the contest at the link. Use this link to submit your poem when you have proofread and revised it.
3. Work on your portfolio. Revise your character story or Hemingway story concentrating on SETTING.
4. Read: Wilderness Tips (all stories) Today, for homework or in the lab, please read "Wilderness Tips" and "Hack Wednesday."
Homework: Complete Wilderness Tips. For one of these stories please answer: How does POV (Point of View) and verb tense affect the writing style of one of the two remaining stories. What does writing in present tense do to us as a reader. Why is Atwood using this tense form? How does Atwood use POV effectively in the story?
There will be a quiz on this book on Friday. Please complete the collection by then.
For those of you who cannot enter Nancy Thorp (Hollins University) Poetry contest (or those who can), check here for another opportunity. Oops, this a pay contest with an entrance fee. Don't do it.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
A Look at 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 includes:
So that means setting refers to:
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.
3. Interior: locales INSIDE. Symbolically often refers to private/domestic issues.
4. Exterior: locales OUTSIDE. Symbolically often refers to societal issues.
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 (just to name a few):
• William Faulkner
• Stephen King
• H.P. Lovecraft
• Flannery O’Connor
• Bharakti Mukerjee
• Eudora Welty
Function of Setting:
1. Setting as Antagonist.
3. Setting as character portrait
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)
Apart from Character and Plot, Setting is one of the most important elements in your writing.
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
So that means setting refers to:
• The location (locale) or place the story is set
• The weather (including the season)
• The time
• The time period (historical period)
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.
3. Interior: locales INSIDE. Symbolically often refers to private/domestic issues.
4. Exterior: locales OUTSIDE. Symbolically often refers to societal issues.
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 (just to name a few):
• William Faulkner
• Stephen King
• H.P. Lovecraft
• Flannery O’Connor
• Bharakti Mukerjee
• Eudora Welty
Function of Setting:
1. Setting as Antagonist.
• Settings can cause problems/conflict for characters2. 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, goals4. Setting as quality of narrative vision
• Setting establishes trust between storyteller and audience5. Setting as reflection of theme or idea
• Description of setting helps reader visualize the fictional world
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)
Wilderness Tips & The Hemingway Story Project
After our quiz, we will discuss the two stories: True Trash & Hairball. After that, please continue to work on and complete your drafts.
Your 4 drafts are due at the end of class today. If you do not finish all four drafts, please complete this work for Monday, Nov. 15.
HOMEWORK: Please read Isis in Darkness, The Bog Man, Death By Landscape, Uncles, and The Age of Lead for Monday, Nov. 15. Choose one of these stories and discuss Atwood's use of characterization. Choose another one of these stories and discuss Atwood's use of setting. Each response should be a paragraph or two in length and specifically refer to the text and writing.
Your 4 drafts are due at the end of class today. If you do not finish all four drafts, please complete this work for Monday, Nov. 15.
HOMEWORK: Please read Isis in Darkness, The Bog Man, Death By Landscape, Uncles, and The Age of Lead for Monday, Nov. 15. Choose one of these stories and discuss Atwood's use of characterization. Choose another one of these stories and discuss Atwood's use of setting. Each response should be a paragraph or two in length and specifically refer to the text and writing.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Hemingway Project - Draft Four
Make sure you have completed Draft Three before attempting Draft Four. As always, please indicate the draft # on your heading.
Draft Four: Sentence length & Grammar
1. Keep your sentences short and declarative in your non-flashback section of the story. Remember dialogue sounds more realistic when you speak in short sentences or fragments.
2. In your flashback scenes, find moments where you digress and create long, complex sentences. Use em dashes (--) to indicate digressions. Use semi colons (;) to connect related clauses (but don't over use these). Use commas to make a simple sentence into a complex one. Use an ellipsis … to indicate trailing off. Use repetition of phrase (anaphora) to expand a comment.
Ex: Anaphora: “They knew who had shot their fathers, their relatives, their brothers, their friends…”;
Use conjunctions to add phrases to your independent clauses (and, or, but, etc.)
3. Try to find a rhythm in your writing. Most paragraphs start out with short sentences. This allows for a certain length of speed. Then as your sentences get longer and more complex, you can slow or speed the eye of the reader. Usually, you want important information to be delivered slowly. The use of repetition helps create a meter and rhythm for your sentence structure.
4. Spell check and proofread your work. Make sure the last draft is as complete as it can be (this version will be graded).
Turn in all four “drafts” of your story by Wednesday, Nov. 10.
HOMEWORK: Write enough to turn in ALL your drafts Wednesday. Check out and read Margaret Atwood's first two stories: True Trash & Hairball for next class. There will be a quiz on these stories.
Draft Four: Sentence length & Grammar
1. Keep your sentences short and declarative in your non-flashback section of the story. Remember dialogue sounds more realistic when you speak in short sentences or fragments.
2. In your flashback scenes, find moments where you digress and create long, complex sentences. Use em dashes (--) to indicate digressions. Use semi colons (;) to connect related clauses (but don't over use these). Use commas to make a simple sentence into a complex one. Use an ellipsis … to indicate trailing off. Use repetition of phrase (anaphora) to expand a comment.
Ex: Anaphora: “They knew who had shot their fathers, their relatives, their brothers, their friends…”;
Use conjunctions to add phrases to your independent clauses (and, or, but, etc.)
3. Try to find a rhythm in your writing. Most paragraphs start out with short sentences. This allows for a certain length of speed. Then as your sentences get longer and more complex, you can slow or speed the eye of the reader. Usually, you want important information to be delivered slowly. The use of repetition helps create a meter and rhythm for your sentence structure.
4. Spell check and proofread your work. Make sure the last draft is as complete as it can be (this version will be graded).
Turn in all four “drafts” of your story by Wednesday, Nov. 10.
HOMEWORK: Write enough to turn in ALL your drafts Wednesday. Check out and read Margaret Atwood's first two stories: True Trash & Hairball for next class. There will be a quiz on these stories.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Hemingway - Fiction Draft #3
Today in class please continue to complete the second draft of your Hemingway Project. See below for details. This should already be done, but if you needed more time or you procrastinated, do it now.
When you are ready to move on to the next draft, please see the instructions below:
Draft Three: Stream of Consciousness
1. Examine your flashbacks. Find moments where your character can include digressions, get stuck on topics, trail off, etc. You are trying to replicate or reproduce how the character’s mind works. See The Gambler, The Nun, & the Radio (end paragraph on opium) and A Clean Well Lighted Place (the ending paragraph on nada or "nothing")
2. Write these flashbacks using stream of consciousness.
When you are ready to move on to the next draft, please see the instructions below:
Draft Three: Stream of Consciousness
1. Examine your flashbacks. Find moments where your character can include digressions, get stuck on topics, trail off, etc. You are trying to replicate or reproduce how the character’s mind works. See The Gambler, The Nun, & the Radio (end paragraph on opium) and A Clean Well Lighted Place (the ending paragraph on nada or "nothing")
2. Write these flashbacks using stream of consciousness.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Hemingway - Fiction Draft #2
Most of Hemingway’s stories have simple plots revolving around the theme of death or alienation. Two characters usually do not have the same world view (or opinion) and their conversation or relationship is strained by miscommunication (or the fact that a character cannot explain him/herself to another human being.)
In your first draft you should have chosen a situation, written a story that focused on the here and now--a single moment or a limited time period in one location. You were instructed not to get into the minds of the characters yet. For further details, please refer to the assignment below this post.
By now you should have a completed draft #1. If you do not have a complete draft #1, please complete draft #1 and label it as such before you continue.
Complete? Then go on to these instructions:
Draft Two: Flashback
During period 8, please gather in your workshop groups. Share the character poem or other story drafts you have created. Discuss and analyze (take notes for the upcoming test) on the stories we have read so far in the Hemingway collection.
HOMEWORK: Please read and record on your note sheet information about these stories (pg. 65-94): "In Another Country", "The Killers", "A Way You'll Never Be" for Friday.
In your first draft you should have chosen a situation, written a story that focused on the here and now--a single moment or a limited time period in one location. You were instructed not to get into the minds of the characters yet. For further details, please refer to the assignment below this post.
By now you should have a completed draft #1. If you do not have a complete draft #1, please complete draft #1 and label it as such before you continue.
Complete? Then go on to these instructions:
Draft Two: Flashback
1. After you complete the basic story. Write a second draft including the following:
- a. Find moments in the story for your character to think about his/her past. Select these moments and for each one, develop the inner dialogue of your protagonist.
- b. This “flashback” should reveal personal opinions, reflect on the situation, and/or connect ideas and people with your character’s past. Your character’s past should be detailed with much verisimilitude.
- c. You may cover years or many days or a great length of time for your flashbacks. You may also change scenery or setting.
2. Separate your flashbacks by italicizing them.Complete your draft #2 today in the lab. Please label this draft, draft #2!
During period 8, please gather in your workshop groups. Share the character poem or other story drafts you have created. Discuss and analyze (take notes for the upcoming test) on the stories we have read so far in the Hemingway collection.
HOMEWORK: Please read and record on your note sheet information about these stories (pg. 65-94): "In Another Country", "The Killers", "A Way You'll Never Be" for Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)