Sherman Alexie: The Lone Ranger & Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

Sherman Alexie references or alludes (allusion) to various key historical, fictional characters and events in his stories. Here are a few definitions/descriptions that may help you:

• HUD: Housing and urban development (department of the U.S. government). 
• Drugs: Native Americans have a higher risk for alcoholism and drug use. Many Native American tribes used "drugs" like tobacco and peyote as medicine for spirit walks or to contact the "other" world. European settlers introduced Native Americans to alcohol--Native Americans introduced European settlers to tobacco. 
• Jimi Hendrix: In the 60's, the hippies were interested in celebrating Native American culture. You can see that in their dress and anti-government protests. They often saw "Indians" as the original people before the government held power over the people. Jimi Hendrix was a guitar player/musician who attended Woodstock. Notice how he's dressed.
• Desert Storm was the name given to the Gulf War with Iraq in 1990.
• Crazy Horse: Sioux leader and military figure 
• Lakota: one of the 500 tribes.
• Totem animals
• The Lone Ranger & Tonto & the meaning of the word: Kemosabe
• Powwow
• Vision Quest

HOMEWORK: Please complete the short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Write a 3-5 paragraph review of the book, particularly explaining what you learned about the art of short story writing from Sherman Alexie. Use specific examples from his stories to support your statements. This critique/review is due Dec. 1.

Sherman Alexie's Writerly Advice; Character Development

Please spend the first 5 minutes of class today completing the character exercise.

Sherman Alexie: "I started writing because I kept fainting in human anatomy class and needed a career change. The only class that fit where the human anatomy class had been was a poetry writing workshop. I always liked poetry. I'd never heard of, or nobody'd ever showed me, a book written by a First Nations person, ever. I got into the class, and my professor gave me an anthology of contemporary Native American poetry called Songs From This Earth on Turtle's Back. I opened it up and--oh my gosh--I saw my life in poems and stories for the very first time."

Sherman Alexie's top 10 Tips for Writers
Various videos/interviews by Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie's interview with Stephen Colbert

• Some ideas/prompts to develop characters. Use any of these prompts to flesh out and develop the characterization of characters from your drafts.
• Story idea: write from the perspective or voice of a Native American. Put yourself in someone else's moccasins. Develop your character by providing physical details, character traits, and psychological traits. 
• Story idea: If you had a totem animal, what would it be? How would it find you? What might it say to you? What might it symbolize about your "character"?
• Story idea: Thanksgiving. Write a story that takes place during this holiday.
• Story idea: Use Alexie's writing style and model your own fictional story from his structure. 
• Story/Poem idea: See your "life in stories and poems for the first time" in your life. Write about one of these events.
• Story idea: Write about your mother or father's life before you were born, but fictionalize events, details. Use the story "Because My Father Always Said...At Woodstock" (pg. 24-36) as a model. You might also write a story in which you recount and analyze the phrase that your father or mother or grandparent(s) always say to you. Start your story with: "My ____ used to always say to me..." or something of that sort.

LAB: Spend some time learning about writing from Sherman Alexie. Use the link above to develop and work with your characters in your fiction.

Continue writing. Please print out your fiction (or as much as you have written in the past few weeks) and put these drafts in your portfolio.

HOMEWORK: Complete the short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Write a 3-5 paragraph review of the book, particularly explaining what you learned about the art of short story writing from Sherman Alexie. Use specific examples from his stories to support your statements. This critique/review is due Dec. 1.

SOTA's Creative Writing Department!

Welcome to the Creative Writing Department!

Our program includes the best of contemporary and world literature with emphasis on student original composition in the four literary genres:

• poetry
• fiction
• creative non-fiction 
• script writing 

We prepare students for college and professional success!

Our students have won such literary awards as:

• Gannon University (Berwyn Moore Poetry Awards)
• SOKOL (Friend of Rochester Public Library)
• Geva's Young Playwrights' Contest
• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
• NFAA Young Arts
• Nancy Thorpe Poetry Contest (Hollins University)
• Harvard-Radcliffe Essay Contest
• New England Young Writers Conference 
• Penfield Poetry Contest
• National Virgilio Haiku Contest
• Rochester Teen Film Festival

and many others...

Our students participate in:

• Master classes with published authors!
• Reader's Theater productions!
• Playwrights' Festival productions!
• Coffeehouse Poetry & Fiction Readings & Poetry Slams!
• Literary magazine: Lambent!
• School newspaper: Sotacrat & Chronicle
• Podcasting, blogging, film production, desktop publishing and so much more!

See our handouts for more details!

Our program meets (and exceeds) the NYS Common Core Standards in English Language Arts.

Sample Original Student Films:

• I Dream of Zucchini; Maddie Feldman, graduated 2013
• Toothbrush Ad; Gus Cuddy, graduated 2013
• Czar Wars; Nicole Ehmann, Gena Driscoll, graduation date 2015

A Note About Character; Lab

Let's play around a bit with a few character exercises. These are meant to be done relatively quickly, without a lot of worry or procrastination. As always, prompts and exercises are not the point, but are prewriting--the first step in the writing process. They can also be used to unstick us when we are blocked!

The least you need to know: Character Vocab

• Character: an imagined person who inhabits a story.
• Hero/Heroine: The main character of a story
• Villain: The character who opposes the main character
• Antihero: A normal, ordinary character (usually a character with human flaws)
• Protagonist: The main character of a story
• Antagonist: The opponent of the protagonist (this may be a natural force or setting too)
• Foil: Either one who is opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main character by contrast, and perhaps by setting up situations in which the protagonist can show his or her character traits. A foil is a secondary character who contrasts with a major character but, in so doing, highlights various facets of the main character's personality.

Characters can be either major or minor, round or flat.

Major characters are characters who are important to the conflict and plot of the story. They often have motivations linked with the main conflict

Minor characters are characters who are not necessarily important to the story. They often are used to develop the main characters or to provide rising action or complications to the plot.

Round characters have a distinct motivation and personality or "voice"; Often they are complex and dynamic (they change through the conflict of the story)

Flat characters are characters that do not change significantly through the conflict of the plot. Sometimes the reader knows or cares little about them because of lack of detail or purpose. Often, Flat characters are representative (allegorical or symbolic)

Stereotypes (aka stock characters): Characters who are generally recognized as a "type"; These characters lack individuality and often can be boring because we already know how they will act and why.

How is Character Disclosed in Literature?
Through characterization!

1. What the characters themselves say (and think, if the author expresses these thoughts).
2. What the characters do.
3. What other characters say about them.
4. What the author says about them, speaking as storyteller or observer.

LAB:
Continue writing fiction. See post below for details. As you write, consider how you are developing your character. If this is hazy still in your mind, start creating a backstory for your character as PREWRITING or use one of the exercises we did today in class, then use that information to help you continue writing your story.

HOMEWORK: Please read the introduction and "Every Little Hurricane" from the collection The Lone Ranger & Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. In the short story ("Every Little Hurricane") answer the following:

1. Who is the story's protagonist? Is this character a hero, villain, antihero, round, flat or stock character? Explain why you answered that using examples from the text.
2. List the minor characters in the story. How do these characters help define the protagonist? 
3. Locate and identify one passage (a paragraph or two) in this story that the author uses to characterize his protagonist. Explain how the author uses characterization in this passage.

Our Coffeehouse performance is Thursday. Please select a piece to read and rehearse it, if you are planning on attending!

Portfolio Advice

Some questions kept coming up in your self reflections. I will attempt to answer these problem areas and also give you some guidance and tips about strengthening your writing:

• Question: How can I get motivated to write?
• Most writers will answer this by stating that they cannot help but write. A professional writer is someone who spends their free and spare time, making time in their day, that is, to write. Even talent cannot make you a professional. Writers are people who write. Period.
• TIP: Don't spend your time thinking about writing or talking about that great idea. Instead, sit down and type or write in your notebook. Nothing should pull your focus away from this essential rule!
• TIP: Relax. You don't have to be great at this moment. You are only 14-17 years old. There is no such thing as perfection. Even the best authors think they write some bad work. It happens. We can't always be at the top of our game--that's simply being realistic and human! So give yourself a break!
• The universe does not owe you anything. We make our own successes by working at them. Yes, writing is work. It can be fun, pleasurable, and even necessary, but it is work. Try to train yourself to realize, just like training for a sport, lifting weights, or exercising regularly, the more you spend your time writing, the more likely it is you will get better at it!
• Create an artificial deadline for yourself. Set a word count minimum for the day. If you set your creative writing word minimum at 100 words per period or even day, don't go to bed or move on to another project until you have completed these words. If the word count is too easy, increase it gradually until it is a challenge, but not impossible to meet.
• Decide that you ARE going to use your time to write. Then do it.
• Remove distractions to the best of your ability. Realize that this is hard to do. In this class, in this school, in this lab--we have to agree that this is our sacred writing time. Do NOT bother one another. You should be writing and your best friends, if you really care about them, should be writing too!
• Create a contest with yourself or a writer friend. Who can be the first one to write 3 pages of prose? Who can write a sonnet before the other one writes one? 
• Restrict yourself--make up your own rules and stick by them. One writer (Georges Perec) decided to write a novel that never used the letter "E". He succeeded (but he called it a "win")! The novel I'm referring to is "A Void". Read about it here.
• Motivational Sites for writers: (from "PR Daily")
• 1. Writer’s Digest. This site is overflowing with resources for writers. Writer’s Digest also publishes its 101 Best Websites for Writers. 
  
  2. Son of Bold Venture. Esquire contributor Chris Jones offers entertaining tips on writing and observations of the profession. Particularly geared toward Journalists. 
  
  3. Write to Done. Tips about writing.
  
  4. The Grammarphobia Blog. Grammar police and casual writers alike will find this blog funny, useful, and entertaining.
  
  5. Writing White Papers. Writer Michael Stelzner's blog.
  
  6. Inkwell Editorial. A fantastic starting point for anyone looking to get into freelancing. While you’re at it, check out Freelance Writing Jobs, which offers daily updates to help writers get paid for what they do. (Yes. PAID!) 
  
  7. Six Sentences. Here’s the gist: Writers submit stories that consist of six sentences. Pretty simple, right? No, not simple at all. You try telling a good story in six sentences. Seriously, try it and then submit it to Six Sentences blog.
  
  8. Wordsmith.org. This site offers daily tips for writers. 
  
  9. The Writer Underground. Tom Chandler's blog, which includes some interesting, original interviews with professional writers. 
  
  10. Daily Writing Tips. This site offers daily, relevant writing tips on word usage, grammar, and punctuation. Many of you need this terribly! No offense meant but your grammar and punctuation skills are really bad. We try to help, but you've got to take the responsibility of your own learning here. Read this daily!
• Question: How do I get ideas? How do I know what to write?
• Stephen King addressed this already. I have addressed this. Every professional writer has addressed this. Where do we get ideas?
• From our lives
• From our imagination
• From talking to people (but not in the lab when you should be writing!)
• From reading!
• From READING!
• FROM READING!!!
• Here: read this article and it will explain what I'm trying to explain.
• As you know, writing prompts can help budge you a bit, and programs and courses like this one can help "require" you to write so you get practice, but ultimately it is the writer's responsibility to find a reason to write. There is no muse that sprinkles "art" dust on your head to get you to come up with creative ideas. 

In the lab: 

Work on Stephen King's prompt. Use the time in the lab to write. Notice his rules for his prompt. Don't like what he prompts you to do? Change anything you'd like in his scenario, as long as you're writing. 

Don't like that either? write about: 

• A practical joke that goes wrong
• A story about human endurance
• A story about hope
• A story about revenge
• A story about sin (or correcting mistakes made in one's life)

You may use Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations (see previous post) to help you. 

HOMEWORK: None. Our coffeehouse is Nov. 20 at 7:00 in the Ensemble Theater. We'd love to see you there!

Stephen King: On Writing

Stephen King makes some of these points about writing successfully in his book:

• To be a successful writer you need to do two things as a consistent habit:
• Read
• Write
• Find a space of your own to write. Call this space sacred and keep distractions out (make sure it has a door!)
• Write about what you want to write about--but tell the TRUTH (as you see it).
• You will start writing like every other writer in the world by reading and modeling your style on the authors you read.
• Fiction consists of three important parts:
• Narration (moves a story from beginning to end)
• Description (this includes imagery & detail--specific nouns, active verbs, etc.)
• Dialogue (develops character; should push plot along)
• Your job as a writer is like an archeologist trying to dig a fossil out of rock. Sometimes the specimen comes out whole and only needs brushing off. Most of the time it will come out in pieces.
• Base your stories on situations: a speculative idea, for example. Ask yourself "What if...?"; Situations come first. See George Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations!

Class Exercise: In your assigned group (or alone if you are not in a group), please examine Stephen King's short stories and discuss how the author uses narration, description, and dialogue in an effective way. Also: consider how the title adds meaning or points to what is important in the story, and how the author builds suspense by revealing information at certain points to create a larger, more vivid picture for the reader. Consider discussing what surprised you in the stories you read, what passages you thought were effectively written, and examine King's craft. To what conclusion do you come?

Lab Exercise: Use Stephen King's writing exercise as a jumping off point for a story of your own. Read the handout and write the story as he directs you to.

Print out any piece you didn't already print for your portfolio. Portfolios are being collected and are due today!

HOMEWORK: Read Stephen King's collection. Continue to write your story.

Stephen King: Writing Advice; Portfolio Due!

This afternoon, please read the short article on writing by Stephen King.

Stephen King on Writing
Stephen King on the Art of Storytelling
Stephen King Speaks About How He Gets Inspired (Lecture)

• On the index card provided to you, please identify and list the stories you have read or plan to read from Stephen King's collection: Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
• On the back of the card, please list 3 bits of advice Stephen King gives to young or aspiring authors.

Next class, be prepared to answer the following questions for each of the short stories you have read in the collection:

• Who is the protagonist of the story?
• How does King characterize his characters through actions, description, thoughts, and dialogue?
• What is the setting of the story?
• What is the tone of the story and how does King create a mood with his diction?
• How do the events in the story build suspense or conflict?
• How do the stories you read resolve?

Take notes and be able to cite passages to support your answers! Bring notes with you to class.

Lab: Portfolio:

Your portfolio should have the following in it by the end of class today:

• Reflection for 1st quarter
• labeled: best poem
• labeled: best fiction
• labeled: best crafted piece (fiction or poetry)
• Newest revisions should be placed ON TOP of older drafts
• Keep copies of all your work you wrote this marking period in the portfolio.
• Remove homework assignments
• Remove pre-writing or handwritten drafts (if needed)

If you finish early, spend your time reading and completing the homework, or spend your time writing.

Portfolios are due today!

HOMEWORK: Please read AT LEAST 3 stories in the collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes. Take notes on the bulleted points above and be prepared to examine King's craft of writing next class!