Vocab Quiz; Examining Tone, Diction, POV, Voice in Fiction

EQ: Have you learned the literary vocabulary we have covered so far in class? What are the components of "songs"? How does an author use tone, diction, POV, and voice effectively in a story? Prepare for our workshop on Thursday.

After our quiz, please read "Gerald's Song" (pg. 186-189) silently as other students finish. Be prepared to discuss how diction, POV, and tone work effectively in the story. Consider the title and the characteristics of songs:

• A composition for voice performed by singing
• A song may use only one voice (solo), or more than one performer (a chorus, for example)
• Songs are usually short and emotive pieces
• Songs often use repetition or a refrain

After reading the story, think about how the structure and voice of the piece function. Consider diction, POV, and tone as mentioned above. Compare your observations with the person to your left.

LAB: 

• We will hold a workshop on Thursday. Please write and prepare your writing for a workshop by completing anything you need to or have been working on. 
• Download Google Crome!
• Sign up for a Google account if you do not already have one!
• Use Google Drive to store your files so that others can access your drafts!
• Write a "song" in prose (or a traditional song in verse). Use "Gerald's Song" or one of your favorite songs as a model.
• Complete the stories in Sudden Fiction.

HOMEWORK: Please complete the story collection: Sudden Fiction. As you read the next few stories, consider how the authors use diction, tone, voice, and POV effectively. Be prepared to review the collection as a whole.

Diction, Tone, Voice in Poetry; Portfolio - week 3

After our poetry exercise, please note the following:

• Diction: word choice. (see notes below)
• Tone: the overall effect of the diction in a piece of writing, including the choice of subject, imagery, and design or structure (humorous, pedantic, suspenseful, mysterious, melancholy, pleasant, happy, etc.)
• Voice: the agent speaking in the poem or story
• Persona: the voice or speaker of a poem
• Connotation: the attached or assumed meaning of a word, apart from its dictionary or literal meaning 
• Denotation: the literal meaning of a word 
• Negative Capability: a poet should be open with or empathetic to his/her subject.
• Lyric poem: a short, emotive poem (60 lines or fewer)
• Narrative poem: a poem that tells a story (may have fictional/narrative qualities, such as dialogue, chapter headings, etc.)
• Long poem: lengthy poems that have a central idea, digressions, and multiple perspective (longer than 60 lines)
• Prose poem: often blocky or written as a paragraph or two, this is a short, short story that has poetic language and careful word choice (diction) to create an effect
• Poetic diction: tired, stale language often found in bad poetry (ex. rhyming unnecessarily, using elision, cliché, or inversion, etc.) 
• The cliche: Overused or common idioms used instead of creative writing
• Inversion: Reversing word order in a line of poetry (ex. Yoda speak: "A poem you are reading; Inversion it is.")
• Formal or informational language: overly technical language unsuitable to poetry; usually has a cold, dispassionate, or distant tone
• Syntax: word order in a sentence. May also refer to grammar and punctuation use. In English word order is usually NOUN + VERB + DIRECT OBJECT.

In the lab:

• Type up your poem draft.
• Continue your "Class Notes" story or "Things I Did" draft (see post below for details!)
• Continue writing work you have not yet completed.

At the end of class today, please print ALL new pages you wrote since last week. Check your portfolios if you are not sure what you have already printed out!

Portfolios are due at the end of class today!

HOMEWORK: Read the next few stories in Sudden Fiction: pg. 164-185. Read the handout from Mary Oliver on "Diction, Tone, and Voice"

Wait Until Dark

We are attending a field trip to Geva to see Wait Until Dark. If you have been left behind, please use the time to catch up on your creative writing classes. See previous posts for the writing assignment.

HOMEWORK: None.

Class Notes; POV & Voice

When we write stories there are some questions that an author should answer before sitting down to write. Apart from using various techniques to brainstorm or come up with an idea to write about, we must decide:

• Which POV am I going to use?
• Which genre am I going to use to write my story?
• Who is my protagonist? What does my protagonist want?

Let's look at POV today.

Choosing a POV for your character: It helps to know basic ideas for your character before choosing a POV:
We want to answer this Major Question: Who is the story about?

--Someone who is most interesting
--Someone who is involved in the action of the story
--Someone who has the most to gain or lose from the event

1st Person POV: Main character is the narrator (good subjectivity, but lacks objectivity, limited to one character’s mind). This is the best choice when you have a single protagonist who is involved in telling the story from his/her own POV.

2nd Person POV: Main character is the “reader”, used through an objective and omniscient “I” narrator (difficult to maintain for a long time, reader must be willing to play the part, difficult to reach into reader’s mind). This is the best choice for experimentation.

3rd Person POV: Omniscient or Limited
Omniscient narrators can tell the story of many characters, but this can be confusing. The reader may not know who the story is about or whose conflict is important.
A limited POV allows the writer to focus on one particular character. The story told is the story of that character. Consistent POV gives a story coherence. Inconsistent POV confuses the reader.

Reliable narrators versus unreliable narrators: if a narrator is telling the truth or has good reason to tell the truth, we can trust the narrator at face-value. If the narrator is lying to us, or is a shady-kind of person, then we can't always believe what he/she says is true. As you write, consider whether or not the voice you are writing in can be trusted!

Vocabulary: PLEASE STUDY THESE TERMS!

Diction: word choice. Select words in your poem carefully to carry the most meaning. All words have a denotative meaning and a connotative meaning. Understatement, euphemism, and other rhetorical strategies may be used to affect a poem's diction. Speaking to your elderly grandparents uses a different diction than speaking to your "homies".

Voice: The agent or "speaker" speaking through the poem or story. Also called the "persona" or "narrator".

Tone: Often the attitude of your speaker or the voice. Identified in a poem or fiction by diction.

• Tone can be formal or informal depending on the diction a poet uses.
• Tone can be ironic, sarcastic, serious, pedantic, or hyperbolic depending on the voice a poet selects.
• Tone can be positive or negative or neutral. Selecting one of these tones can or should affect your diction.

LAB: After reading "Class Notes" & "Things I Did to Make it Possible", please select one of the following prompts to work on in the lab for your weekly writing submission.

A. Write "class notes" for the people in one of your classes (this one or another one). Where will each of your classmates be in the next thirty years? PLEASE change the name of your peers so that you make this FICTION and not just mean-spirited.
Alternatively, you may create a "family newsletter" like those given out during the holidays for a fictional family or even for your own family.  

B. Like "Things I Did..." make a list of ways in which your narrator accomplished something important to his or her life. You may change the tone and write something so insignificant to make a parody of this exercise as well.  

C. Alternatively, you may write a poem or a short scene instead of a fiction piece, if you'd prefer.

HOMEWORK: Please read the stories in the collection between pg. 133-163. Please prepare for our field trip to Geva to see Wait Until Dark by reading the materials I have provided for you. Please dress appropriately, bring a bagged lunch, and come to the Commons on Wednesday right after 2nd period. 

Fiction Discussion; Lab & Week Two Submissions

Please gather in groups and discuss the short stories in the book: (pg. 88-105).
Complete the ? sheet and turn in for participation credit.

Your homework was to read the stories and identify the setting, summarize the plot in one-two sentences, and identify the major/important character(s) in each story.

After your discussion, please return to the lab to continue to write your "questionnaire" or "hit man" stories (see post below for details!)

HOMEWORK: Please read the stories between pg. 106-121. As you read, consider how the authors write interesting or effective short stories.

A Note About Grading, the Lab, & Portfolios

I will be using a simple rubric for the writing pieces you complete in the lab. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the rubric so that you can submit work of the best quality.

Each week (except for workshop weeks) you will be able to submit the writing you are working on (whether it is completed, revised, or incomplete). From these submissions you will be asked to workshop and craft certain pieces throughout the marking period. These pieces may be revised, polished, "crafted", and turned in at the end of the marking period to comprise part of your quarter grade.

5 = Exemplary4 = Accomplished3.5 = Developing3 = Beginning

Exemplary: Thoroughly developed and thought provoking characters, plot, structure, conflict, theme, and setting. Title and structure is thoughtful revealing important themes or symbolic ideas. Opening of story hooks and interests reader. Author uses vivid and artistically appropriate description, voice, POV, imagery, and compelling dialogue that reveals characterization or moves plot (if appropriate). Work has no errors in format. Has few errors in spelling punctuation, syntax, and usage. Work includes evidence of several revised drafts. A good example of strong writing or work is evident of a skilled writer. Uses lab and class time to full extent to complete writing projects.

Accomplished: Well developed characters, plot, conflict, theme, and setting. Title and structure is appropriate for the story. Opening of story is appropriate to hook the reader. Author uses good description and dialogue, voice, POV, imagery, etc. Format may have a few minor errors. Has some errors in spelling, punctuation, and usage but nothing that gets in the way of the reader’s ability to discern meaning. Work includes evidence of some revision. A good example of crafted writing at the student's grade level. Usually uses lab and class time but may occasionally be off-task.

Developing: Fairly well developed characters, plot and setting, conflict and theme is present but not compelling as "accomplished or exemplary writers", but piece may have gaps. title and structure is okay, but does not necessarily reveal insight. Uses some description or dialogue, but with uneven success. Format has several errors. Has errors in spelling punctuation and usage that distracts the reader. Work may be accomplished, but story was late. Work includes some evidence of revision (drafts), but revision is largely in grammar and syntax, rather than restructuring. A fair example of on-grade level ability and writing skill. Uses lab and class time sometimes, but often is off topic or surfing the internet for unrelated materials.

Beginning: Development of character, plot and setting, conflict, theme, etc. is on a very basic level, although these elements are present. Story is untitled or structure lacks creativity or insight. Uses limited description and dialogue. Format is incorrect or difficult to follow. Author has careless errors in spelling, punctuation, and usage. Work includes little or no evidence of revision. Story may be developing, but work was turned in late. Story is largely incomplete or undeveloped. An example of a struggling student or work that is not up to 10th grade writing standards. Student does not use lab or class time effectively, often off task or disruptive.

Hit Man Story in Chapters

Bell work: on your index card, define the following literary terms:

• Character
• Plot
• Characterization
• Setting
• White space

After sharing your definitions, let's read a story or two to set up our next writing assignment for the lab.

This afternoon, please read the short story: "The Hit Man" by T.C. Boyle and "A Questionnaire for Rudolph Gordon" by Jack Matthews.

In the lab, choose either option A or B (or both) and write a short story draft for your portfolio.

A. Write a short story in at least 5-10 mini-chapters. Give each chapter a heading or title. Separate your chapters, as T.C. Boyle does in his story with a line break (white space) between chapter headings. Each scene should include enough information to develop your story and provide your reader with a plot (your story should have a climax), character definition (characterization), and appropriate, clearly understood setting.
B. Write a story using only questions, or a survey format as Matthews does in his short story. Try to write a story with at least 10 or more questions. Your questions should also attempt to develop your character, the situation or plot, and indicate a clearly understood setting.

Option: You may also try option A, as a script (play or film) or try option B as a poem.

Terms Defined:

• White Space (and why to use it!)
• Plot
• Character
• Characterization
• Setting

If you finish one draft, you may select another format for a second or third story--or combine forms and see what happens. Write, write, write!

HOMEWORK: Please read the next couple of short stories in the book: (pg. 88-105). For each short story in the collection, please identify the setting, summarize the plot in one-two sentences, and identify the major/important character(s) in the story. Put this information in your journal. We will discuss these stories next class.