tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92070357816845337752011-04-21T13:51:19.391-07:00L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.comBlogger111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-44616426180829067642009-04-15T10:30:00.001-07:002009-04-15T10:37:35.186-07:00Avoid cliches in your writing.  Here are a few examples of cliches--you should avoid using all of them!<div><br /></div><div><ul><li>As quick as lightning</li><li>It was a dark and stormy night</li><li>It was love at first sight</li><li>Everything happens for a reason</li><li>Tall, dark, and handsome</li><li>Life is like a box of chocolates</li><li>Sports metaphors: Winning isn't everything--it's the only thing</li><li>We were born ready</li><li>Opposites attract </li><li>Things come and go</li><li>It was all a dream</li><li>Please, Mr. Wieffering is my father...call me Freddy.</li><li>Ugly bridesmaids dresses</li><li>tall drink of water</li><li>rain in a scary story</li><li>The word "beautiful"</li><li>Stock characters like the nerd; popular girl/guy; ordinary, nondescript average man, blond, blue-eyed beauty, cheerleader, Disney movies</li></ul></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-4461642618082906764?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-23248429447649330122009-03-04T12:40:00.000-08:002009-03-04T12:41:38.139-08:00<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>School is sometimes good<br />Lunch time is the best time, yeah<br />School is out by two.<br /><br /><br />The cold makes me sad<br />Winter chases away light,<br />But you bring back warmth<br />Like the sun melting the snow<br />You are like flowers in bloom.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-2324842944764933012?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-54980445394835571962009-03-04T06:01:00.000-08:002009-03-04T06:05:43.593-08:00<ul><li>Thursday, March 5: 3 poet's philosophy papers due (2 pages each = 6 pages)</li><ul><li>Don't forget the Works Cited pages<br /></li></ul><li>Thursday, March 5: Peer Editing</li><li>Thursday, March 12: Own Philosophy of Poetry due</li><ul><li>Don't forget the Works Cited page<br /></li></ul><li>Thursday, March 12: Peer Editing</li><li>Tuesday, March 17: Own poetry due</li><li>Tuesday, March 17: Peer Editing</li><li>Tuesday, March 24: Final Poetry Project Due</li><ul><li>Don't forget to include the poems you love!<br /></li></ul><li>Tuesday, March 24-Wednesday, March 25: Poetry Presentations</li><li>Thursday, March 26: Writing Notebooks Due<br /></li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-5498044539483557196?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-35562651860459182752009-02-11T19:47:00.000-08:002009-02-11T19:52:39.977-08:00<ul><li>Writing notebooks: Friday, February 13th--added assignment: From today, read excerpt from Susan Allen Toth's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Leaning into the Wind</span> and write a personal story retelling a past experience where the weather is a character in the story.</li><li>First Completed Draft of Memoir: Tuesday, February 17th</li><li>Final Draft of Memoir: Friday, February 20th</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-3556265186045918275?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-76817161004542576822009-02-03T12:05:00.001-08:002009-02-04T20:09:25.277-08:00For the memoir you are reading on your own, you need to write four journals/posts while you are reading and then one last journal as a reflection on the entire book (a total of 5 journals). Each journal should be <span style="font-weight: bold;">at least</span> one page long.<br /><br />Think about the writer's craft. You may want to write about:<br /><ul><li>literary devices the author uses</li><li>style elements</li><li>affect the writing has on you</li><li>favorite passages and explain why they are your favorite passages</li></ul><br />Due dates:<br /><ul><li>1st post due Friday, February 6th.</li><li>2nd post due Wednesday, February 11th.</li><li>3rd post due Tuesday, February 17th.</li><li>4th post due Thursday, February 19th.</li><li>Final reflection on entire book due Tuesday, February 24th.</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-7681716100454257682?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-56408913574923282822009-02-03T11:52:00.000-08:002009-02-03T12:05:09.303-08:00In the computer lab:<br />Two blog posts are due<br />Make sure you have access to the class wiki: creativewritingquest.wikispaces.com<br />Set up your aggregator: either google reader or netvibes.com<br />Add sitemeter: sitemeter.com<ul><ul><ul><li>Go to sitemeter.com</li></ul><ul><li>Sign up for free</li></ul><ul><li>Once you have an account, go to manager</li></ul><ul><li>Click on html</li><li>Copy html</li><li>Go to your blog's layout page<br /></li><li>Add a gadget</li><li>Click on add html</li><li>Paste the sitemeter html</li><li>Save the gadget</li><li>Save the layout<br /></li></ul></ul></ul>Add a picture to your blog<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-5640891357492328282?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-72659894081541721042009-02-02T09:47:00.000-08:002009-02-02T09:51:24.566-08:00Class Activities:<br /><ul><li>Sign up for memoir</li><li>Make sure Ms. Peifer knows what your blog address is</li><li>Writing prompt</li><li>Read Alice Walker's "My Mother's Blue Bowl"</li><li>Write a reaction in your reading reaction notebook on the writer's craft.<br /></li></ul><br />Writing Prompt:<br /><ul><li>Choose a physical characteristic to write about: your hand, your hair, your foot, your freckles, your laugh, your height, etc. What are the emotional implications of that physical characteristic?</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-7265989408154172104?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-88894022039117867302009-01-28T07:59:00.001-08:002009-01-28T08:01:15.189-08:00Read Tim O'Brien's short story "How to Tell a True War Story."  Then, in your reading reaction notebook, write the following journal:<div><br /></div><div>What do yo think about how O'Brien writes about truth?  He is specifically addressing war stories, but can this be applied to stories in general?  What do you like/dislike about the story?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-8889402203911786730?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-84536577433343832492009-01-27T12:01:00.001-08:002009-01-27T12:07:24.978-08:00After reading the excerpt from The Names: A Memoir by N. Scott Momaday, comment on two of your favorite phrases. Explain why you liked these phrases. Why are they affective? What do they highlight?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-8453657743334383249?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-10765204867052212982009-01-27T11:57:00.000-08:002009-01-27T12:01:05.152-08:00Write about a specific memory that you have from your children--a day you spent in a park, camping, or any other moment outside. Describe the weather and the environment. How did you feel? What specific details do you remember about your day in the park?<br /><ul><li>Use sensory details</li><li>Show (don't tell)!</li><li>You may need to fill in some of the details<br /></li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-1076520486705221298?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207035781684533775.post-46719358731782813072009-01-21T18:53:00.000-08:002009-01-21T19:04:06.426-08:00Creative Writing is an intensive course designed to challenge skilled student writers to broaden their skill by working in various literary genres. Students will study and analyze a variety of writers, and employ literary techniques to create original poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Students will also analyze their own creative writing process.<br /><br />Course Overview:<br />You must keep a writing notebook throughout this course as well as a reading response notebook. One is for your own writing; the other is for the analysis of other people’s writing. There will be many assignments in this course so you must be organized and disciplined in your work habits.<br /><br />1. Week One-Five: Poetry<br /><br />Readings: Selections from:<br /> “If I Could Tell You” W. H. Auden<br /> “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Dylan Thomas<br /> “Sestina” Elizabeth Bishop<br /> “Blackberry Picking” Seamus Heaney<br /> “It’s a Woman’s World” Eavan Boland<br /> “anyone lived in a pretty how town” e. e. cummings<br /> various essays on poetry<br /><br />2. Week Six-Ten: Memoir<br /><br />Readings: Selections from:<br /> “My Mother’s Blue Bowl” Alice Walker<br /> excerpt from The Names: A Memoir N. Scott Momaday<br /> excerpt from Leaning Into the Wind: A Memoir of Midwest Weather Susan Allen Toth<br /> excerpt from Colors of the Mountain Da Chen<br /> excerpt from Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance Barack Obama<br /> excerpt from The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother James McBride<br /> Various essays on memoirs<br /><br />3. Week Eleven-Fifteen: Fiction<br /><br />Readings: Selections from:<br /> “The Overcoat” Nikolai Gogol<br /> “The Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin<br /> “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner<br /> “Roman Fever” Edith Wharton<br /> “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway<br /> “The Catbird Seat” James Thurber<br /> “The Hunger Artist” Franz Kafka<br /> various essays on fiction<br /><br />4. Week Sixteen-Eighteen: Final Project<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9207035781684533775-4671935873178281307?l=creativewritingquest.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>L. M. Peiferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01276153387381497606noreply@blogger.com0