Holy Smokes...blow the dust offa this puppy!

So here I am, back haunting this old site.  I really tried to avoid it for the most part, but...it's too hard to stay away!  NaNo WriMo started today, and since I am going to be a writing mess for the next thirty or so days (rewrites and edits don't count) I thought that it would be the perfect excuse to break back into daily journalism    by posting the happenings on the new novel that I am co-writing with my daughter.  The working title is called (drum roll..lbblblblblblblblblblblblb) The Timekeepers and it is something that we are both super excited about.  This is my fourth NaNo and my daughters second.  We both won last year, My first novel, The Arklight Compendium topped out at over 50,000 words with room for sequels and everything while my daughter (then in 6th grade) did a stunning 21,000 words in 30 days for her first novel, Alice of 1000 worlds!  Nothing to sneeze at and it's a pretty good book.
This years novel is coming along very well already.  We prepped the heck out of it, writing chapter summaries and character summary charts among other things.  It is fantastic Sci-Fi novel along the lines of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Warriors and the like.  I will be doing updates on a daily/semi-daily basis to just share how it is going and to more likely vent my frustrations out on the inter-webs. So for now know the basics...
Young protagonists Courtney and James Adams have their somewhat perfect and boring lives disrupted by a violent accident that takes the lives of their parents.  They are sent to live in foster care until the fateful day that they meet their estranged Uncle, Ezra Adams.  Ezra Adams takes on the responsibility of raising two very special young adults who come to find that they have power that most only dream of and that others will kill for.
 That's all for now, but thanks for sticking around.  More to follow
Resident Timekeeper,
C.Perez

Layering effects on writing

This weeks lesson on Layering also comes from Heather Sellers The Practice of Creative Writing: A Guide for Students, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008, Copyright Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008.

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The Truth is Stranger...

Here are the slides!  This next several weeks exercise were inspired from  Heather Sellers The Practice of Creative Writing: A Guide for Students, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008, Copyright Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008.

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Flash Fiction...

Here is the power point assignment that I used earlier today. You should have everything that you need.  If you are stuck, use the techniques for writing from the first semester
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Week 5: Working with Point of View

Point of View, in my opinion, is one of the most difficult and most liberating elements of writing.  Some writers have a hard time moving perspective at times from character to character let alone moving from 1st to 3rd person perspective.  This weeks activity will hopefully give you a chance to exercise this important feature in story writing.

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Plot: Frame work for story building

Remember, this is the initial idea of the story, not the story itself.  No one should be writing story yet, just laying out ideas and mechanics of the story.  Recount the events as quickly as possible.  When we sit down to write this, it will be great.

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Setting as a Third Character

This is one of those assignments that can get away from you if you are not careful.  Remember to stick with the senses and utilize what we have previously worked on.  Have fun!
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6 ways to get your story moving!

Here are the story suggestions if you needed to get the notes.
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Creating Surprise...(from Spunk and Bite)

Here is the slide with the sentences reprinted from "Spunk & Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style," Random House, 2007, copyright Arthur Plotnik 2007.  We will go over these tomorrow.  Remember that you can use a phrase if it calls for it, just don't be common or boring, DO make sense.
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UPDATE!!!  Thank you Mr. Plotnik!!!

Synethesia Activity: Making connections to unlikely ideas.

Here are the slides from today's class if you need them!  Remember to extend 3 of them into greater detail.
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Working with Simile and Metaphors

All of the simile and metaphor info that you can handle in one place...



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Flash Fiction

The Flash Fiction story is due tomorrow.  500 to 1000 words please.
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The Play's the thing...building the 10 min scripts.

Writing an original script can be something of an undertaking.  Scriptfrenzy, sponsored by our good friends in the S.F. Bay Area is a monumental task of 100 pgs of script in 30 days.  As attractive as that sounds for the writer in me, I know that if I throw that out there I will be hung by my heels from the flag pole.  Last time we attempted a feat of that magnitude so late in the year their was much grumbling and dissent. Not that I mind that part so much as that script writing takes on its own unique skill set that deals with format as much as story.  SO, with that in mind, we will be narrowing our scope from 100 pgs into the best 10 pgs that you could ever possibly read or see in the history of humanity...ok, that may not happen, but we will give it our best shot!  Cheers!
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The future of publishing...

I always count it a blessing when people share with me fun or amazing things...this is one such blessing.



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Spring...and poems run willy-nilly everywhere....

Poetry is always approached with a bit of levity for me. I know that I already explained this in class, but I just really feel lead to reiterate this idea. Don't get me wrong, I really do like poetry, but every time a student gives me a stack of "their poems" or a parent tells me at back to school night that their son/daughter is a "poetic genius" I inwardly freak out a little. It's not that I doubt their ability or that I don't believe the sincerity with which a parent will support and love their children, I just feel a bit aloof when it comes to making the inevitable judgement on if their work, usually bound in a special binder or other precious covering, is "good". Their is no worse place to be.
On one hand I feel an artists obligation to take a critical eye over their work, to consider all that I have come to learn about the forms and design, to really give them feedback on whether or not the work is, in fact, "good". If I do that I know that I am going to hurt feelings and alienate people who might really respect my opinion. Its the dilemma that is so frustrating. I want to ask them, sometimes, "Why me and my opinion? Isn't the act of creation enough and powerful that you don't require my approval? You didn't ask me if you could make the poem therefore it doesn't require my approval." And yet, I know how they are feeling. It is the sheer delight of having made a phrase that sinks into your skin, the idea that in spite of everything, my words ring true to my own ears and I identify, like a beacon, momentary truth in a very confusing and crazy world. I guess that secretly, poetry is a personal hurdle for me to leap. Clearly the power of the word is undeniable. After having vented all of that (sorry...) I really want you to know, that your work does not require my "approval" of good, bad, or indifferent. What matters is that you made it, love it, and will continue doing so. Be excited, share them with your friends and family. Represent!...
(I can't guarantee that the rest of my entrees for the Poetry unit will be any less weird, maybe that is good, I'm not really sure, but I will try to keep them both interesting and sincere.)
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Haiku, Tanka, Cinquain Form



Sonnets


French Rondeau/ Villanell/ Prose


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Braided Writing

This week and last week have been spent combining two different types of non-fiction writng, biography writing and photo writing.  By this point you should be finished(ing) the biography that you are going to share with your partner.  Please be sure to give them a digital copy of your work so that they can use it more easily in the braiding process.  This week's focus has been moving into the photo writing.  Pick a good photo and spend sometime figuring it out.  If you have questions, come see me.
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The truth is stranger than fiction...

Hey all!
This week our focus is slowly transitioning into Creative Nonfiction. "What is that?" you say...Well it is pretty much what it sounds like. The Creative retelling of a real event, sort of like "flavor enhanced" water. It's still water, just more palpable to the taste. We are going to take the skills that we have worked with over the first semester and apply them to factual events. The end result is usually a great story centered around a real event. Here are the slides for the first day with more to follow.



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Flash Fiction...

This first week back has been a good reminder for me that stories are everywhere. i found much of my freetime (what little I had) lamenting at not having either of my Flash Fiction writings done yet. Though I do have the most fantastic picture picked out, I will write it over the weekend for certain!

Here is the weeks slides with the lessons that we covered! Good luck on that last one!



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NaNo Week 1 Assignment: The Beginning...

This week Creative Writing students need to produce a beginning. As you well know by now, that does not nessicarily mean a "beginning" at the beginning, but a beginning, nonetheless! Check the slides, you will figure it out.



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Once upon a time...

Hey! It finally feels like we are under way with our first BIG writing assignment. The Children's Story always thrills and surprises me. I forget how much the books of our youth help impact and shape our ideas of who we become. Granted, much goes into the making of a "person" at any given stage of their life, but I find some great pleasure in knowing the things that I held as important as a child (teamwork is important Mr. Biddle and the Birds, you should try new food Green Eggs and Ham, It is always best to share what you love The Giving Tree), are still important to me today. The Children's Story will hopefully give you the opportunity to share some of these important ideas in a very unique format. I have posted the ground rules here, any adjustments will of course follow if necessary!

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