This week I'd like to focus in on description. It's important to pay attention to your surroundings because life moves fast and we may miss it! One of my favorite activities is people watching. I do it everywhere I go. My favorite place is an airport or a coffeeshop when I can sit back and watch unobtrusively. But if you get into the habit of "paying attention" any public place is up for grabs. This week I would like you to start noticing the people around you. Libraries, coffeeshops, malls, sporting events, fast food restaurants, parks, and grocery stores all make for good character observation experiences. Get into the habit of carrying a small notebook with you at all times. Jot down fascinating conversations you overhear, wild and crazy outfits you see, unusual habits people have, and anything else that you find to be different.
For this week's post, I'd like each of you to describe some of your "eccentric" findings.
Some of my own observations from the week include:
“’Tell me a happy story’ she said. So I did. And then she cried.” Overheard on Shrewsbury St. in Worcester between two dark haired boys.
“Latest update......I punched 400 holes into what can only be described as cardboard covered steel disguised as paper...seriously, you all better like those save the date invitations..” and the other guy replied “You are such a *%&$%^” Overheard while sitting in a Starbucks.
"Can you believe she was SO drunk that she peed on that? Conversation between two girls while walking down the hall at Algonquin this morning.
She had on metallic gold, leopard printed pants and a red halter top. Must have been 45 or 50, big blonde hair, heavy eyeliner. Couldn't walk a straight line to the bathroom. The bartender cut her off and she let out a strong of expletives.
Have fun with this!!!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Monday, September 23, 2013
First Lines (Blog #3)
Every famous novel began with a memorable first line. The following are the top ten most famous "first lines" in history.
10 Best First Lines from Novels
1. Call me Ishmael. —Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851)
2. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)
3. A screaming comes across the sky. —Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow (1973)
4. Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. —Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967; trans. Gregory Rabassa)
5. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. —Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955)
6. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. —Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877; trans. Constance Garnett)
7. riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs. —James Joyce, Finnegans Wake (1939)
8. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. —George Orwell, 1984 (1949)
9. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
10. I am an invisible man. —Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)
With any piece of writing, the first line should capture your reader's attention. We are all working on our college essays, a very important piece of writing. So think about your opening sentence very carefully.
Now, I'd like you to pick up your favorite novel or short story and in the comment section to this blog posting, write the first line to that piece of fiction. Feel free to comment on each other's first lines. Which ones "hooked" you? What makes them memorable?
Enjoy!
10 Best First Lines from Novels
1. Call me Ishmael. —Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851)
2. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)
3. A screaming comes across the sky. —Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow (1973)
4. Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. —Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967; trans. Gregory Rabassa)
5. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. —Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955)
6. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. —Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1877; trans. Constance Garnett)
7. riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs. —James Joyce, Finnegans Wake (1939)
8. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. —George Orwell, 1984 (1949)
9. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
10. I am an invisible man. —Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)
With any piece of writing, the first line should capture your reader's attention. We are all working on our college essays, a very important piece of writing. So think about your opening sentence very carefully.
Now, I'd like you to pick up your favorite novel or short story and in the comment section to this blog posting, write the first line to that piece of fiction. Feel free to comment on each other's first lines. Which ones "hooked" you? What makes them memorable?
Enjoy!
Monday, September 16, 2013
Brevity
Hi Class,
Your second assignment is to read the NPR article about writing six word memoirs. 6 words you ask? How can you write a complete story in just 6 words? It is a challenge, but in writing each word holds weight, each word should be chosen carefully:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18768430
It is is rumored that Hemingway was once asked to write a story in six words. The result? "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."This is the ultimate in brevity.
And so I have been writing my own six word memoirs. Here are some of the results:
Always taking chances on Prince Charming
Found my soul on the beach
Conservative English teacher: secretly a rebel
Have cat and child, will travel
Married, Divorced, then fell in love
Living life as if on vacation
Old soul at 8, young at 36
Life got in way of writing
Lost soul mate, found real one
Now, I'd like each of you to post to this blog, your own six word memoir of your life. THen in a few days, return to the blog and read each other's memoirs and comment on a few.
Enjoy!
Your second assignment is to read the NPR article about writing six word memoirs. 6 words you ask? How can you write a complete story in just 6 words? It is a challenge, but in writing each word holds weight, each word should be chosen carefully:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18768430
It is is rumored that Hemingway was once asked to write a story in six words. The result? "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."This is the ultimate in brevity.
And so I have been writing my own six word memoirs. Here are some of the results:
Always taking chances on Prince Charming
Found my soul on the beach
Conservative English teacher: secretly a rebel
Have cat and child, will travel
Married, Divorced, then fell in love
Living life as if on vacation
Old soul at 8, young at 36
Life got in way of writing
Lost soul mate, found real one
Now, I'd like each of you to post to this blog, your own six word memoir of your life. THen in a few days, return to the blog and read each other's memoirs and comment on a few.
Enjoy!
Monday, September 2, 2013
Welcome to my Writing Classes
Hello and welcome to our class writing blog.
I just want to remind you of the way the blog works. The blog postings will go up on Mondays and you will have until the following Sunday at 9pm to post. At that time I will mark your participation in my gradebook, and there will be no allowances for "late" blogging since you will have a week for each posting.
As you are all aware, I absolutely love to teach writing. Our first assignments will center around personal narrative writing, otherwise known as memoir and of course, the college essay.
In your first posting, I'd like you to tell me one quirky characteristic you have that others may or may not even know about. Or you can tell me something that makes you stand out as a different or unique individual. As we are all aware, the college essay process is tough and admissions officers are looking for the memorable students to admit to their programs.
Have fun with it! In addition, I'd like you each to read through the comments, and make at least one comment on another's posting, after all this is our community.
I'll start out and tell you one of my quirky characteristics. I am a fanatic about cleaning my house before the cleaning ladies arrive. I don't want them to know how messy my family really is!
Ms. Zuba
I just want to remind you of the way the blog works. The blog postings will go up on Mondays and you will have until the following Sunday at 9pm to post. At that time I will mark your participation in my gradebook, and there will be no allowances for "late" blogging since you will have a week for each posting.
As you are all aware, I absolutely love to teach writing. Our first assignments will center around personal narrative writing, otherwise known as memoir and of course, the college essay.
In your first posting, I'd like you to tell me one quirky characteristic you have that others may or may not even know about. Or you can tell me something that makes you stand out as a different or unique individual. As we are all aware, the college essay process is tough and admissions officers are looking for the memorable students to admit to their programs.
Have fun with it! In addition, I'd like you each to read through the comments, and make at least one comment on another's posting, after all this is our community.
I'll start out and tell you one of my quirky characteristics. I am a fanatic about cleaning my house before the cleaning ladies arrive. I don't want them to know how messy my family really is!
Ms. Zuba
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