Bonjour!
This week there will be no blog as we are working on putting together our portfolios. Remember to include the rubric and they are due on Nov. 1.
Ms. Z.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Revision or Revise! (Blog #7)
Hi folks!
We are just a few weeks out from the end of Term 1. Can you believe it? That means your portfolios will be due soon! Your portfolios are the culminating projects of a terms' worth of writing, and worth 50% of your overall grades. So, we treat them with care and dedication to the writing process. Each piece you include in your portfolio should be polished to perfection. So this means you would look over your rough drafts, read through your peers' comments, and decide what to take and what to leave on the table so to speak. Remember that in the end, the writing is yours and you decide what direction it will take. With that being said, carefully consider the comments you were given, as your writing is meant for an audience.
This week I'd like you to read a blog by a fellow writer about the art of revision. It's rather humorous and speaks perfectly to the process.
http://markdavidmuse.blogspot.com/2008/06/humorous-art-of-revision-aka-how-to.html
Comment below with your own thoughts on revision.
Ms. Zuba
We are just a few weeks out from the end of Term 1. Can you believe it? That means your portfolios will be due soon! Your portfolios are the culminating projects of a terms' worth of writing, and worth 50% of your overall grades. So, we treat them with care and dedication to the writing process. Each piece you include in your portfolio should be polished to perfection. So this means you would look over your rough drafts, read through your peers' comments, and decide what to take and what to leave on the table so to speak. Remember that in the end, the writing is yours and you decide what direction it will take. With that being said, carefully consider the comments you were given, as your writing is meant for an audience.
This week I'd like you to read a blog by a fellow writer about the art of revision. It's rather humorous and speaks perfectly to the process.
http://markdavidmuse.blogspot.com/2008/06/humorous-art-of-revision-aka-how-to.html
Comment below with your own thoughts on revision.
Ms. Zuba
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Titles (Blog #6)
While some may consider a title to be like a cereal box label in that it explains what's inside, there are other motivations for including one.
It isn't unusual for a writer to leave his work untitled, but even the word, "untitled", becomes a title in itself. A piece of writing needs a reference for publication, and in the event that a writer chooses to leave his work untitled, the first line is often used.
Why Title?
The cereal box metaphor aside, there are, without a doubt, more choices for titles than there are individual works and collections. Some may argue that a title limits the work, as it may become a barrier to "entering" it. Others may argue that a title expands the work's scope or offers clues to unraveling its meaning. Still others will claim that there needs to be a way to distinguish one work from another. I feel that the title is the first thing a reader sees when coming to a work, and therefore sets the mood or gives important information to the reader.
The following poem is one of my favorites. I've left the title off and I am tasking you with coming up with a new title for the poem. Next week, I will reveal the true title of the poem. Have fun and title away!
by Miller Williams
Some of what we do, we do
to make things happen,
the alarm to wake us up, the coffee to perc,
the car to start.
The rest of what we do, we do
trying to keep something from doing something,
the skin from aging, the hoe from rusting,
the truth from getting out.
With yes and no like the poles of a battery
powering our passage through the days,
we move, as we call it, forward,
wanting to be wanted,
wanting not to lose the rain forest,
wanting the water to boil,
wanting not to have cancer,
wanting to be home by dark,
wanting not to run out of gas,
as each of us wants the other
watching at the end,
as both want not to leave the other alone,
as wanting to love beyond this meat and bone,
we gaze across breakfast and pretend.
It isn't unusual for a writer to leave his work untitled, but even the word, "untitled", becomes a title in itself. A piece of writing needs a reference for publication, and in the event that a writer chooses to leave his work untitled, the first line is often used.
Why Title?
The cereal box metaphor aside, there are, without a doubt, more choices for titles than there are individual works and collections. Some may argue that a title limits the work, as it may become a barrier to "entering" it. Others may argue that a title expands the work's scope or offers clues to unraveling its meaning. Still others will claim that there needs to be a way to distinguish one work from another. I feel that the title is the first thing a reader sees when coming to a work, and therefore sets the mood or gives important information to the reader.
The following poem is one of my favorites. I've left the title off and I am tasking you with coming up with a new title for the poem. Next week, I will reveal the true title of the poem. Have fun and title away!
by Miller Williams
Some of what we do, we do
to make things happen,
the alarm to wake us up, the coffee to perc,
the car to start.
The rest of what we do, we do
trying to keep something from doing something,
the skin from aging, the hoe from rusting,
the truth from getting out.
With yes and no like the poles of a battery
powering our passage through the days,
we move, as we call it, forward,
wanting to be wanted,
wanting not to lose the rain forest,
wanting the water to boil,
wanting not to have cancer,
wanting to be home by dark,
wanting not to run out of gas,
as each of us wants the other
watching at the end,
as both want not to leave the other alone,
as wanting to love beyond this meat and bone,
we gaze across breakfast and pretend.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Incarnadine Seas (Blog #5)
Georgia Heard has a book "Writing Toward Home" in which she gives advice to novice writers. She has a chapter on words that I love. This is an excerpt:
I collect words like shiny red tomatoes, picked from the vine, ripening in my notebook. When I read a word I like in a newspaper or book, I write it down. I collect words for their music, their poetry, ther possibility, their surprises.I haunt used-book stores looking for books that contain unusual words. "Elementary Seamanship" has a glossary of sea terms: scupper, bulwark, winch, windlass, scuttles. The book is a cup of possibility for those days when I'm thirsty for words. Gwendolyn Brooks, a poet, says "Collect Words!" Buy your own dictionary. Circle exciting words. The more words you know the better you will be able to express yourself, your thoughts. I collect words because I love them, and as a writer I need to be able to pepper my writing with words from everywhere.
For this blog post I'd like you to listen to words around you. Notice them on menus, signs, books, newspapers - the more you become aware of the words possible to you, the more abundant your writing will become. Post at least 5-10 words that you find beautiful or new or exciting. Comment on each other's posts as well.
Some of my favorite words include: Serendipity, Seaglass, Ethereal, Luminous, Celestial...
I collect words like shiny red tomatoes, picked from the vine, ripening in my notebook. When I read a word I like in a newspaper or book, I write it down. I collect words for their music, their poetry, ther possibility, their surprises.I haunt used-book stores looking for books that contain unusual words. "Elementary Seamanship" has a glossary of sea terms: scupper, bulwark, winch, windlass, scuttles. The book is a cup of possibility for those days when I'm thirsty for words. Gwendolyn Brooks, a poet, says "Collect Words!" Buy your own dictionary. Circle exciting words. The more words you know the better you will be able to express yourself, your thoughts. I collect words because I love them, and as a writer I need to be able to pepper my writing with words from everywhere.
For this blog post I'd like you to listen to words around you. Notice them on menus, signs, books, newspapers - the more you become aware of the words possible to you, the more abundant your writing will become. Post at least 5-10 words that you find beautiful or new or exciting. Comment on each other's posts as well.
Some of my favorite words include: Serendipity, Seaglass, Ethereal, Luminous, Celestial...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)