1-Dimensional vs. 3-Dimensional Characters

What stories could you make up about this gentleman?
Taken from Google Images

You should all have the "Facebook" page that you made for the person in the photo you got yesterday, including things like name, occupation, location, hometown, education, interests, relationship status, age, employer, political views, sex, and interests.  This is all good information, but it is one-dimensional - boring - and won't work for your characters in future short stories.

For your first writing exercise about character this week, I want you to take the one-dimensional traits that you came up with yesterday, but add twists to them - real-life twists.  Remember that we should not protect our characters, for what truly makes a short story great is honest details about their lives. 

Perhaps your character is successful in his/her career but has been embezzling money from the company for years. 
Perhaps she currently lives in rural Montana because she had to get a restraining order from an ex who still haunts her in dreams. 
Perhaps your character has gotten an incredible education but realized upon graduation that he followed his parents' dreams and not his own. 
Perhaps Riley's sweet little old man in the photo has been married to his wife for 60 years but has been cheating on her for 59 of them. 
Perhaps on the outside, your character seems like a normal teenager; however, on the inside she is struggling with a severe mental illness.

This may sound horrible, but twists like these are what make short stories (and characters!) interesting and three-dimensional.  And you guys said it best yesterday: no one wants to read about someone who is perfect.  As readers, we crave flaws.  Think about Jane in "The Yellow Wallpaper" - I mean, that poor lady had issues, but she was interesting!  So...create a character...make up a flaw...and run away with it.  No first-person in this exercise; I want the perspective in omniscient - sees all, knows all!  Give us all those good details and descriptions to create a 3D character!

The Last Place I Want to Be...

Writing Prompt 3



Poor little guy.
Taken from Google Images



This week you have created scenes for an unknown place (the one in the photo) and you have created a scene for a more familiar place - your bedroom.  For your last journal prompt this week that focuses on scene, I want you to think of the worst place you can imagine - the very last place you would like to be.  How would you describe this horrendous place?

Perhaps it’s a prison after being convicted of a crime you didn't commit.  Perhaps it’s stuck under an avalanche on Mt. Hood.  Perhaps you’re a bug who just fell into a glass of water.  Perhaps you are a caged animal and are being sent off to the zoo.  Perhaps you’re in hell.  Perhaps…

  Create a realistic sense of setting that describes this horrible place.  Remember to show your readers rather than tell them!  Take your readers there, and make us feel your pain!

What Does Your Bedroom Say About You?

- Share your photograph scene writing exercises!  I can't wait to see what you came up with!

Taken from Google Images

1. Sketch a drawing of your bedroom in your journal.  This doesn't have to be fantastic art - it's just to get your mind a-goin'!

2. Write about your living space from an objective viewer's perspective (a house guest who is staying in your room, a fly on the wall, a plant on the window sill, a smelly sock that lies beneath the bed - you get the picture).  Describe your personal space in as much detail as possible, noting things like if the bed is made, if there are posters on the wall, if your clothes are color-coded while hanging in your closet or if they are rumpled on the floor.  All of these components help create scene! 

Tiny details like this help make up a scene and give readers insight as to who lives in this space.  What hints would your room give about you to an objective outsider?  If your bed is unmade, what could this tell us about you?  If your curtains are closed, what does this tell us about you?  If your room is immaculately clean, what would this tell us about you?  Remember to be descriptive and to use the five senses - this will enrich your writing!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Chinese New Year
Thanks to MSNBC.com

Your first writing exercise deals with creating an effective scene.  Think about how Bierce created scene from his use of descriptions and details in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge".  After you are given this photograph, each of you will write a scene based on what you see in the photo - based on how that photo makes you feel or think.  As you write, think about...

• How will you show your readers rather than tell them? (Description, description, description!)
• Think about the POV in your writing exercise.  Will you be a subjective narrator?  An objective narrator?  An omniscient narrator? 
• Use the five senses in this exercise; what sounds do you hear, what things do you see, what smells are in the air, what can you taste, what do you feel?
• Think about how to create an effective scene by using different literary devices like similes, personification, and metaphors. 
• Remember to "think small" - the more description you use, the better your piece will be!

Happy Monday!

Taken from Google Images

Today:

- Hand in "My Critic vs. My Creator" assignment! (25 points)

- The Elements of a Short Story (take notes - you will be quizzed tomorrow!)

- Read Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

- Answer the questions on the board; be prepared for discussion tomorrow!

My Critic versus My Creator

We will be working on an assignment that personifies your inner Critic and your inner Creator.  We each have a Creator within us, that person who allows us to be free in the Arts with no judgment - that person who allows us to write, to create, to express ourselves.  On the other hand, we all have a critic as well - that person who tells us "You're not quite good enough" or "Everything you write, everything you create, everything you do - is lame".  Your task for this assignment is to describe both your Creator and your Critic. 

What do your Creator and Critic look like?   Are they men or women?  What kind of clothes do they wear?  What are their names?  What do they do for fun?  Do they have hobbies?  What do they say to you?  Create a character for both your inner Creator and inner Critic.  How do they contrast one another?  Have fun with this assignment!




This is my Creator
Taken from Google Images

 


This is my Critic
Taken from Google Images



In this class, we are going to boot your Critic in the butt and focus on your Creator!  Remember what poor Sylvia Plath said: "The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." 

Never doubt your mad writing skills - because you do have them.

Welcome to Creative Writing!

Photo taken from Google Images



Welcome!  First of all - I am SO excited for this class, and I hope you guys are too!  I've heard that some people take this class because it's "soooo easy", but I warn you now - it's not going to be a simple walk through the park; I expect greatness out of each and every one of you because I know you all possess something creative within you.  Your goal should be to leave this class a much better writer than you were when you walked through the door on January 17th, so take my class seriously.  I will not tolerate slackers! 

I expect you to write (every. single. day). 
I expect you to share your work with your peers and teacher during class (don't be afraid to put yourself out there - we all look or sound foolish from time to time - I know I do!). 
I expect you to walk into my room with an open mind (try to think in ways you've never thought before!)
I expect that each of you respect your fellow classmates and provide constructive, honest feedback concerning their work (negative comments will not be tolerated). 
I expect each of you to take that constructive feedback into account while revising your work (you never get better if you refuse another's advice). 

But most of all - I expect us to have fun as we write!