Here's your prompt: "Some habits are hard to break."
The goal for this writing exercise is to write a COMPLETE story in 500 words or less. Do not submit the beginning of a story or anything that isn't complete. Refer to the short shorts in the Starkey book as well as some of the flash fiction posted on Nano Fiction (see the link below).
Due by class Thursday, March 29.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
To get you started: Short (and Short-Short) Fiction Links
Writers Digest Prompts to help you get started
Great flash fiction over at Nano Fiction, where one of my favorite short-shorts, "Apology + Opportunity" by Gabe Durham, is published.
Aimee Bender's monthly writing exercises.
Lots of excellent short stories and flash fiction over at Word Riot.
TONS of Creative Writing Prompts. 346 To be exact.
A tumblr dedicated to writing prompts.
Great flash fiction over at Nano Fiction, where one of my favorite short-shorts, "Apology + Opportunity" by Gabe Durham, is published.
Aimee Bender's monthly writing exercises.
Lots of excellent short stories and flash fiction over at Word Riot.
TONS of Creative Writing Prompts. 346 To be exact.
A tumblr dedicated to writing prompts.
Blog Entry Ten: Short-Short Fiction
Here's your prompt:
You receive a phone call from your two best friends. 'Hey, we’ve done something terribly wrong and need your help. We can’t talk about it over the phone. Please meet us at the spot where we made our pact back in high school. You know the place.' Nervously, you grab your coat and car keys.
Write at least 500 words.
Due by class, Thursday, March 22
You receive a phone call from your two best friends. 'Hey, we’ve done something terribly wrong and need your help. We can’t talk about it over the phone. Please meet us at the spot where we made our pact back in high school. You know the place.' Nervously, you grab your coat and car keys.
Write at least 500 words.
Due by class, Thursday, March 22
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
David Sedaris, April 13
David Sedaris is coming to Eisenhower Auditorium on April 13. If you're interested, read more about it here.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Blog Entry Nine: Concrete Imagery
Looking at the "revisions" of your Horoscope poems as well as your Formalist poetry, it is clear that we ALL really need to work on developing our ability to create CONCRETE imagery. For the most part, it appears that we are all a tad too married to abstract language. The problem with abstract language is that it lacks specificity and, when relied upon too much, it reduces one's poetry to cliches because it is so vague and generalizing. For that reason, I want you all to practice the art of using more concrete language. Remember, word choice is key to poetry, and choosing specific and precise concrete language as opposed to vague and abstract language is a good place to begin improving one's poetry.
So, for our ninth blog assignment, I want you to start simply by finding someTHING to describe. Try to avoid doing this exercise with people, because when writing about a person it is very easy to slip into abstract descriptions that are meaningless in the context of poetry. Pick something concrete--an object of some sort. When writing about your subject, avoid abstractions like “beautiful,” “good,” “ugly,” and “happy.” Use descriptions that contribute to the character of the place or object. The windowsill isn’t just red; it is warped and peeling. The journal isn’t just on the nightstand; it is unwrinkled but covered in dust.
I want you to write a list of at least five solid and well-wrought concrete observations about your subject. If you are struggling, consider each point capturing one of the five senses. "It smells like," "It feels like," etc.
Then, I want you to add five more observations that imbue the object with "intellectual" observation--realizations about the thing that shows that it is being observed by a thinking person. Think of it as augmenting the object with your thoughts. In that regard, I want you to take aspects of your concrete observations and consider what they could mean--what they could symbolize.
In the end, you should have a list of ten concrete observations about your object all of which use unique, specific, descriptive, lush, and concrete language to describe it and make it mean something.
Due by Thursday, March 15
So, for our ninth blog assignment, I want you to start simply by finding someTHING to describe. Try to avoid doing this exercise with people, because when writing about a person it is very easy to slip into abstract descriptions that are meaningless in the context of poetry. Pick something concrete--an object of some sort. When writing about your subject, avoid abstractions like “beautiful,” “good,” “ugly,” and “happy.” Use descriptions that contribute to the character of the place or object. The windowsill isn’t just red; it is warped and peeling. The journal isn’t just on the nightstand; it is unwrinkled but covered in dust.
I want you to write a list of at least five solid and well-wrought concrete observations about your subject. If you are struggling, consider each point capturing one of the five senses. "It smells like," "It feels like," etc.
Then, I want you to add five more observations that imbue the object with "intellectual" observation--realizations about the thing that shows that it is being observed by a thinking person. Think of it as augmenting the object with your thoughts. In that regard, I want you to take aspects of your concrete observations and consider what they could mean--what they could symbolize.
In the end, you should have a list of ten concrete observations about your object all of which use unique, specific, descriptive, lush, and concrete language to describe it and make it mean something.
Due by Thursday, March 15
Submit your work to Kalliope
Kalliope, Penn State’s undergrad literary magazine, is accepting original non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and art! Submit your work by March 15 at www.kalliopejournal.com for potential publication in the 2012 edition.
If you submit, please forward me your submission email.
If you submit, please forward me your submission email.
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