tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64869499871523838582024-02-20T20:27:51.377-08:00Notebooking DailyLiterary news and near-daily writing exercises to help writers keep their artistic muscles stretched.Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comBlogger1704125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-65340433962159767152023-12-26T16:50:00.000-08:002023-12-26T21:52:06.532-08:00Notebooking Daily University: Poetic Explorations 'Memory' 6-Class Course<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EgRHN0pnfq2GxeEGFPiW8A9BEembNgideEVouQxOVFNo_9WZ56TUatlXZ11_TTLJqW0jlOHJKgf5Hzeyt4Jeqbf84ayyS6NgQ0YQvAXoE9ENz8zxdaa5LuNgKdIkOsJUI6fyidMG-vVfaU-KjKLT9wELSyPcGzpI6vO0hMGj00CofT6JtcUO2bd2bQUj/s2240/PoeticExplorationsBanner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="2240" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EgRHN0pnfq2GxeEGFPiW8A9BEembNgideEVouQxOVFNo_9WZ56TUatlXZ11_TTLJqW0jlOHJKgf5Hzeyt4Jeqbf84ayyS6NgQ0YQvAXoE9ENz8zxdaa5LuNgKdIkOsJUI6fyidMG-vVfaU-KjKLT9wELSyPcGzpI6vO0hMGj00CofT6JtcUO2bd2bQUj/w640-h286/PoeticExplorationsBanner.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">W</span></b>elcome to Notebooking Daily's first ever self-paced poetry writing class, Poetic Explorations. This is a 'six-week class' done on your own time, at your own pace, and it will be much more open-ended than a standard class because everyone's different, and not everyone has time constraints yadda yadda. I will have more detailed courses this coming year, but this is a bit of a Christmas present to interested poets of a few communities especially.</p><p><b>What type of class is this?</b> This class is heavily reading and prompt based, and self-driven, so it can be repeated multiple times as a generative/research project. You will read a wide variety of poetry driven by your preferences, you will create and generate potential source material in your 'poet's notebook', you will write 3 prompt poems, 1 highly-scaffolded poem which will be built over the duration of the course, and another somewhat-scaffolded poem which also will be built over the class's duration. And if you're able to get the book, you'll have 2 additional poems, one of which will have undergone a thorough editing process. This class focuses mainly around the theme of 'Memory' but there is a bit of intro to poetry stuff and an introduction to literary magazines as well, which is where you'll ideally be publishing your poetry some day.</p><p><b>Who is this for?</b> Beginning poets as well as experienced poets. </p><p><b>Class Book List</b> (I have no Amazon affiliation or anything): <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Palm-Your-Hand-Portable-Workshop/dp/0884481492/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=AUTHOR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7TLfGwidxSlfFKKFUZP1oBNsiLRu9z9_RKLI7w3MlGcuokku0w2typldiAl3VgV6fK9O0E1gSvpeQPW41wSXPREm9VhgB-T0Hk7atOgJ3K_ESfmPnnzJkzEllo4snbe2kcGr4kb4Cl7iU2OceMwoQA.Tkg5MbBuUyC4pUMsDkVTp4qZp8ellsuKaznFbB2fiQM&qid=&sr=" target="_blank">"In the Palm of Your Hand"</a> edited by Steve Kowit. I can't recommend this book enough for poets at all levels, but if you absolutely can't afford to buy a used copy for $5.50 with shipping included (and it's definitely worth it, even though we'll only be using a couple chapters in this short term class) I highly recommend reading/writing prompts for the rest of the book to further your 'class' experience. The rest of class reading materials will be free online and if you can't get the book, that should still be a good experience.</p><p><b>What is a Writer's Notebook?</b> A place where you jot down interesting facts, bits of dialogue, ideas, fragments/snippets that come to you, as well as thoughts on poems you're reading and things you might do which are similar. This can be a physical notebook, or a google doc file. I recommend Google Docs over notepad or a similar notes type app because Docs has that cloud backup in case your device dies. Backing this up is also a good idea every so often, you can do that by emailing it to yourself. When doing the Notebooking activities, you should write which day you're doing at the top of the entry for easy referencing as you'll be going back to previous entries for brainstorming and writing activities.</p><p><b>Where should I do my brainstorming activities?</b> I recommend in a Google Doc file. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v5rXcB_5eyaSCF4AA34Ck0UI23pBpG1zFFrCHrfni5c/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Here is a template you can use</a>. If you prefer to handwrite, it will require some typing later, but that has its benefits if time isn't an issue.</p><p><b>How long should I dedicate to each activity?</b> As long as it takes for the reading and notebooking activities, the brainstorming activities should each be 5-minute timers (per list) and the writing activities should take around 20-30 minutes. The idea is the class should take roughly 2.5 to 3 hours with close reading and the writing activities, but the good thing about self-paced classes like this is, you take as long as you like. If you want to read more poems than I 'require', heck yeah! If you want to read multiple poets' work, that's even better. If you have a ton of things happen in the previous day you want for your 'notebooking', or lots to say about pieces you read, or you get started on a poem and it takes off and you need four more hours to make a truly magnificent poem in one-go? I've been there, do it!</p><p><b>How do I write a poem in 30 minutes?</b> First—you do you. Take extra time for the main part of writing if you'd like, spend an hour revising immediately after, I know I do sometimes. But, for the 'method', I suggest this breakdown for timers for the writing activities: <b>5 minutes</b> for organizing and outlining, getting a rough idea of how you might meet the requirements, and where you might end up whether that's a message, observation, 'point' or it's just the order of requirements/major parts of the poem. Sometimes you'll be discovering almost everything, but it helps to have a target so even if you are figuring everything out as you go, you have a safe landing pad if you feel lost or like you're not making any progress. After the rough brainstorming/organizing/outlining, spend <b>20 minutes</b> writing the poem. Don't feel locked into that outline/organization, but it can take the pressure of 'what next' off and allow you to feel freer in you initial discovery/exploration of the idea/narrative. Then the final <b>5 minutes</b> you'll use to wrap up/land the poem, and read it over looking to see if there's anything that needs revising, tightening, or cutting if it doesn't line up with where the poem ended up going. If you're making major cuts, I recommend copy/pasting the original onto a page below the edit in progress in case you change your mind. You can lose what is the soul of a poem in a whim decision during editing, saving progress drafts helps you find the right version of the poem often.</p><p><b>Why only six classes?</b> This is a 'lite' class meant to be accessible and repeatable. And it's free so if you like these classes, keep an eye out for our workshops and content classes in the new year. </p><p><b>Can I repeat the course?</b> Of course! I'll be editing in instructions for how to do that and get a totally/mostly unique experience in the coming days.</p><p><b>Why is this free?</b> I wanted to give a little Christmas gift to a few communities and I'd planned on classes last year but ran out of time. I'm dedicated to getting a few together like this, but more detailed and longer with discord for interaction, some even with live workshopping. If you appreciate this class and would like to donate, I always dedicate all donations to Notebooking Daily to submission fees, getting every penny to a lit mag or press as I'm really trying to get some collections published and those fees add up. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated, however, this is free, there is no obligation to make a donation at all. I know what it's like to live off potatoes and chili and ramen, even outside of college. Times can be tough. If you're in a position to, and you really enjoyed the class, feel free to <a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=4DQZNR9YND2UU&no_recurring=0&item_name=Thank+you+for+your+contribution%21+All+donations+go+toward+submission+fees%2C+so+recirculating+it+among+lit+mags+and+presses.+&currency_code=USD" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank"><b>Say thanks with a donation of any amount</b></a>.</p><p style="text-align: center;">So, without further yackin', LETSGO!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Class 1:</span></u></b> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Order <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Palm-Your-Hand-Portable-Workshop/dp/0884481492/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=AUTHOR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7TLfGwidxSlfFKKFUZP1oBNsiLRu9z9_RKLI7w3MlGcuokku0w2typldiAl3VgV6fK9O0E1gSvpeQPW41wSXPREm9VhgB-T0Hk7atOgJ3K_ESfmPnnzJkzEllo4snbe2kcGr4kb4Cl7iU2OceMwoQA.Tkg5MbBuUyC4pUMsDkVTp4qZp8ellsuKaznFbB2fiQM&qid=&sr=" target="_blank">the book</a>. It's worth it. These first two classes I won't use it so if you're just ordering now you have time for delivery.</i></p><p><b>1.0: </b><b>Video Activity:</b> Check out these short videos of experienced poets giving advice to young/new poets.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP9reBY7EwM" target="_blank">"Billy Collins on How to Write Poetry"</a> from his 2016 NPR interview. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9tcrHbwxCA" target="_blank">"Carol Ann Duffy - Be a True Voice of Where You Come From"</a> from the BBC Maestros series.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sndh5lIpIQ4" target="_blank">"Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Shares Her Advice to Young Writers"</a> from Louisiana Channel.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZDhUxz6iVo" target="_blank">"David Kirby - Art is the Deliberate Transformed by the Accidental"</a> from FSU's radio station.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/w7v45Bd2-6I?si=AoGWo0DRaApcvuZu" target="_blank">"Bernardine Evaristo Gives Advice to Aspiring Writers"</a> from Louisiana Channel.</div><p></p><p><b>1.5: </b><b>Reading Activity:</b> First, read the first seven poems in <a href="https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/poet-laureate/poet-laureate-projects/poetry-180/all-poems/" target="_blank">Poetry 180</a>. Read them over twice, on the second pass you'll be picking a favorite and a least favorite. Reading new poetry and reading widely is extremely important to your growth as a poet, as you've heard from a few poets now. As you're reading be sure to be paying attention for themes, double meanings, and what the poet is 'getting at', what the 'point' is. </p><p><b>2: Notebook Activity: </b> First. check out this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82BynkTidrk" target="_blank">short video from famous poet Carol Anne Duffy talking about the importance and function of a writer's notebook</a> (it's short, don't worry). In your writer's notebook write some notes about your favorite poem/s including at least a couple quotes from the poems you read. Pick a top 3 and a bottom 2-3, specify top and bottom. Also jot down anything you recall from the past few days that was interesting, intriguing, funny, or stuck out for some reason. I recommend you use <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v5rXcB_5eyaSCF4AA34Ck0UI23pBpG1zFFrCHrfni5c/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this template</a> or your own google doc file.</p><p><b>3: Brainstorming Activity</b>: Today you'll be generating three lists. Set a timer for five minutes for each, and try to come up with as many as you can until that timer rings, the more the better.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>List 1:</b> Think of as many good memories you had with a grandparent or elder as you can. </p><p><b>List 2:</b> Brainstorm times when you accomplished something you had to work for, or things which did not come easily to you. </p><p><b>List 3:</b> Brainstorm positive memories you have from childhood in general.</p></blockquote><p><b>4: Writing Activity:</b> In the final 30 minutes (5 minute timer for outlining/organizing/brainstorming, 20 minute timer after that for the main composition of the poem, 2 minutes to wrap up/finish the poem, 3 minutes to read it and check for obvious errors, things that don't fit or places to expand), write a poem which uses part of one of the quotes you wrote in your notebook from the poems as the title of the poem, and also include the word "Memory", and at least one interesting/unique simile. It shouldn't be a simile you've ever read.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Class 2:</u> </span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Be sure you're completing all of the activities before moving on. Classes will build upon the previous classes, so skipping activities will mess up future classwork. You ordered <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Palm-Your-Hand-Portable-Workshop/dp/0884481492/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=AUTHOR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7TLfGwidxSlfFKKFUZP1oBNsiLRu9z9_RKLI7w3MlGcuokku0w2typldiAl3VgV6fK9O0E1gSvpeQPW41wSXPREm9VhgB-T0Hk7atOgJ3K_ESfmPnnzJkzEllo4snbe2kcGr4kb4Cl7iU2OceMwoQA.Tkg5MbBuUyC4pUMsDkVTp4qZp8ellsuKaznFbB2fiQM&qid=&sr=" target="_blank">the book</a> right?</i></p><p><b>1: Reading Activity:</b> Last class you read poems from 7 poets in Poetry 180. I definitely recommend reading the rest of the anthology. Today you'll read at least 5 poems from both the poet you ranked as your favorite, and 3 more from the poet you ranked as your least favorite. Here are links to all of the 7 poets.<br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/billy-collins#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Billy Collins</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/tracy-k-smith#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tracy K Smith</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/natalie-diaz#tab-poems" target="_blank">Natalie Diaz</a> (<a href="https://poets.org/poet/natalie-diaz#tabbed-content" target="_blank">link 2</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/may-swenson#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">May Swenson</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/yusef-komunyakaa#tab-poems"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yusef Komunyakaa</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/yusef-komunyakaa#tab-poems" target="_blank">Brian Turner</a> (<a href="https://poets.org/poet/brian-turner#tabbed-content" target="_blank">link 2</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ron-koertge#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ron-koertge#tab-poems" target="_blank">Ron Koertge</a> (<a href="https://www.writersalmanac.org/index.html%3Fp=1010.html" target="_blank">link 2</a>)</span></div><p></p><p>And you will also read this excerpt from <a href="https://poets.org/glossary/poetry" target="_blank">"A Poet's Glossary" by Edward Hirsch</a> which quotes a bunch of famous and brilliant poets about what they see poetry 'is'.</p><p><b>1.5: Video Activity:</b> Just <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0H8SvqsLVc" target="_blank">this short video from Galway Kinnell, answering "what is poetry?"</a>. You'll notice a bit of the 'what is poetry' theme but it's a good one to think about early in the endeavor, and a good question to return to along your journey.</p><p><b>2: Notebooking Activity:</b> In your writer's notebook write some notes about what you read today including at least a couple quotes, and some unique words. Write at least a little bit also about events or ideas in the poems which either sparked an idea of your own, or which is similar to any events/ideas you've experienced/had. And finally, add in a couple interesting things you've learned this past month or so, or things you experienced in that same time period which made you laugh.</p><p><b>3: Brainstorming Activity: </b>Today you'll be generating three lists. Set a timer for five minutes for each, and try to come up with as many as you can until that timer rings, the more the better. Pick one of the items from the first list you wrote last class which you will be focusing on for your 'class' poem.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>List 1:</b> For your first item take your chosen good memory with a grandparent or elder and brainstorm a list of 'things' (physical objects) which are associated with that memory. So, items that would be present, what people were wearing, features of the landscape/scenery/setting, cars, equipment, notable objects etc. Be specific. </p><p><b>List 2</b>: List as many interesting colors you can think of. Not green or blue, but seafoam, magenta, tangerine etc. </p><p><b>List 3</b>: List as many words as you can which are synonyms or similar to "pleasant" or "nice".</p></blockquote><p><b>4: Writing Activity:</b> In the final 30 minutes (5 minute timer for outlining/organizing/brainstorming, 20 minute timer after that for the main composition of the poem, 2 minutes to wrap up/finish the poem, 3 minutes to read it and check for obvious errors, things that don't fit or places to expand), write a poem which is inspired by one of the poems you read today. That can be talking about the same theme/s, maybe it uses a similar detail or two from the original poem, it starts in a similar narrative/lyric place but goes your own direction, it could use a quote as the title or an epigraph. You should also use one or two of the interesting colors that you brainstormed.</p><p><br /></p><span></span><span><!--more--></span><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-size: medium;">Book Assignment 1: </span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Read the forewords and all the way to page 20, through the "I couldn't stop watching" section. This includes completing one of the prompt poems, and revising it with Kowit's guidance. Finish this assignment before Class 5.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Class 3:</span></u></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Hopefully you've gotten the book. It's really worth it. There will be additional 'book' assignments per week, which you'll do at your own pace, reading and doing the prompts in the section.</i></p><p><b>1: Reading Activity:</b> Read the following poems: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51664/fifth-grade-autobiography" target="_blank">"Fifth Grade Autobiography"</a> by Rita Dove</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/walking-with-my-delaware-grandfather/" target="_blank">"Walking with My Delaware Grandfather"</a> by Denise Low</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51664/fifth-grade-autobiography" target="_blank">"Piano"</a> by D.H. Lawrence</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43330/my-papas-waltz" target="_blank">"My Papa's Waltz"</a> by Theodore Roethke</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/my-brother-the-artist-at-seven/" target="_blank">"My Brother the Artist, at Seven"</a> by Philip Levine</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?volume=142&issue=3&page=41" target="_blank">"Oranges"</a> by Gary Soto (click the arrow on the right side of the page to get to the second half of the poem)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://heavyfeatherreview.org/2023/12/06/huset/" target="_blank">"Our First Shared Fig Newton, 1986"</a> by Zebulon Huset</span></p></blockquote><p><b>2: Notebooking Activity:</b> In your writer's notebook write some notes about what you read today, including picking a favorite poem, and quotes. <b>Also</b> write down anything interesting from the previous week, keep your eyes peeled for descriptions, quirks you might include here while you're going about your everyday life. These notes will be used for future poems, so write as much interesting things as you can, whether it's news, dialogue, a situation you thought of or witnessed. <b>And</b> finally, go to <a href="https://louisem.com/29880/color-thesaurus-infographic" target="_blank">this link</a> of interesting colors, and write a list of your favorite 5-10 of those colors.</p><p><b>3: Brainstorming Activity:</b> Today you'll be generating two lists. Set a timer for five minutes for each, and try to come up with as many as you can until that timer rings, the more the better. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>List 1:</b> Going back to the memory from your first lists in the last two classes, the elder who you had that particular memory with is the focus for this brainstorm list. Write down everything about them that you can recall, including other good times, details about their life, stories you know about them (in short) etc. </p><p><b>List 2:</b> List as many 'childhood adventures' as you can. These can be little adventures you went on in your childhood, or it might be things you make up or 'types of adventures' like 'summer camp bullies' or 'digging for treasure in the woods' or 'building a treehouse' or 'running away from home' etc. Be specific, especially with nonfiction list items. </p><p><b>List 3:</b> Write as many similes as you can which are a unique take on "as strong as an ox". What are some interesting things that are strong which we don't normally see in similes like "as strong as a garlic smoothie" or "as strong as an angry silverback gorilla" etc. </p></blockquote><p><b>4: Writing Activity:</b> In the final 30 minutes (5 minute timer for outlining/organizing/brainstorming, 20 minute timer after that for the main composition of the poem, 2 minutes to wrap up/finish the poem, 3 minutes to read it and check for obvious errors, things that don't fit or places to expand), write a poem which includes the following five words "Fig", Waltz", "Piano", "Artist" and "Oranges" which includes one of the memories from Day 1's Brainstorming list 1 which you had not chosen to focus on. Be sure to include many specific details, and either include some observation, lesson, or use that memory as a way to view something happening in current events, or something from history or science. Don't just tell us an anecdote, use that anecdote to make us think about something.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Class 4</span></b></u></p><p><i>Today we'll be incorporating video with spoken word and poetic hip hop, it might not be your normal cup of tea, but give them a shot and definitely listen to each of them at least twice. The rappers go fast, and are poetically not-direct so understanding might not come immediately. To aid in your understanding, I'm also linking the lyrics to the songs. </i></p><p><b>1.0: Reading Activity:</b> Last class you read poems from 7 poets. Today you'll read at least 5 poems from both the poet you wrote in your notebook was your favorite, and at least 2 more from the poet you ranked as your least favorite. Here are links to poems for all of the 7 poets.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/rita-dove#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rita Dove</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/denise-low#tab-poems" target="_blank">Denise Low</a> (<a href="https://www.writingtheland.org/flint-hills-denise-low" target="_blank">link 2</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/d-h-lawrence#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">D.H. Lawrence</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/theodore-roethke#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Theodore Roethke</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/philip-levine#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Philip Levine</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gary-soto#tab-poems" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gary Soto</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=zebulon+huset+poetry" target="_blank">Zebulon Huset</a> (<a href="https://zebulonhuset.wordpress.com/writing/" target="_blank">link 2</a>)</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(yes, for me the first link is a google search and this has some broken links, it also has been a long time since I updated it, there's plenty in the first link)</i></div></div><p></p><p><br /><b>1.5: Video Activity:</b> Today we'll delve a little into the spoken/performed side of poetry and watch 3 videos. I want you to watch each one at least twice, and be sure that you're checking out the lyrics link to better follow the songs as I mentioned at the beginning of today's instructions. Lyrics Genius is surprisingly good with their lyrics explanations, but do sometimes get things wrong, just a warning, and advice to check their annotations out.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Philip Kaye <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILQTDBqhPA" target="_blank">"Repetition"</a> (link to <a href="https://genius.com/Phil-kaye-repetition-annotated" target="_blank">the words</a>)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sage Francis "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VL0mB8ILeo" target="_blank">Inherited Scars</a>"<b>*</b> (link to <a href="https://genius.com/Sage-francis-inherited-scars-lyrics" target="_blank">the lyrics</a>)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Aesop Rock <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q5zNHNIewg" target="_blank">"Blood Sandwich"</a><b>**</b> (link to <a href="https://genius.com/8911199" target="_blank">the lyrics</a>)</span></p></blockquote><p>*Content warning, this song contains references self-harm<br />**Content warning, this song contains violence to animals</p><p><b>2: Notebooking Activity:</b> Just do your notes about the pieces you've read and watched including quotes, parallel thoughts, ideas sparked by the poems/songs, things you liked as well as things you really didn't like. Also jot down anything you recall from the past few days that was interesting, intriguing, funny, or stuck out for some reason.</p><p><b>3: Brainstorming Activity:</b> Today you'll be generating two lists. Set a timer for five minutes for each, and try to come up with as many as you can until that timer rings, the more the better. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><b>List 1: </b>Brainstorm as many 'life lessons' or 'advice' as you can. Try to include lessons/advice that you associate with the elder from your previous brainstorming activities. Think things like "procrastination makes things worse" or "be careful who you trust" or "lead with kindness"</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>List 2:</b> List interesting or unusual words which you like. They shouldn't be impossible to use or "hasn't been used in 400 years" type words, more like 'juxtaposition' or 'flecks' or 'maelstrom' or 'percolated' or 'cusp'. Don't overthink it, especially not until you have at least 8 or so even if they're not that strange. </p><p><b>List 3:</b> First list 5 foods that have very distinctive flavors or textures on their own lines. Next to each of those items, put 2-5 words you'd use to describe the food's flavor or texture. If you finish before the five-minute timer goes off, continue with new food and its descriptions until time expires.</p></blockquote><p><b>4: Writing Activity:</b> For today's writing activity you're going to be writing fragments (2-8 lines) around items you've brainstormed. When I say writing fragments I mean, you'll take what you've written in the brainstorm, and expand on that, giving it context (telling us what got you to that situation, why that item is important, how that lesson/advice was witnessed in real life etc.) add in description, but you're not trying to write a full poem here. Just expanding, doing small discovery work. Why are those things important, how do they function in the memory or lesson. It might not have a direct connection, and sometimes it will still be unclear at this point, that's ok. Get your fragment out and move on to the next one. </p><p><b>Timer order:</b> First 5 minutes, look back to the following brainstorm lists and find 6-10 items that stand out to you as being interesting or especially important to the chosen memory that you've written about multiple times now. Pick items from these brainstorm lists:<br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>Day 1 List 3</b></p><p><b>Day 2 List 1</b></p><p><b>Day 3 List 1</b></p><p><b>Day 4 List 1</b></p></blockquote><p>For the next 20 minutes power through those fragments, pick the ones most important to the memory you've been working with for the first that you write. If you are torn between two ways to approach the fragment, write them both quickly. Try not to spend more than 5 minutes on any individual fragment unless you're willing to keep going until you've finished all of the fragments, but even then, don't spend more than 10 or so minutes, these are just fragments.</p><p>For the next 5 minutes (if you're planning on a 35 minute cap for the activity) look over what you've written and see if you can organically work in any words from either today's list 2 (Day 4 List 2), or Day 2's List 2 or 3. Don't shove the words in where they don't fit, but if you can make them fit, nice.</p><p>Then 5 minutes to read over the fragments and see if they make sense, and look to see if you can rephrase anything that is especially plain, or boring. You want to be interesting in your poems, unique, but don't feel like you need to over-complicate or change your voice. Remember you're looking to say things concisely, evocatively, and without using more words than is necessary.</p><p><br /></p><span><!--more--></span><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-size: medium;">Book Assignment 2: </span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Read page 30-35, the "Shards of Memory: Playing with Time" section. This includes completing the 'notebook' assignment, and one or both of the prompt poems. Complete this assignment by the end of the 6-weeks.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Class 5</span></u></b></p><p><i>Today we'll be looking at literary magazines for the first time. You will read one short journal, then sample a few others. </i><i style="text-align: center;">There are thousands of them out there, and there's a good chance you'll be submitting to them for publication yourself, so it's good to have an idea of what's currently being published.</i><i> </i></p><p><b>1: Reading Activity:</b> For today you'll be reading a sampling of current literary magazines. These are the types of publications that you'll be someday (or are already) submitting to, so it is good to be familiar with what a number of them publish. I'm not a fan of the 'spam' or 'shotgun' submission approach, send out a lot yes, but have an idea of what types of poetry those journals publish by reading at least some of the most recent issue and look for editor interviews/notes about what they want in their submission guidelines. But I digress. For today you will read the following:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>A)</b> The current (November 2023) issue of <a href="https://www.thrushpoetryjournal.com/november-2023.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thrush Poetry Journal</span></a>. It is only 7 poems and many are short, yet it's still a wide variety. Thrush is a simple-looking, but longstanding and well-respected literary magazine. They are also free to submit to (once every six months) and tell you which poem they liked the most which is nice as it helps you determine what to send the next attempt six or more months later.</p><p><b>B)</b> At least 2 poems from each of the following journals. You have free rein on which title or author to pick, feel free to change you pick if after looking at the length or style of the poem you're like... nahhhhh. But also, don't be afraid of trying to read something out of your normal 'box'. Give each journal a fair shot, you'll be ranking them.</p></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.cortlandreview.com/issue-91/#" target="_blank">Cortland Review</a> (Issue 91)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.applevalleyreview.org/fall-2023/contents" target="_blank">Apple Valley Review</a> (Fall 2023)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.roanokereview.org/2023-issue" target="_blank">Roanoke Review</a> (2023 Issue)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.pennreview.org/#/no-72/" target="_blank">The Penn Review</a> (Issue 72)</span></div><p><b>2: Notebooking Activity:</b> Just do your notes about the pieces you've read today including quotes, parallel thoughts, ideas sparked by the poems, things you liked as well as things you really didn't like. Rank the 5 journals that you read pieces from today 1-5, 1 being your favorite and 5 being your least favorite. Be sure to mention other observations of the journals themselves which you have. Also jot down anything you recall from the past few days that was interesting, intriguing, funny, or stuck out for some reason.</p><p><b>3: Brainstorming/Research Activity:</b> Today you're collecting and expanding slightly. If you have been typing your brainstorming it'll be easy, copy/paste. However, if you're handwriting, you get the added opportunity to think about how you've phrased things, and maybe make them a little more interesting/unique. </p><p>First, collect your fragments from last class. Give them another glance and look for places to tighten, to make the phrasing clear and unique.</p><p>Next, look back over the following Brainstorming Activities: Day 2 List 1 and 3; Day 3 List 1 and Day 4 List 1. Pick a few more of those items relating to the memory you'd picked to focus on which you didn't use for fragments, and write at least two new items for any of those lists. You should have five more items, now brainstorm/expand more details and context for those new items, essentially turning them into 1-3 line fragments.</p><p>Finally, look over your Brainstorming Activity Day 4 List 1, and fragments, and pick 1-2 of them which would apply to the memory you'd picked to focus on. If none apply, brainstorm 1-2 life lessons or pieces of advice that could be the 'point' of that memory/story.</p><p><b>4: Writing Activity:</b> It's finally time to put together your memory poem! Tell us about the memory which you've been writing about and use that as at least a pretty big part of the poem, and be sure that there's a life lesson or 'point' to the poem.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Tips: </span></b></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>1)</b> Use your brainstorm lists and fragments and tell us the story of that pleasant memory with an elder. </p><p><b>2)</b> Think about how other poets we've read have handled using memories to make an observation, to pass along advice or tell some universal wisdom, or in some way make a point. </p><p><b>3)</b> Be sure that you're using a bunch of those fragments and take the time to transition them. </p><p><b>4)</b> Bring it to life using vivid details, unique descriptions (remember those interesting colors and words not used enough from previous BAs), keep the reader interested in what will come next. </p><p><b>5)</b> Consider bringing in parts of another story you worked with in brainstorming if it might fit, or scientific or historic facts that fit, they can help add depth. </p><p><b>6)</b> Be sure that you have a 'point' to the poem. Some sort of observation, life lesson or piece of universal advice that you're relaying. The 'So What?' factor.</p><p><b>7)</b> You can write the poem in any form or shape, but be mindful of the poem's sounds and include assonance at least a few times, it occurs naturally but when you're considering how to phrase things, lean toward uniqueness and good sounds.</p></blockquote><p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Class 6</span></u></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Today we'll be looking a bit more deeply into some literary magazines from the first time. </i></p><p><b>1: Reading Activity:</b> For today you'll be reading a deeper sampling of the journal that you noted as your favorite from last class in your notebook, and just a couple from the journal you listed as your least favorite. Here are archive pages,<b> 1) </b>From your #1 ranked journal read at least 5 more poems from two different issues (10 total), and <b>2)</b> From your #5 ranked journal read at least one poem from two different issues.<br /></p><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.thrushpoetryjournal.com/archives.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Thrush Poetry Journal</i></b></a> (most recent issues are at the bottom)</div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.cortlandreview.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>Cortland Review</i></b></a> (hover over the 'issues' tab in the menu and select an issue)</div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.applevalleyreview.org/archive" target="_blank">Apple Valley Review</a> </span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.roanokereview.org/poetry" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Roanoke Review</span></b></i></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pennreview.org/" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Penn Review</span></b></i></a></div><p><b>2: Notebooking Activity:</b> Today write your notes about that favorite journal which you read at least ten poems from. Mention trends or themes you see in what they publish, favorite poems and their poets (so you can look them up later). Also jot down anything you recall from the past few days that was interesting, intriguing, funny, or stuck out for some reason. And finally, look over this list of <a href="https://jerryjenkins.com/powerful-verbs/" target="_blank">'Strong Verbs'</a> and write down at least ten of them. You'll be using some of them later, but also if you continue using your notebook, you'll hopefully be using them in future poems as well.</p><p><b>3: Brainstorming Activity:</b> <b>List 1:</b> List as many things as you can which you would consider 'wise' or 'insightful'. Try to be unique, sure a brain surgeon or Einstein, but also animals, myths, inanimate objects which contain wisdom. If you don't have many in your list, after the 5 minute timer spend a few minutes googling around for 'wise animals' or 'wisdom myths' and things like that to fill out the list a bit more. </p><p><b>3.5: Revising Activity:</b> Look back over your memory poem, you will be doing 5 separate editing 'passes' in this activity.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><b>First Pass</b> look for actual mistakes/errors/typos. They happen. This first read-through also reacquaints you with the whole piece, where it starts, where it ends, its moves, its metaphors, its theme and its 'point'. Read closely. </p><p><b>Second Pass</b> look for places that don't do one of three things: <i>further characterization</i> (help us get to know you and the elder/other people important to the narrative of the memory), <i>further narrative</i> (progressing the actual story), or <i>furthering your point</i>. If it doesn't add to any of those things, decide if you either cut it, or transform it so that it does further one of those three things. Often just a little bit of tweaking or expansion can streamline good ideas that just don't quite jive in the first draft. But you don't any 'fat' which doesn't help the poem. If you have something you really like, but it doesn't quite fit, pop that into your notebook document, and maybe it will be just what another poem needs, or maybe it will be the beginning of a new poem.</p><p><b>Third Pass</b> look for places where you can add in more details which further the narrative, the characterization or the 'point'. You really want us to be able to imagine the scene without bogging us down with too many details which don't add anything to the poem. Ideally in the second pass you've eliminated 'loose ends' but if there are any places where something is 'set up' make sure it has some sort of a 'pay off'. </p><p><b>Fourth Pass</b> is what I call the <span style="color: red;">"funktification"</span> pass. You're looking for plain or boring language. Words that get the job done but are not evocative, are overly passive, and especially common. Remember, the Samuel Coleridge adage "I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose,—words in their best order; poetry,—the best words in their best order." Picking those individual words is very important, so look for words like 'was' 'did' 'went' etc. Look back in your notebook at your list of underused words, interesting colors, strong verbs. Also look for idioms or common phrases. You don't want the reader to be able to fill-in what's coming next. Also look at your line breaks. End on either a strong, meaningful word, or try to create some intentional ambiguity, remember that the line break is an informal pause, so use it in that fashion as well.</p><p><b>Fifth Pass</b> is mostly just to take inventory of what the poem has become, does it still have your voice and vision? Did your changes add in any errors/mistakes? Some typo slip through, or might there be a stronger line break? Clean it up here and you've got a more polished poem!</p></blockquote><p><b>4: Writing Activity:</b> Today you'll be writing a poem which incorporates three stories. You will 'feature' one, giving it the most spotlight, most words in the poem, but all three will in some way be incorporated. You will also use interesting words from previous brainstorming activities</p><p><b>Before you start the timers:</b> Look back to your Brainstorming Day 1 List 2 and List 3, and Class 3 List 2 and find two of those stories (or come up with 2 other stories from your past), with a third either from history, or pop culture (think sitcom, movie, some form of popular narrative which fits with the two stories from your own life). These stories should work together in some way, a similar lesson learned, similar themes or subjects (baseball stories, rod trip stories, war stories, video game stories etc). Also snag a 5-7 of your interesting words from the previous Poet's Notebook brainstorming activities. You don't have to use them all, but work at least 3 of those in.</p><span><!--more--></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>And that's it!</b></span></p><p>You should have 3 prompted poems, one highly scaffolded, edited poem, and 1 partially scaffolded poem (2 more if you did the book assignments) and a Poet's Notebook with lots to work with for future poems. I highly recommend using that 5-pass editing cycle on all of the poems you've written for class, and if it seems to work for you, or some variation on it, you have a new editing tool!</p><p>I will edit in an alternate set of journals and poems for repeat-students before too long, but there's definitely use in repeating the course choosing different poets/journals to focus on as well as different memories/stories. If you really enjoyed the class and would like to throw me $3 to submit my work to a journal I'd really appreciate it, you can <a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=4DQZNR9YND2UU&no_recurring=0&item_name=Thank+you+for+your+contribution%21+All+donations+go+toward+submission+fees%2C+so+recirculating+it+among+lit+mags+and+presses.+&currency_code=USD" target="_blank">donate here</a>. But of course no pressure, I just hope you enjoyed the course! If you did please comment and let me know!</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-17330684127046566892023-08-16T04:00:00.001-07:002023-08-16T04:00:00.147-07:00Daily Prompt 10: Three Things #3<p> Daily Prompt 10: Three Things #3</p><p>For today's piece, write a poem or piece of prose which includes the following 3 things: The Mississippi River, A Falcon and A Shovel.</p><p>You can use these things in any way that you'd like, but try to make them at least kinda important to the piece and not just used in a throwaway fashion like seeing a picture of a falcon on a shovel sticking out of the roaring Mississippi River and thinking, that's weird, then going on a completely unrelated adventure.</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-4343616648696130372023-08-15T04:00:00.003-07:002023-08-15T04:00:00.145-07:00Daily Prompt 9: Memory Object #1<p> Daily Prompt 9: Memory Object #1</p><p>For today's piece, write a poem or piece of prose which is very much centered on one object which is presented in your speaker's past/memory. That object which the character has a memory of is... <b>A Rubber Duck bath toy</b></p><p>You might have a character see the object and have a specific memory about it, the memory might come inexplicably, maybe someone else will bring it up or be reminiscing about the past when the memory comes. Be sure to use sensory details, and to be specific! </p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-32343404248095154252023-08-14T04:00:00.001-07:002023-08-14T04:00:00.146-07:00Daily Prompt 8: Title Mania #1<p> Daily Prompt 8: Title Mania #1</p><p>For today's piece, write a poem or piece of prose which uses one of the following four possible titles:</p><p>1) The Unmovable Rock<br />2) Along the Dirt Trail<br />3) Can of Worms<br />4) Froth isn't the Right Word, But it's Close</p><p>That's it. Make the title make sense for the piece, use it as inspiration for either the piece's inciting incident, its resolution, or something vital to the piece so that it justifies being the title, but the rest is up to you.</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-30651495572326327252023-08-13T06:33:00.004-07:002023-08-13T16:33:03.578-07:00Daily Prompt 7: Three Things #2<p> Daily Prompt 7: Three Things #2</p><p>For today's piece, write a poem or piece of prose which includes the following 3 things: Sunday, A Hammer and A Pecan Pie.</p><p>You can use these things in any way that you'd like, but try to make them at least kinda important to the piece and not just used in a throwaway fashion like eating a piece of pie on Sunday with a hammer on the counter and thinking, that's weird, then going on a completely unrelated adventure.</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-22843676038555433262023-07-30T10:00:00.002-07:002023-08-13T06:31:55.018-07:00Daily Prompt 6: Three Things #1<p>Daily Prompt 6: Three Things #1</p><p>For today's piece, write a poem or piece of prose which includes the following 3 things: An Elephant, A Cardboard Box and A Scarf.</p><p>You can use these things in any way that you'd like, but try to make them at least kinda important to the piece and not just used in a throwaway fashion like seeing a picture of an elephant wearing a scarf standing in a cardboard box and thinking, that's weird, then going on a completely unrelated adventure.</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-21798977184372008762023-07-29T10:00:00.001-07:002023-07-29T10:00:00.144-07:00Daily Prompt 5: Fallen from a Tree<p>Daily Prompt 5: Fallen from a Tree</p><p>For today's piece, write a poem or piece of prose which revolves around something falling out of a tree. This could be the narrator/a character, it could be a branch or 'widow maker' limb, fruit (ala Isaac Newton's apple maybe?) a poorly constructed treehouse, a crashed ultralight airplane (or drone or kite or stuck football/frisbee). Remember to include some sort of insight/observation/point.</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-84825751553786322242023-07-28T21:11:00.005-07:002023-07-28T21:11:32.481-07:00Daily Prompt 4: Late for work<p>Daily Prompt 4: <b>Late for work</b></p><p>For today's piece, write a poem or piece of prose which uses the narrative of the speaker/main character being late for work. Be sure to give the lateness some gravitas (are they worried they'll be fired, lose a promotion, are they opening a restaurant/store by themselves? Lots of options for making it more than just a 'sorry I'm late' 'no problem' interaction). You can make it as much focused on the person being late for work as you want, perhaps what happens while they're rushing to get ready, or to drive/bike/transit to their job that is what is interesting. Decide before you start writing if you want the 'takeaway' or 'point' to be positive or negative. </p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-25737250686944751212023-06-08T10:00:00.003-07:002023-07-28T21:11:00.564-07:00Daily Prompt 3: Flat Bike Tire<p> Daily Prompt 3: <b>Flat Bike Tire</b></p><p>For today's piece, write a poem or piece of prose which centers on a flat bike tire. It could happen mid-journey, it could be a metaphor for lost opportunities or it could be whatever you want. But grab onto the idea of a what a flat bike tire could stop, cause, represent etc. Go for it!</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-76005147155176827132023-06-07T10:00:00.003-07:002023-06-07T10:00:00.142-07:00Daily Prompt 2: Three Things 1<p> New Series, new set of numbers. I have tons of Three Things Prompts on the blog, and the concept is simple, take the following 3 things, and write a piece which makes them integral to the narrative or meaning of the poem. </p><p>My best tip: Find a solid connection or way you can connect two of the things, develop that a little in your brain, then find a place that the third object might intersect with that original connection. Think of it like the first connection is a line between the two words. The third word will connect somewhere along that line of narrative or development of idea, making a shape kinda like an F without the top horizontal line. Then your job is to turn that set of perpendicular lines into a triangle by connecting the new 'thing' to each individual thing at the beginning or the end of the piece so it helps either the setup or the payoff (or both)</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-large;"><b>Three Things:</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">A Basketball<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">A Pond<br />Sunset</span></b></p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-28270052574059310262023-06-06T10:00:00.001-07:002023-06-06T10:00:00.151-07:00Daily Prompt 1: Four Steps Blue<p> For today's prompt, you will eventually write a piece of poetry or prose which includes at least five things (objects, places, people, animals) that are traditionally blue, but we're going to do this in steps. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3xIryqNfsJqpjhCV_Z6JIrxbNSCFITGFTPYymXFVYwSolBFASVsOkuElZ7Nw6krMWvRyQqs1wMQMPvOsUi5sJUtJ_N5rd6sivdUuVkAtp55d3ATRTSHdBsIn7opLv6oELPV-HoObqEE8YtfNc4pa7ZFhlt_ZMqNKMcBHh61AXT4LQzYlhP6xAkQcrA/s640/lindsay-henwood-7_kRuX1hSXM-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3xIryqNfsJqpjhCV_Z6JIrxbNSCFITGFTPYymXFVYwSolBFASVsOkuElZ7Nw6krMWvRyQqs1wMQMPvOsUi5sJUtJ_N5rd6sivdUuVkAtp55d3ATRTSHdBsIn7opLv6oELPV-HoObqEE8YtfNc4pa7ZFhlt_ZMqNKMcBHh61AXT4LQzYlhP6xAkQcrA/s320/lindsay-henwood-7_kRuX1hSXM-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/pt-br/@lindsayhenwood?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Lindsay Henwood</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/7_kRuX1hSXM?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Step One: Before you get really started, think of either a basic plot, or an observation or 'point' you can make in your poem. Don't write anything down, just get something rough quickly, something basic which you'll build on. write it down in just 1-2 sentences. Don't spend too much time on this, but as you're completing the other tasks be thinking about how you can extend that plot or build toward your observation.</p><p>Step Two: Brainstorm a list of 5-10 things which are blue. Once you have your list, <a href="https://simplicable.com/colors/blue-things" target="_blank">look over this list</a> and add on at least 3 more to your list of blue things.</p><p>Step Three: Now write three sets of three similes which use three of those things from your list. Avoid the easy, write similes which are strange or surprising. Maybe even nonsensical or silly (maybe do a couple extra if you're leaning absurd). Keep in mind your basic premise or observation, but don't seek to connect things yet.</p><p>Step Four: Now you've thought about your concept, you have some potential similes, you have a list of many objects, animals or places you can use, it's time to write your piece. Use at least two of your similes in your final piece of writing.</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-79588080704619931732023-05-30T09:40:00.006-07:002023-05-30T09:40:51.688-07:00Signs of life<p>School life is rough. It's exhausting. I can see a pathway to it being less exhausting, but that means investing less time into teach, less effort, less of a f*ck. But it's really hard for me to stop. This means my means and my modes will shift. But I can't stop myself from giving as much of my time and effort to boosting the young/unexperienced voices around me. When I see people yearning more, I want to help. Because I'm in their same position. I need more. I doubt I'll ever know the classics nearly as well as any of my Masters' advisors, but I know factually that I know more/different things about getting by. About hardscrabble, about just enough. But forget this ranting.</p><p>New writing prompts coming soon! Maybe not daily, not in the same variety and intensity, but I'm coming back. I'll get a template for the summer. I can't stress this enough. Demystify writing. It is a skill. It is something that is discernible. I've read so many AI written essays and it's heartbreaking. I mean, I get, students, especially in high school, want to take the path of least resistance, but that might lead to a lack of understanding of rhetoric which leads to Andrew Tate and his tater tots. To the furthering of bad, and bad-faith arguments. </p><p><br /></p><p>But, prompts, and soon. And a prompt book I hope.</p>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-63167788027629610802022-07-29T00:19:00.003-07:002022-07-29T00:19:20.548-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #180: Six Word Cluster 15<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p><div style="text-align: right;"><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>#180</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Six Word Cluster</b><b> 15</b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise write a piece that includes the following set of 6 words. If you're writing free verse or fiction, don't front-load them all into the beginning of your piece, save at least one or two for somewhere to 'aim' your piece.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Remember sestinas have 6 different end-words, but don't let me tell you what to write. Just use all 6 words in a fashion that isn't throw-away. Don't put them in in a way that you'll definitely later edit them out because they don't add to the piece. Make them important. This might require a little brainstorming at first. Don't be afraid, you can do it!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span>Six Words:</span></b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">1) Elongated</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">2) Plain</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">3) Foil</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">4) Fragmented</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">5) </span></i><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Remaining</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">6) Pond</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />---<br /></div></div></div></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><span><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Bonus Exercise:</b> If that's not enough, also include </i></div></div></span></div><div><span><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>1) at least two lines or sentences that begin with the word "Coming", </i></div></div></span></div><div><span><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>2) at least one reference to a Telephone, </i></div></div></span></div><div><span><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>3) at least three lines (or sentences) with three instances of the /A/ sound (like "Thank the blatant fakers for that tape" or "Helping break the claims of defamed liars").</i></div></div></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span><div style="text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /></div></div><p>If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Rainy Day Chill Vibes" lofi playlist.</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KCccXqHfKcw" width="320" youtube-src-id="KCccXqHfKcw"></iframe></div></div></div></span></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-79131627930946681322022-07-20T22:00:00.002-07:002022-07-20T22:18:38.236-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #179 Repetition Files 12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p></div></div></span></div><div><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">#179</b></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Repetition Files 12</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which focuses on repetition. In this instance we will work with general repetition. This can be anywhere in the piece, whether <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/anaphora" target="_blank">anaphora</a> or otherwise. Anaphora is a handy little bit of poetic craft that goes a little something like this:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">the repetition of a word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines to create a sonic effect.</blockquote>Take a moment and read the above-linked Poetry Foundation article, even if you know the term. For even more fun check out this longer article called <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/70030/adventures-in-anaphora" target="_blank">Adventures in Anaphora</a>.<br /><br />Your mission is to use the following phrase <b><span style="font-size: large;">at least 4 </span></b>times. <br /><br />The word or phrase we'll use for our exercise today is:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Join the barricade" </span></b></div><b><br />Bonus Exercise:</b> <i>Include these five words into your piece "Ramparts" "Cocktail" "Slab" "Bicycle" and "Indignant".</i><br /><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">If you'd like some background writing music, try this "Raining in N A G O Y A" lofi mix.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o5Gv4_FdcYs" width="320" youtube-src-id="o5Gv4_FdcYs"></iframe></div></div></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-31983173119633472222022-07-18T18:40:00.003-07:002022-07-18T18:40:41.102-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #178: Title Mania "Under the Lemon Tree" 11<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">#178</b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b>Title Mania "</b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Under the Lemon Tree</span><b>"</b></span><span><span> </span><span><span><b>11</b></span></span></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose that utilizes one of the following titles, and if you want extra 'bonus points' also include the three items from below the title list. These titles all come from the awesome <a href="https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/under-the-lemon-tree/" target="_blank">Marsha De La O poem "Under the Lemon Tree"</a> which is featured in Poetry Out Loud.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Titles</span></b>:</div><ol><li><span style="font-size: large;">Fine Mist Falls</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">In Green Shadow</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">Hundreds of Globes</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">Fold into the Earth</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">As a Salve</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">Essence of Citrus</span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">At the Far End of the Season</span></li></ol><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bonus Exercise: Three Things</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(Your piece must also include the following three 'things', if you choose this option, or you can just do this 'three things' exercise without one of those titles—you do you!)</i></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><ol><li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Lemon</span></li><li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Globe</span></li><li style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Cup</span></li></ol></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">------------------------------------</div><p>If you'd like some background music try this "fujisan" lofi mix from friend of the blog <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8wqezBudeAiTdKOX571ug" target="_blank">The Jazz Hop Café</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RtWgbht6qe8" width="320" youtube-src-id="RtWgbht6qe8"></iframe></div></div></span></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-51729338992288959022022-07-16T19:29:00.005-07:002022-07-16T19:29:41.988-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #177: Three Things Together 18<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p></div></div></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">#177</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Three Things Together 18</b></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large; text-align: center;">F</span><span style="text-align: center;">or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following three things, Nice and simple.</span><br style="text-align: center;" /></p><ol style="text-align: center;"><li><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>A Tractor</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Subway</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Surfers</b></span></li></ol><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /><br /><i>Optional Prompt:</i> Include at least one fruit, two sentences that are exactly five words long, and include at least one instance where we see a baseball rolling to a stop.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">If you'd like some background music to write to, try the "Midnight Coding in Chicago" lofi mix.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_4kLioMoMrk" width="320" youtube-src-id="_4kLioMoMrk"></iframe></div></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-19848931648607688672022-07-15T00:13:00.001-07:002022-07-15T00:13:19.065-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #176: Ekphrastic Excellence 10<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p></div></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>#176</b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Ekphrastic Excellence 10</b></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today, we're providing one awesome image for you to be inspired by. Find a creative way to respond/react/interpret the image—be inspired, inspire your reader.</p><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Image</span></b>: "<a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/129884/starry-night-and-the-astronauts" target="_blank">Starry Night and the Astronauts by Alma Thomas</a>" (1972)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYWYhYOqTkNG3akJ0tXJYzkX_58qL5ZAuQeX-punk9YDoWetppVu7dLJNeDktBieaP986xFt9AWaNiLFkf3zKpwTNC-ApjobMstwqgmM7vmqLNAtyUVi2s1YGJbb1_uceG8aFw0ioJ8bThky-UoWVh17ufcUt8FdY7xPOW9KDJNwElmnABMf8GcYMDw/s958/Starry%20Night%20and%20the%20Astronomers%20Art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="843" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYWYhYOqTkNG3akJ0tXJYzkX_58qL5ZAuQeX-punk9YDoWetppVu7dLJNeDktBieaP986xFt9AWaNiLFkf3zKpwTNC-ApjobMstwqgmM7vmqLNAtyUVi2s1YGJbb1_uceG8aFw0ioJ8bThky-UoWVh17ufcUt8FdY7xPOW9KDJNwElmnABMf8GcYMDw/w353-h400/Starry%20Night%20and%20the%20Astronomers%20Art.jpg" width="353" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">-----</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How will you translate this image into writing? This is more 'minimal' in its information, so is that the night sky with something orange/red/yellow in it? Is it an explosion? Is it actually water, and a reflection, or a flashy fish or a sunken ship. Is it more metaphorical? There are dozens of ways you can go with this piece, make it your own.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You got this!</div><div style="text-align: center;">-----</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>If you'd like chill lofi background writing music, try this "3 AM Coding Session" lofi playlist.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_ITiwPMUzho" width="320" youtube-src-id="_ITiwPMUzho"></iframe></div></div></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-66723454437398485732022-07-13T23:00:00.001-07:002022-07-13T23:00:00.153-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #175: Between a Fact and an Exact Place 9<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p></div></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">#175</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Between a Fact and an Exact Place 9</b></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following place (either as the setting, referenced or some aspect of it described) and the following fact in some way (its discovery, used as a metaphor, witnessed, explained, demonstrated, etc—anything but as a throwaway line).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Fact:</span></b> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1969" target="_blank">The #1 Billboard Single of 1969 was "Sugar, Sugar" from the cartoon The Archies</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Exact Place: </span></b></span><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: x-large;"> </b><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0349623,0.5970733,3a,75y,12.76h,81.95t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipO4Sy79C3apVnTLdW0gZMo8771U-ZWQRur7a9bo!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO4Sy79C3apVnTLdW0gZMo8771U-ZWQRur7a9bo%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya69.360176-ro0-fo100!7i8192!8i4096" style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Miravet, Spain</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miravet" target="_blank">more info about the location</a>) </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOw_bFsbNJjWYnAIKfKkIUohRW3bGkVYmB7a6zLb8imW72FlwxweI5idcK_qmjFHURogudT3XzCPX0zE1GDNWgztNL3yFYS06eaopCI2t_SXq5UIx9vX-ZPn5JJNsD3gRvhOB4-VjYb7vp7UEn_vfCfZnIj5WSlCwPpV0hhmDk8aiV5NM_L0NjO-VOQ/s2542/Miravet%20Spain%20Image-bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1589" data-original-width="2542" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOw_bFsbNJjWYnAIKfKkIUohRW3bGkVYmB7a6zLb8imW72FlwxweI5idcK_qmjFHURogudT3XzCPX0zE1GDNWgztNL3yFYS06eaopCI2t_SXq5UIx9vX-ZPn5JJNsD3gRvhOB4-VjYb7vp7UEn_vfCfZnIj5WSlCwPpV0hhmDk8aiV5NM_L0NjO-VOQ/w640-h400/Miravet%20Spain%20Image-bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;">As an additional assignment, should you choose to incorporate it, is as follows: Also include the words "Honey" "Plate" "Apple" "Tilt" and "Reach".</i></div><p></p><p><i></i></p><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">If you'd like some background music, try this "Peaceful Journey" lofi mix.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jUNr6uuJTDw" width="320" youtube-src-id="jUNr6uuJTDw"></iframe></div></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-50693097323945750832022-07-13T19:48:00.002-07:002022-07-13T19:48:30.644-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #174: Erasing Roger Ebert 61 "Constantine"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p></div></div></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>#174</b></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Erasing Roger Ebert 61 </b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>"Constantine"</b></span></div></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's exercise we have split paths for fiction and poetry, though I highly recommend that even fiction writers try the poetry exercise, because erasures can be a blast!<br /><br /><b>Poetry: </b>For poetry do an <a href="https://poets.org/glossary/erasure" target="_blank">erasure</a> or <a href="https://www.powerpoetry.org/actions/5-tips-creating-blackout-poetry" target="_blank">black-out poem</a> from the following: <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/constantine-2005" target="_blank">Roger Ebert's review of the 2005 Keanu Reeves film "Constantine" (One and a Half Stars)</a>.</span><br /><br />Roger Ebert has been the archetypal film critic for decades, and he's written thousands of reviews. Because of their nature, almost their own bit of ekphrastic art, this series of erasures will be lots of fun!<br /><br />An Erasure/Blackout is really simple: you take the given text and remove <i>many</i> words to make it your own new piece. One way to go about the erasure that I like to do is to copy the text and paste it twice into your document before you start erasing or blacking out (in MS Word set the text background color to black), that way if you get further into the erasure and decide you want a somewhat different tone or direction, it's easy to go to the unaltered version and make the erasure/black-out piece smoother. Another tip is to look for recurring words, in this example 'bingo' occurs multiple times and could be a good touchstone for your piece.<br /><br /><b>Fiction or (poetry):</b> If you insist on fiction (or just feel like writing a "Title Mania" piece), write a piece with one of these titles taken from this section.<br /><br /></p><ol><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Scavengers of the Damned</b></span></li><li><b style="font-size: x-large;">Not All Who Walk Among Us Are Human</b></li><li><b style="font-size: x-large;">Half-Devils</b></li><li><b style="font-size: x-large;">Tilda Swinton tells him "You are going to die young"</b></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Enemy is Global</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The World Behind the World</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Eaten by Flies</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Security Holes</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Experimentally Drowned in a Bathtub</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bright White Corridors and Old Friends</b></span></li></ol><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Erasure Selection</span></b>:<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Roger Ebert's review of </i><span style="text-align: left;"><i><b>"Constantine" </b></i></span></div><p>No, "Constantine" is not part of a trilogy including "Troy" and "Alexander." It's not about the emperor at all, but about a man who can see the world behind the world, and is waging war against the scavengers of the damned. There was a nice documentary about emperor penguins, however, at Sundance this year. The males sit on the eggs all winter long in like 60 degrees below zero.</p><p>Keanu Reeves plays Constantine as a chain-smoking, depressed demon-hunter who lives above a bowling alley in Los Angeles. Since he was a child, he has been able to see that not all who walk among us are human. Some are penguins. Sorry about that. Some are half-angels and half-devils. Constantine knows he is doomed to hell because he once tried to kill himself, and is trying to rack up enough frames against the demons to earn his way into heaven.</p><p>There is a scene early in the movie where Constantine and his doctor look at his X-rays, never a good sign in a superhero movie. He has lung cancer. The angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) tells him, "You are going to die young because you've smoked 30 cigarettes a day since you were 13." Gabriel has made more interesting announcements. Constantine has already spent some time in hell, which looks like a post-nuclear Los Angeles created by animators with a hangover. No doubt it is filled with carcinogens.</p><p>The half-angels and half-devils are earthly proxies in the war between God and Satan. You would think that God would be the New England Patriots of this contest, but apparently there is a chance that Satan could win. Constantine's lonely mission is to track down half-demons and cast them back to the fires below. Like Blade, the vampire-killer, he is surprisingly optimistic, considering he is one guy in one city dealing on a case-by-case basis, and the enemy is global.</p><p>Constantine has a technical advisor named Beeman (Max Baker), who lives in the ceiling of the bowling alley among the pin-spotting machines, and functions like Q in the James Bond movies. Here he is loading Constantine with the latest weaponry: "Bullet shavings from the assassination attempt on the Pope, holy water from the river of Jordan, and, you'll love this, screech beetles." The screech beetles come in a little matchbox. "To the fallen," Max explains, "the sound is like nails on a blackboard." Later there is a scene where Constantine is inundated by the creatures of hell, and desperately tries to reach the matchbox and get those beetles to start screeching.</p><p>Rachel Weisz plays Angela Dodson, an L.A. police detective whose twin sister, Isabel, has apparently committed suicide. Isabel reported seeing demons, so Angela consults Constantine, who nods wisely and wonders if Isabel jumped, or was metaphysically pushed. Later in the film, to show Angela that she also has the gift of seeing the world behind the world, Constantine holds her underwater in a bathtub until she passes out and sees the torments of hell. No bright white corridors and old friends and Yanni for her. You wonder what kind of an L.A. cop would allow herself to be experimentally drowned in a bathtub by a guy who lives over a bowling alley.</p><p>Together, they prowl the nighttime streets. At one point, Constantine needs to consult Midnite (Djimon Hounsou), a former witch doctor who runs a private nightclub where half-angels and half-demons can get half-loaded and talk shop. There is a doorman. To gain admittance, you have to read his mind and tell him what's on the other side of the card he's holding up. "Two frogs on a bench," Constantine says. Could have been a lucky guess.</p><p>There is a priest in the film, the alcoholic Father Hennessy (Pruitt Taylor Vince), whose name, I guess, is product placement. Strange that there is a priest, since that opens the door to Catholicism and therefore to the news that Constantine is not doomed unless he wages a lifelong war against demons, but need merely go to confession; three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys, and he's outta there. Strange, that movies about Satan always require Catholics. You never see your Presbyterians or Episcopalians hurling down demons.</p><p>The forces of hell manifest themselves in many ways. One victim is eaten by flies. A young girl is possessed by a devil, and Constantine shouts, "I need a mirror! Now! At least three feet high!" He can capture the demon in the mirror and throw it out the window, see, although you wonder why supernatural beings would have such low-tech security holes.</p><p>Reeves has a deliberately morose energy level in the movie, as befits one who has seen hell, walks among half-demons, and is dying. He keeps on smoking. Eventually he confronts Satan (Peter Stormare), who wears a white suit. (Satan to tailor: "I want a suit just like God's.") Oh, and the plot also involves the Spear of Destiny, which is the spear that killed Christ, and which has been missing since World War II, which seems to open a window to the possibility of Nazi villains, but no.</p><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Shinto Shrine." lofi playlist from friends of the blog <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheJazzHopCaf%C3%A9" target="_blank">The Jazz Hop Café</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G39H5pbe-1A" width="320" youtube-src-id="G39H5pbe-1A"></iframe></div></div></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-45649861518757243192022-07-13T01:49:00.003-07:002022-07-13T01:49:35.268-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #173 Repetition Files 11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p></div></div></span></div><div><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">#173</b></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Repetition Files 11</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which focuses on repetition. In this instance we will work with general repetition. This can be anywhere in the piece, whether <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/anaphora" target="_blank">anaphora</a> or otherwise. Anaphora is a handy little bit of poetic craft that goes a little something like this:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">the repetition of a word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines to create a sonic effect.</blockquote>Take a moment and read the above-linked Poetry Foundation article, even if you know the term. For even more fun check out this longer article called <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/70030/adventures-in-anaphora" target="_blank">Adventures in Anaphora</a>.<br /><br />Your mission is to use the following phrase <b><span style="font-size: large;">at least 5 </span></b>times. <br /><br />The word or phrase we'll use for our exercise today is:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">"On the corner" </span></b></div><b><br />Bonus Exercise:</b> <i>Include these five words into your piece "Elegant" "Fever" "Vines" "Digging" and "Pooling".</i><br /><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">If you'd like some background writing music, try this "Lost Temple" lofi mix.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zqaxKMdUM8g" width="320" youtube-src-id="zqaxKMdUM8g"></iframe></div></div></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-53907205758475313212022-07-12T07:07:00.003-07:002022-07-12T07:07:31.995-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #172: Six Word Cluster 14<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p><div style="text-align: right;"><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>#172</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Six Word Cluster</b><b> 14</b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise write a piece that includes the following set of 6 words. If you're writing free verse or fiction, don't front-load them all into the beginning of your piece, save at least one or two for somewhere to 'aim' your piece.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Remember sestinas have 6 different end-words, but don't let me tell you what to write. Just use all 6 words in a fashion that isn't throw-away. Don't put them in in a way that you'll definitely later edit them out because they don't add to the piece. Make them important. This might require a little brainstorming at first. Don't be afraid, you can do it!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span>Six Words:</span></b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">1) Tulip</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">2) Danger</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">3) Photographer</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">4) Element</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">5) </span></i><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Revolving</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">6) Bucket</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />---<br /></div></div></div></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><span><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>Bonus Exercise:</b> If that's not enough, also include </i></div></div></span></div><div><span><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>1) at least three lines or sentences that begin with the word "Enough", </i></div></div></span></div><div><span><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>2) at least one reference to a Telescope, </i></div></div></span></div><div><span><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>3) at least three lines (or sentences) with three instances of the /O/ sound (like "Those boats won't float" or "Her clothes were both wool and mold-colored").</i></div></div></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span><div style="text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /></div></div><p>If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Cozy Cabin" lofi playlist.</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MuctFLYwz48" width="320" youtube-src-id="MuctFLYwz48"></iframe></div></div></div></span></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-80371773369515515142022-07-07T03:52:00.001-07:002022-07-07T03:52:14.757-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #171: Beginning, Middle & End 15<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">#171</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Beginning, Middle & End 15</b></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which begins with one image, scenario, line of dialog or place, includes another thing or event somewhere beyond the first and before the last stanza/paragraph, and ends with another required 'thing'.</p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Begin With</span></b>: <span style="font-size: large;">A person shouting at an inanimate object.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Somewhere in the middle</b>: An astronaut floats in zero gravity.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>End With</b></span>: <span style="font-size: large;">Someone throwing a ball.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><i><b>Extra Credit Requirements</b>: </i>Your title or first line/sentence must include the word "Broken", and you should include the following five words: <b>Tube</b>, <b>Falling</b>, <b>Rumble</b>, <b>Switch</b>, <b>Oak</b>.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------</div><p>If you'd like some background writing music try this lofi playlist "Memories of Home"</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tsM9e1leD-M" width="320" youtube-src-id="tsM9e1leD-M"></iframe></div></div></span></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-70146550659409133592022-07-04T03:06:00.004-07:002022-07-04T03:06:58.358-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #170: Three Things Together 17<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p></div></div></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">#170</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Three Things Together 17</b></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large; text-align: center;">F</span><span style="text-align: center;">or today's writing exercise you will write a piece of poetry or prose which contains the following three things, Nice and simple.</span><br style="text-align: center;" /></p><ol style="text-align: center;"><li><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><b>A Jigsaw Puzzle</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Submarine</b></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Australia</b></span></li></ol><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /><br /><i>Optional Prompt:</i> Include at least one frog, two sentences that are exactly four words long, and include at least one instance where we see a window break.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">If you'd like some background music to write to, try the "Breath of the Night" lofi mix from friend of the blog <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz9_4daWw-uWuqeB6_IkhMg" target="_blank">Dreamhop Music</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lL6rDj40NZk" width="320" youtube-src-id="lL6rDj40NZk"></iframe></div></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-89460003137416353742022-07-01T03:37:00.004-07:002022-07-01T03:37:42.859-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #169: First Line Bonanza 12<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span><b style="font-size: x-large;">#169</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>First Line Bonanza 12</b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise write a piece that begins with one of the following first lines.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>1) Long before the phone rang, we knew.</span><br /><span>2)<i> </i>No one ever asked him what his plan was</span><i>.</i><br /><span>3) With ice crusting his moustache he smiled.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">4) Forks don't hate spoons.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">5) A lot of answers can be found in the average junk drawer.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">6) Heralded by harmonicas and bootfalls.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">7) Just climb the ladder, they said.</span></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">-----</div><br /><b>Bonus 'constraint':</b> You must include a paragraph/stanza in which at least 3 of the sentences or lines begin with the letter "P" and the piece must include either a rusty nail or a hatchet (or both).</div><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Lost Sky" background music playlist.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sB5BJnsnoiA" width="320" youtube-src-id="sB5BJnsnoiA"></iframe></div></div></div></div></span></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486949987152383858.post-28767971447849569602022-06-30T02:24:00.000-07:002022-06-30T02:24:03.548-07:002022 Writing Exercise Series #168: Dueling Six Word Shootout 13<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=s2583" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="2583" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3s7TbSYdtZiUnngV8hTy6TWebVSPgAPRo1e8uooL4bJiGY4hAX12VP30yLxJEzS-GGdMWXALf-1MG80tRn0ZouuZSVUSJzZcqfSS6lySc8C3Fh1lEHStWpdkdzkM6S_LL-hA5t4v4u9eZjKOYrwP8gyeAVATHNw5tpjlMf3ZuZIeOeaEPlysbFs2JeA=w640-h72" width="640" /></a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span><div style="text-align: start;"><p>The 2022 Writing Series is a series of daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to spark their creative mind and to spur production of new pieces. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "<i>What do I write about"</i> you are instead pondering <i>"How do I make this work?"</i> And in the process you are producing new writing.</p><p>This is not a standard writing session. This is pure production—to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink it, you will be able to complete all of the series' exercises in <i style="font-weight: bold;">under 30 minutes. </i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Timer Method</span></b></p><p>If you're going with the timer method (which is certainly not required) I recommend setting four timers (these markers are if you're doing a 30 minute session): <b>The First Timer for 5 minutes</b> for a pre-writing reminder, if you do any planning or thinking on how those things can fit together or how to structure what you're doing, or to revisit your writer's notebook to remind yourself of anything you might have noted to write about 'in the future'. But mostly, to remind you not to overthink, not to delay the actual writing process. You should think at least a little about what the point of the piece will be (more in the third timer section) <b>The Second Timer for 15 minutes</b> which is the main writing time. Remember, don't overthink during this section. You're knocking out the piece. When this timer goes off it's not the end, but a signal that you'll be trying to wrap it up soon. <b>The Third Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time to wrap up what you're writing. This is where you're making sure that you're tucking in any 'loose narrative threads' and getting to your conclusions. Remember, pieces should have some takeaway or 'point'. Some 'why'—a thing that the reader can point to if they're asking themselves "why did I read this?". <b>The Fourth Timer for 5 minutes</b> which is time for editing, for going back over the piece and giving it a 'once over' for typos. I highly suggest reading it aloud once at the beginning of the five minutes (or prior to starting the last timer). Then you'll use the time to fix things early on that you later changed, and to sprinkle in 'crumbs' which foreshadow or work well with later metaphors so that the piece feels more united. </p><div style="text-align: right;"><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>#168</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Dueling Six Word Shootout</b><b> 13</b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or today's writing exercise write a piece that includes <b>one or both</b> of the following sets of 6 words. Don't front-load them all into the beginning of your piece, save at least one or two for somewhere to 'aim' your piece. Remember sestinas have 6 different end-words, but don't let me tell you what to write. Just use all 6 (or twelve) words in a fashion that isn't throw-away. Don't put them in in a way that you'll definitely later edit them out because they don't add to the piece. Make them important. This might require a little brainstorming at first. Don't be afraid, you can do it!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span>Set 1:</span></b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">1) Fruitful </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">2) Cruel</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">3) Rule</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">4) Swipe</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">5) Pike</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">6) Blind </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Set 2:</b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">7) Repeating</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">8) Moldy </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">9) Wing </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">10) </span></i><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Ogre</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">1</span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;">1) Rut</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">12) Core</span></i></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />---<br /><i><b>Bonus Exercise:</b> If that's not enough, also include the following three things: A Pot of Coffee, A Loose Brick, and Jupiter.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------<br /></div></div><p>If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Fresh Summer | Morning Vibes' lofi mix.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xgd37_z5INg" width="320" youtube-src-id="xgd37_z5INg"></iframe></div></div></span></div>Zebulonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14150884989715466896noreply@blogger.com