Hey Ru! Want creative writing classes? Here's one!

[Shira]

I decided to be nice and help out with the stuff that isn't out of our book, "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott. I mean, assignments that he gives us, little character help, things like that. ((Good book, by the way.))

First thing: Write 200 words per day about anything. Just freewrite. If you go over, good. Don't count roleplay posts, though. I mean sitting down with a notebook and just write about the day, what happened, how you now hate Shira because she's doing this to you, anything. Sometime's I'll come on and help direct these free writes (I'll post a few at a time, so if I disappear, you have stuff to do on the days I'm not here). Only use the directed free writes on school days; weekends you can have off. This doesn't have to be posted on LoL. Other assignments do, like......

First assignment for this weekend: I come from.....

Write a poem, titled "I come from" and go from there. Where do you come from? What has shaped you from a child to who you are today? What little things have changed your life to make you a living, breathing person that sits on the computer reading this? ;D It's only 12-20 lines, and the only work over the weekend.

As something to work off of, this is what I wrote:

I come from my mom and my dad
And the hopes......dreams they once had.
Doors slamming, screams in the dark
I escaped into my mind

I come from Spira, and the town of Desperation
Dozing out from countless hours of Twilight Town
I come from piles of incomplete notebooks
Filled with randomness and insanity

I come from salvation from a step mom
And completion from my friends
Yaoi, manga, and country music
All of which separate me from others

((And this is open to everyone. Ru was the one that was complaining, that's all))

[Riemman]

Whee!! Sounds fun. I was bored and had a minute. XD ((I lie, I was intrigued and wanted to try it. XD))

I come from hardship and priviledge
The product of rough times
Though I have known few
Their experiences have shaped me

I come from dreams of the future
And uncertainties of today
Doubt, pride, strength, fear
All rolled together in one

I come from Ghost Fields, and Realms of Power
I am Nobody and Heartless
The Wielder of the Key
From the flowing stream of Life

I come from imagination
Wispy and surreal
But solid in strength
With support from those close to me

[Shira]

Aww....Pretty!


Another thing to do: keep record of "moments" that happen. "Moments" can be anything that randomly happen to you, or you overhear it in the hallway, things like that. "Moments" are just something that you decide to want to keep in mental storage. They don't need to make sense.

A few that I remember having involved plastic spoons, another one talked about screwing cars. Things that just make you laugh. These "moments" are probably best kept on notecards. They'll come in handy later for journal assignments.

[Riemman]

Screwing cars, Shira? For shame. Have a little self-love will you? You don't need to lower yourself to that level. XD

J/k. I luffles you Shira>

[Shira]

I know. I DIDN'T SAY THAT. The guy in front of me in Autos said, "If a car had a va-ga-ga, I would totally screw it." and then "I wonder if the muffler's hot."

Yes, a guy said the word va-ga-ga. Just like that.

And I luffles you too, Rie.

[Riemman]

YaY!!! *Is luffled* That's funny.

I'll be the first to offer congratulations for breaking 300 posts. YaY!! Go Shira!!!

((Shira gets karma for breaking 300 XD ))

[Shira]

*dancedance* Yippie! I love karma! Makes me happy -- Riemman gets karma for giving me karma!

[Lali]

Whoot! Go Shira! ^_^ Have more karma for starting the creative writing exercises and for hitting 300. ^_^

I'd do a poem, but my brain is officially frazzled after the weekend. I'll explain somewhere else. With photos. Miaow.

[Shira]

Eh he. Sorry this got pushed back -- a lot of what we're doing is out of the book. But here's some guided journal entries, for everyone.

1) Pointless journal entry.
--- For this one, take something totally pointless, and write about it. My teacher had a good example, and I think this is what he said. "Ever see those guys with swirls shaved into their head? Yeah, they're part of a cult. Or it's a revolution of shaved head guys. One day they are going to take over the world. But why on their head where everyone can see? Why not a tattoo?" I used a piece of paper. Think of something small and insignifacant and give it meaning.

2) Freewrite about kindergarden.
--- What do you remember about kindergarden? Were you picked on then? Did you know some kids from then that you still know now? What about the fieldtrips? Where did you go? How many kids were there? Do you know any kids from then today?

3) One inch picture frame.
--- Take a one inch picture frame, and hold it up. (Don't have to this step literally.) What do you see? Who do you see? Explain it in full detail. No background information, just detail.

4) Freewrite about notecards.
--- Remember those "moments" you're supposed to be capturing? Yeah. Freewrite about that.

5) School lunches.
--- Remember elementary school lunches? What did you eat? What was acceptable in your school? Free lunch, or did you have to pay to be in the "in" crowd? What about the stuff that you brought from home? Was it tradable, or did you have to give/throw it away because it was soggy or weird?

6) Free write about a picture.
--- Look through the pictures and pick one that stands out. Why does it stand out? Who is in it? Give some background about the picture -- where you were, what you were doing there, who took it, etc.

Remember, journals can be no shorter than 200 words. Longer is okay. Don't think that 300 words in one journal can go towards other journals where you are short. Doesn't work like that.

[Ru'Thor]

This is fun. I have a little green mini-notebook that I'm scribbling stuff in. Example from the "moments"...

Me: "KK, did you know that if we were in Spain, you would be Kaka?"
KK: "... yes. I've been there."
Me: "Kaka no tiene pelo. Kaka es calvo."
KK: "I'll calvo you. And your grade, too."
Me: "..."

This is my Japan diary.

Background information. In World Cultures, we each represent a country. Mine is Japan, and the other countries mentioned belong to my friends. I do like Japan. We're indistructable. And Lali, you're the reason I'm not blowing up the UK, so feel special. ^_^ Anyway.

Morning: Mrs. Ionta said that India is a shining beacon of hope. I don't like shiny beacons of hope. Am forming an alliance with the UK, South Korea, and Iran to bomb the heck out of the shiny beacon of hope.

Later: Iran stole my pencil. Am skipping straight to the part when I turn on Iran and bomb them off the map, too. Screw Iran.

Before second period: Oh, yes, I'm good. Turned in essay, ate chocolate, and blew two countries off the face of the earth, all before second period. This is turning out to be a good day.

Third period: Damn. Tried to turn on South Korea for stealing my chocolate, but they apologized to North Korea for fifty-five years of fighting and are now using their nuclear weapons. Must remember to destroy North Korea, too.

Fifth period: Formed alliance with UK and shiny beacon of hope. Blew up both Koreas. Also got pencil back. Once again turning sights to shiny beacon of hope.

Seventh period: No more shiny beacon of hope. Five countries in one day. Go me!

Eighth period: Will bomb China tomorrow. Stupid wanna-bes. Allied with UK, Germany, and France- even if French are stuck up snobs.

[Lali]

*feels special*

[Shira]

*Laughs* That's cute. And funny.

'Remember the 'pointless' journal? I wrote about plastic spoons.

All my friends seem to be spoon junkies. No, they don’t do illegal drugs (even though ass crack kills); they just like something to suck on. Or chew on. Or bite. Or to carry in the back pocket to make other people think they are retarded, as you make the best friends that way. Or snap at other people. Or even to fling bits of semi-chewed food at people that were once considered their friends but aren’t anymore because of backstabbing.

I see why they like spoons. They are rounded and are useful for scooping up ice cream, or for catching that little bit of extra milk when you make mac ‘n’ cheeze and accidentally add to much milk on the bottom. There is also something about plastic spoons that is so much more interesting that metal spoons. You can chew on them forever and not get that nasty pokey feeling you get when you chew on straws too long and they claw at the side of your cheeks, making you chew on the side of your cheeks later on and draw blood, making others think you are sadomasochistic, which is fun in its own way. Gum gets hard and nasty after you let it sit on the side of your teeth for a period because it’s your last piece and the teacher doesn’t allow you to chew gum in her class, and your friends are tired of you asking them if they have gum, so after that class you slip it out from the side of your teeth and it’s all nasty and teeth sticking and when you blow bubbles with the gum it sticks on your lips and makes you look really weird and cheap because you don’t have any more gum.

I like spoons.

307 words about plastic spoons. He loved it.

[Shira]

And here's some of my moments, the more interesting ones.

1) Where did the water go in the Bible from the great flood? (Bree was reading a religious story in English III one day and just randomly said that, and told me when she got home...))

2) Fine, you'll do. ((A friend of mine wore a shirt that said that in our auto's class, where there's only boys in it, but me.))

3) Masturbation -- it's hard to come on. ((Mr. S was telling us about writing things that are never wrote about in real stories, and he said that excat line. Had all of us craking up for several minutes.

4) Me: "My candy's better." Joe: "I have more variety." Me: "I'm cheaper." Joe: "*no comment*" ((I'm selling candy at school, and all I have left is Baby Ruths, while he has the whole M&M, Snickers, Skittles and Reese's Cups. It just slipped out....))

So maybe they ain't all that good. Or interesting. But they count, so that works.

[Lali]

Hijack! Hijack!

Here are the assignments for the portfolio I've been asked to complete...


All tasks must be typed and double spaced.

Task One - Monologue

Write a monologue to be spoken by one character, in any situation of your devising, on stage.

Length: Maximum one side of A4

Task Two - Poetry

Write a poem, or poems, on subjects, and in the form, of your own choice.

Length: Maximum two sides of A4

Task Three - Prose

Write a paragraph of prose fiction (maximum eight lines) beginning with the sentence, "She always had to be dressed this way".

You are not expected to tell a story in such a short piece, but simply to give a "taste" or snippet from a longer story, providing some situation which offers a context to the first sentence, in a way that will interest a reader.

Task Four - Language Exercise

A) Choose any English word that interests you.
B) State what it is that interests you about this word.
C) Find out all you can about this word and write a brief account of the history of this word and its use, or uses, in English.

Fo this you will need to consult any dictionary which includes at least a brief etymology (or word origin) section for each word. All that is required is that you demonstrate an awareness of the word's origin, before commenting on its current meanings. Note that etymological information is usually recorded in an extremely condensed series of abbreviations, making consulation fo the dictionary glossary essential.

D) Write a piece of prose fiction or a poem in which this word occurs at least once. If you choose to write fiction, this need not be a completed story, but may be an extract from a longer story, or from a short story or novel which you would like to write in the future.

Length: Maximum for B = 10 lines; maximum for C = 12 lines; maximum for D = one side of A4.


And some other stuff that really only applies to the uni.