What color is fear?
What sound does affection make?
What texture do the monsoon rains have?
What shape does a conversation make?
What fabric is a kitten made of?
What noise is made by curiosity?
What is the smell of knowledge?
How do you punctuate life?
What does death taste like?
If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one there to hear it, what kind of tree is it?
From I See Invisible People come these ten questions for writers from Stephen Leigh.
“Earnest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in six words. The result:
‘For sale: baby shoes, never used.’
Rumor has it that Hemingway regarded it as his greatest work.
Stirred by this masterwork, the editors of BlackBook asked 25 of today’s most renowned writers to offer their own original six-word stories.”
–The Utne Reader July/August 2005 p. 92
Here are my favorite:
“Forgive me!” “What for?” “Never mind.” – John Updike
Eyeballed me, killed him. Slight exaggeration.-- Irvine Welsh
Satan- Jehovah- fifteen rounds. A draw. – Norman Mailer
[On a separate note: Norman Mailer, the provocative, prolific novelist and essayist died today. Seems he lost his round with Jehovah.]
Oh, that? It’s nothing. Not contagious.- Augusten Burroughs
She gave. He took. He forgot – Tobias Wolff.
So, I give you the Hemingway Challenge. Write a story in six words. Here’s mine:
He came. He conquered. She survived.
What's your story?
If I were a car, I would be a lime green volkswagen coming home after a trans-continental journey.
What car are YOU?
Look below the fold for today's journal activity "If I Were".
Be specific: "God is in the details."
Some of the dearly departed have chosen to have creative epitaphs engraved on their tombstones.
Here are a few:
'Here lies an honest lawyer - That is Strange.'
John Strange.
'Quoth the raven: nevermore.'
Edgar Allan Poe.
'She did it the hard way.'
Bette Davis.
'All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.'
W.C. Fields.
'That's all folks!'
Mel Blanc.
Question: Who was the famous writer who had these words inscribed on his tombstone?
Blessed be the man that spares these stones
And cursed be he who moves these bones.
Continue reading "Creative Epitaphs: What Would YOUR Epitaph Say?" »
We can blame it on "The Bard": These cliches were once fresh … in the 16th century.
green eyed monster
hot-blooded
more sinned against than sinning
strange bedfellows
wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve
clothes make the man
method in his madness
to thine own self be true
Check out other words "The Bard" inspired at
Shakespeare Words and Phrases
Metaphors so very, very bad, that they're actually good!
Every year, English teachers
from across the country submit their collections of actual
analogies and metaphors found in high school writing. These excerpts are
published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country.
Here are last year's winners.
Which one is YOUR favorite?
image via TechToons
"One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice...
...a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
...kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper into the world..."
-from Mary Oliver's "The Journey"
Look below the fold for the poem in its entirety, an accompanying literary analysis by Ms. K, and guidelines for your literary analysis papers.
Continue reading ""The Journey" by Mary Oliver and Sample Literary Analysis" »
Visual Images are everywhere: on a walk to a friend's house, on the subway in Bangkok, in art galleries, and on the net. The following writing exercises asks you to choose an image and write a narrative: what came before, and what comes after. Look below the fold for sample images and things to keep in mind.
Video poetry mixes words, images and sound into a unified work of art.
If the image dominates, the captions or voice-over enhances the course
of the moving image, reinforces it, and gives it “punch”. The music, of
course, corresponds with the tone of the piece. Festivals in Chicago
and San Francisco feature video poetry as a major element. There are some great resources and links at San Diego State University. Read below the fold for some useful tips in making your video poem.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you create your film:
Some of us like our names, and some of us don’t.
One of unique features of spending time in cyberspace is that writers are able to chose our own screen names.
So, if you don’t like your given name, here’s your chance to pick one that you DO like. Read on for some cool tips on choosing a screen name that fits you well.
When choosing a screen name, there are two main rules you should keep in mind:
Perhaps you thought that if you said a few things in class, you'd do okay for class participation in Creative Writing.
Read on to find out what Ms. K's expectations are for this class.
Class participation is more than just raising your hand.
Continue reading "Class Participation: It's More Than Just Raising Your Hand" »
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