Week 1

September 7, 2015

Labor Day – No school

September 8, 2015

Welcome Back!

September 9, 2015

1. Intro – What is Creative Writing?
2. Observation Writing

September 10, 2015

Quote of the Day:
Look, I’m far from military material. Undisciplined, hate authority, my ethics—perverted. But there is one military tenant I can and do get behind every time I sit down to write, and you probably know it already: ‘Embrace the suck.’... – Matt Sumell

1. Warm Up: If you could invent something to help mankind, what would it be?
• Rules of Warm Up Writing:
1. Write the name of the prompt at the top and the date
2. It doesn't have to be perfect
3. Don't stop – use the entire amount of time
4. Keep all of your writing
2. Destroying Your Perception of What You Think is Poetry
• Government Assistance
• The Rose that Grew from Concrete
• in just
3. Writing Activity: Newspaper Blackout
• First, select a page of text from the newspaper. Then, take a pencil and circle the words in the text that will comprise your poem and draw a line through all the words you want to exclude. Take a thick black marker and color over the words you had drawn a line through, leaving the circled words untouched.
• For inspiration, read from Austin Kleon's http://austinkleon.com/category/newspaper-blackout-poems/

September 11, 2015

Quote of the Day:
I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose. – Stephen King

1. Warm Up: What are the top 12 things you can buy with your last $20?
2. Writing Activity: Newspaper Blackout
• First, select a page of text from the newspaper. Then, take a pencil and circle the words in the text that will comprise your poem and draw a line through all the words you want to exclude. Take a thick black marker and color over the words you had drawn a line through, leaving the circled words untouched.
• For inspiration, read from Austin Kleon's http://austinkleon.com/category/newspaper-blackout-poems/
3. Writing Activity: Crater Found Poem
• Take a stroll around the Crater campus – don't bother any classes!
• Write down words that jump out to you that represent Crater High School
• You can write them down as a list then reformulate the order to create a poem – only use the words you found though!
• OR, you can create a poem as you go and see what you come up with!
• Adapted from http://www.creative-writing-now.com/found-poetry.html

Week 2

September 14, 2015

Quote of the Day:
If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor. – Edgar Rice Burroughs

1. Warm Up: Begin a story with: "There was once a chance I didn't take."
2. Writing Activity: Crater Found Poem
• Finalize Drafts
• Type and print in room 18
• Pow-wow Circle

September 15, 2015

Quote of the Day:
"I haven’t found any particular thing to be a consistently reliable source of inspiration. If there’s any consistency, it’s that it’s always something different." – Colin Winnette

1. Warm up: You have the ability to shapeshift, but you can't control it. Someone else has to control it for you. Create the character that controls your ability – will he/she be accommodating/friend, objective/omniscient, or diabolical/enemy? Create a scene in the halls of Crater High School where the person who controls your ability exercises that right to your advantage or disadvantage. Include a teacher as a minor character where he/she secretly acts on your behalf or against you.
• A little extra time for this one
• You will turn this one in to me today!
2. Writing Activity: Crater Found Poem
• Pow-wow

September 16, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.” – Lloyd Alexander

1. Warm up: You're in a room full of people and you're the only blind person there. Describe the room and the people in your mind.
2. Writing Activity: Crater Found Poem
• Finish Pow-wow
3. Narrative Poem

September 17, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” – Mark Twain

1. Warm up: List 10-15 things that are worth saving. Then choose one to write about.
2. Narrative Poem

September 18, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” Anton Chekov

1. Warm up: Create a story for the cautious and wide-eyed Kitty Sampson, who becomes the superheroine Ruby Angel who possess the power of gravity control.
2. Narrative Poem

Week 3

September 21, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” – Louis L'Amour

1. Warm up: Write a short story based on this prompt: parents help son make up with his girlfriend.
2. Narrative Poem Examples
• Because I Could Not Stop for Death
• Ballad of Birmingham
• My Papa's Waltz
• Richard Cory
3. Narrative Poem

September 22, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“The first draft of anything is shit.” – Ernest Hemingway

1. Warm up: New Supplies: As kids, the prospect of getting new school supplies always seemed to brighten back-to-school woes. This week, imagine what you would pack in a backpack to prepare yourself for the school of life. Make a list of five "supplies" that you can picture yourself using every day—they can be practical tools, made-up magic potions, or even intangible thoughts or mantras. Write a poem in which you describe the supplies with concrete details, exploring how having each one easily accessible at all times would vastly improve your prospects.
2. Narrative Poem – Due Today
• Print a copy

September 23, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.” – Ray Bradbury

1. Warm up: "A funny thing happened on my way to..."
2. Narrative Poem
• Peer Review – with a partner, do the following on their poem:
1. Circle spelling and capitalization errors
2. Identify the main character(s)
3. Summarize the story/plot – if you can't summarize the story, then the poem is not a narrative poem
4. Identify the climax/apex of the plot
5. Place a box around your favorite description
• Conference with Sinks
• Revise
3. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines

September 24, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.” – Harvey Pekar

1. Warm up: Natural Disaster – Recent wildfires in California and an earthquake and tsunami in Chile are potent reminders of how destructive forces of nature can be upon modern civilization. Out of catastrophe, however, we see acts of bravery, generosity, and compassion. Write a short story that takes place in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Examine the ways in which your main character's psychological and physical strength might be tested under the circumstances.
2. Narrative Poem
• Conference with Sinks – at least one time!
3. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines

September 25, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy.” – Josh Whedon

1. Warm Up: Where do you go when you want to get away from the pressures of life, family, school, work, etc? Write about that place. Why is it "sacred" to you?
2. Narrative Poem
• Pow-wow?
3. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Rough Draft Due Monday

Week 4

September 28, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.” – William Faulkner

1. Warm Up: Shoes – This week, choose a pair of shoes that you own or have owned that has significance to you. Perhaps it's the first pair of dress shoes that you purchased, the well-worn sneakers that you wear over and over again, or a pair of shoes that you've never worn but can't bear to toss out. Write about your connection to these shoes, describing them in detail and thinking about the specific qualities that drew you to them in the first place. What do they say about your personality? Where have they accompanied you already, and where might they take you in the future?
2. Narrative Poem
• Pow-wow Share

September 29, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it's always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” – Neil Gaiman

1. Warm Up: Think of a product or a service you dislike. Imagine you have the opportunity to convince them to take that product or service off the market. Write a poem that incorporates your message about this product or service.
2. Narrative Poem
• Finish Pow-wow Share
3. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Type final draft
• Conference with Sinks
4. A Villian Write a persona poem on someone that is very controversial. Consider writing a poem on a serial killer or a famous gang member.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Rough Draft due Friday

September 30, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

1. Warm Up: Ask your friends to give you five random phrases. The phrases can be fragments or sentences, and should not reference movies if possible. Write a poem that incorporates these five phrases.
2. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Type final draft
• Conference with Sinks
3. A Villian Write a persona poem on someone that is very controversial. Consider writing a poem on a serial killer or a famous gang member.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Rough Draft due Friday

October 1, 2015, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.” – Anaïs Nin

1. Warm Up: Write a poem about what you expect the end of the world might be like.
2. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Type final draft
• Conference with Sinks
3. A Villian Write a persona poem on someone that is very controversial. Consider writing a poem on a serial killer or a famous gang member.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Rough Draft due Friday

October 2, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” – Douglas Adams

1. Warm Up: Write a poem designed for the classified section in a newspaper or online listing like Craigslist. Try to incorporate the type of writing typically used in this section.
2. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Type final draft
• Conference with Sinks
3. A Villian Write a persona poem on someone that is very controversial. Consider writing a poem on a serial killer or a famous gang member.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Rough Draft due Friday

Week 5

October 5, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London

1. Warm Up: Use all these words in a story: detective, cart, backseat of a car, toy car
2. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Type final draft
• Conference with Sinks
3. A Villian Write a persona poem on someone that is very controversial. Consider writing a poem on a serial killer or a famous gang member.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Rough Draft due Wednesday

October 6, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Always be a poet, even in prose.” – Charles Baudelaire

1. Warm Up: The Raker – Autumn leaves are a pleasurable part of the season, until it’s time to rake them up. Write a story about a character who rakes her neighbors’ lawns for extra cash. Have her deliver a short narrative about each home she visits. Delve into how these narratives relate to one another and whether they are intertwined. Do they reveal a greater story about the neighborhood that has been hidden until now? Does your narrator uncover secrets about her neighbors or her home?
2. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Type final draft
• Conference with Sinks
3. A Villian Write a persona poem on someone that is very controversial. Consider writing a poem on a serial killer or a famous gang member.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Rough Draft due Wednesday
4. Look through your warm up writing poems and select one that you would like to develop into a final piece — type it up and edit as you go.

October 7, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.” – James A. Michener

1. Warm Up: Emotional Robot – Designed by the French robotics company, Aldebaran, Pepper the robot is able to read emotions and respond accordingly, and has the ability to learn over time. Write a short story imagining that your protagonist has somehow acquired one of these highly sought-after robots. What plans or hopes does he have for Pepper? Will having the robot turn out to be a nightmare or a dream come true?
2. A Poem from Music Listen to a song you really enjoy. Focus on your most favorite part of the music. Write a poem about all the sensations, images, feelings, lyrics and other components of that specific part of the song.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Type final draft
• Conference with Sinks
3. A Villian Write a persona poem on someone that is very controversial. Consider writing a poem on a serial killer or a famous gang member.
• Must be a minimum of 16 lines
• Rough Draft due Wednesday

October 8, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” – Kurt Vonnegut

1. Warm Up: Deus Ex Machina – In modern storytelling, a deus ex machina is a plot device in which a dramatic and oftentimes contrived occurrence suddenly saves the day or solves a seemingly impossible problem.​ This week, write a short story using this device in the form of a character, object, or newfound ability. How will you manipulate the pacing to create the most effective sense of surprise? Consider the tone of the story, perhaps incorporating tragedy and comedy, as you lead up to the unexpected turn of events.

October 9, 2015

State Inservice – No school

Week 6

October 12, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“If you can write each day, do it, and meet a quota. Minimum 350 words a day. A baboon can do 350 words a day. Don’t be shown up by a baboon” – James Scott Bell

1. Warm Up: Write about a man or woman who got stood up on a date.
2. Where are we at with the Music and Villain poems?
3. Look through your warm up writing poems and select one that you would like to develop into a final piece — type it up and edit as you go.
4. 3 Final Drafts Due Wednesday
• Music Poem
• Villain Poem
• Choice Poem
5. Short Story 3 Elements
6. Exit Ticket: https://www.eduplace.com/tales/content/wwt_029.html

October 13, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Fear is felt by writers at every level. Anxiety accompanies the first word they put on paper and the last.” – Ralph Keyes

1. Warm Up: A babysitter is snooping around her employer's house and finds a disturbing photograph...
2. 3 Final Drafts Due Wednesday
• Music Poem
• Villain Poem
• Choice Poem
3. Short Story 3 Elements

October 14, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“There is something about just setting the pen to paper that lifts me and helps to focus my energy and thoughts.” – Susan Elaine Jenkins

1. Warm Up: At a Chinese restaurant, your character opens his fortune cookie and reads the following message: "Your life is in danger. Say nothing to anyone. You must leave the city immediately and never return. Repeat: say nothing."..
2. 3 Final Drafts Due Today
• Music Poem
• Villain Poem
• Choice Poem
3. Short Story 3 Elements

October 15, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Don’t give people what they want, give them what they need.” – Joss Whedon

1. Warm Up: Your character is caught shoplifting. The shop owner says that she won't call the police in exchange for a personal favor....
2. Short Story 3 Elements

October 16, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” – Robert Cormier

1. Warm Up: Your character notices that a stranger is following her. She pretends not to notice. The stranger follows her home and watches her go inside. Then when he leaves, your character turns the tables and starts to follow him....
2. Short Story 3 Elements

Week 7

October 19, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Fiction is the truth inside the lie.” – Stephen King

1. Short Story 3 Elements

October 20, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“A story is a letter that the author writes to himself, to tell himself things that he would be unable to discover otherwise.” – Carlos Ruiz Zafón

1. Short Story 3 Elements
• First Draft due Thursday

October 21, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” – Martin Luther

1. Kurt Vonnegut's "How to Write a Good Short Story"
2. Short Story 3 Elements
• First Draft due Thursday
• Conference with Sinks when you finish your draft

October 22, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“If a writer stops observing he is finished. Experience is communicated by small details intimately observed.” – Ernest Hemingway

1. Short Story 3 Elements
• First Draft due Today
• Conference with Sinks
• Revisions
2. The Camping Trip
3. Learn to be a Rockstar

October 23, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“A great writer reveals the truth even when he or she does not wish to.” – Tom Bissell

1. Short Story 3 Elements
• Conference with Sinks
• Revisions

Week 8

October 26, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” *– Maya Angelou

1. Warm Up: What story can you come up with this premise: flight attendant drinking champagne in first class.

October 27, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” – Anaïs Nin

1. Warm Up: Cook up your own version of a get rich scheme.
2. The Story of an Hour
3. Short Story #2 Options
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.

October 28, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.” – Richard Bach

1. Warm Up: Write out a scene based on this quick plot: man assaults a police officer while his care is being towed.
2. Short Story #2 Options
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.
3. What You Pawn I will Redeem by Sherman Alexie
• A little long, but a goodie

October 29, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Why did I write? Because I found life unsatisfactory.” – Tennessee Williams

1. Warm Up: Write a light-hearted How To Guide on how to get along with an enemy.
2. Short Story #2 Options
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.

October 30, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Writers are the exorcists of their own demons.” – Mario Vargas Llosa

1. Warm Up: Write a letter to the 10-year-old child you had been.
2. Short Story #2 Options
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.

Week 9

November 2, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“You can fix anything but a blank page.” – Nora Roberts

1. Warm Up: It's Halloween night and your son/daughter is out trick or treating with friends. They return to your house upset. When you ask what's wrong, they confide in you that a person dressed in a (fill in the blank) costume stole all of their candy. Instead of simply confronting the thief, you have a better...
2. Short Story #2 Options Due Friday
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.

November 3, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself.” – Franz Kafka

1. Warm Up: You are flipping through the channels on TV one Saturday, waiting for your pizza to be delivered. On the coffee table sits an open can of soda. You don’t remember getting the soda, but you live alone and haven’t had anyone over recently, so it must be yours. You take a sip as the...
2. Short Story #2 Options Due Friday
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.

November 4, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the music the words make.” – Truman Capote

1. Warm Up: The year is 1491 and you are a famous world explorer. You set out to sail around the globe, but your crew is apprehensive about sailing around the Bermuda triangle. You dismiss their superstitions and demand to hold course. Sure enough, as you approach the Triangle you get caught in a horrible storm. What...
2. Short Story #2 Options Due Friday
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.

November 5, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“A young writer is easily tempted by the allusive and ethereal and ironic and reflective, but the declarative is at the bottom of most good writing.” – Garrison Keillor

1. Warm Up: You wake up one morning and find that you aren’t in your bed; you aren’t even in your room. You’re in the middle of a giant maze. A sign is hanging from the ivy: “You have one hour. Don’t touch the walls.” Finish the scene.
2. Short Story #2 Options Due Friday
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.

November 6, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“But isn't it true that an author can write only about himself?” – Milan Kundera

1. Warm Up: You are exploring with a friend when you stumble upon an abandoned amusement park. You eagerly start to approach it, but as you get closer, the lights suddenly come on and the rides start to move. Do you keep going to find out what’s happening or do you run away as fast as you...
2. Short Story #2 Options Due Friday
• You're at work. like any normal day, and happen to look out the window as you head to the break room for a second cup of coffee. What you see makes you stop in your tracks: what is it?
• Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: "There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don't want to ignore this." Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, "Everything okay?" What happens next?
• Grab a book, magazine, or newspaper nearest you and open up to a random page. Start your story with the first line at the top of the page and end your story with the last line at the bottom of the page.
• Choose one of your warm up writings, and expand on it.
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Prompts
• More Ideas from Writer's Digest
• Still don't see one? Google. Still can't find one? You're thinking too hard. Just pick one and roll with it.

Week 10

November 9, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“If a story is in you, it has to come out.” – William Faulkner

1. Warm Up: Every morning at 9:00 a.m. sharp, you get a call on your cell phone. The speaker says “I know what you did” and then hangs up. This has been going on for two weeks straight. What did you do and how do you react to these calls?
2. Character Sketch

November 10, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“The job of the writer is to take a close and uncomfortable look at the world they inhabit, the world we all inhabit, and the job of the novel is to make the corpse stink.” – Walter Mosley

1. Warm Up: “I wasn’t planning on this. Falling in love with you was the last thing I wanted. Because I know our time would have to come to end. Yet, here I am, begging you not to turn the page.” Who is the speaker and who is the speaker talking to? Finish the scene.
2. Exhibition Night Display

November 11, 2015

Veteran's Day – No school

November 12, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” Ernest Hemingway

1. Warm Up: "Be careful out there," your mom said as you grabbed your duffel bag and headed on a camping trip with friends. "You know that tonight is the anniversary, don't you?" You nodded, then shut the door behind you before getting in the car and taking off.

November 13, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” – Octavia Butler

1. Warm Up: Start your story with "April showers bring May flowers, at least, that's what my ______ used to tell me." Then end your story, "And that, officer, is why I had to murder my ______."
2. Setting Sketch

Week 11

November 16, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Literature is painting, architecture, and music.” – Yevgeny Zamyatin

1. Setting Sketch

November 17, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Fill your papers with the breathings of your heart.” – William Wadsworth

1. Warm Up: You receive an invitation in the mail one day requesting your presence at a “Cadaver concert.” You have no idea what this means or who sent the invitation. However, as a mortician, you are intrigued. You show up at the appointed place at the designated time. What do you find?
2. Setting Sketch

November 18, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Let your words be your voice. And let your voice be heard within the hearts of others.” – Anasia Nicole Hixon

1. Warm Up: A ferocious storm is moving into your town: 40 mph winds, hail, the whole deal. But you are a postal worker, and you operate no matter the weather, out you go. As you drive along, a tree branch falls in front of you and you slam into it, knocking yourself unconscious. You wake up...
2. Setting Sketch
3. Plot Outline

November 19, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all, every single one of us, no matter who we are and no matter what’s been taken from us or what poison we’ve internalized or how hard we’ve had to work to expel it – we all get to dream.” – N.K. Jemisin

1. Warm Up: There's a note on the windshield of your car. The note says, "I've taken your most prized possession. If you want to see it again, in tact, meet me tonight at baseball field around the corner of the local high school. And bring your glove." What makes this note so curious is that you've...

November 20, 2015

Quote of the Day:
“Was it only by dreaming or writing that I could find out what I thought?” – Joan Didion

1. Warm Up: Write a letter to someone in your life that has passed away. You can tell that person the things you wish you'd said, tell that person some of the highlights of your life, whatever you want. If that's too difficult, have one of your characters from your novel (or short story) write a letter...

Week 12

November 23, 2015

Parent/Teacher Conferences – no school

November 24, 2015

Parent/Teacher Conferences – no school

November 25, 2015

Parent/Teacher Conferences – no school

November 26, 2015

Thanksgiving Holiday – no school

November 27, 2015

Thanksgiving Holiday – no school

Week 13

November 30, 2015

1. Exhibition Night Display– DUE THURSDAY – UPDATE: 2 students to 1 trifold display – pick a partner and share the space!
• Character Sketch
• Setting Sketch
• Plot Outline

December 1, 2015

1. Exhibition Night Display– DUE THURSDAY – UPDATE: 2 students to 1 trifold display – pick a partner and share the space!
• Character Sketch
• Setting Sketch
• Plot Outline

December 2, 2015

1. Exhibition Night Display– DUE THURSDAY – UPDATE: 2 students to 1 trifold display – pick a partner and share the space!
• Character Sketch
• Setting Sketch
• Plot Outline

December 3, 2015

End of Trimester 1

1. Exhibition Night!
2. Exhibition Night Display– DUE TODAY – UPDATE: 2 students to 1 trifold display – pick a partner and share the space!
• Character Sketch
• Setting Sketch
• Plot Outline

December 4, 2015

Inservice Day – No school