1. My left arm” (9). These exercises, which focus on rewriting a story, show students that revising is possible and can even improve a paper. The activity is also adaptable to a workshop format, requiring students to bring their drafts to class. perfect for the end of the school year or before a break begins; students can trade story starters — Need a ready-to-go creative writing activity for your students? Students will be required to pay close attention to language and to their closings. Joe and his friends race for the lake to get cold water on the bites, and one of Joe's friends goes too far on the plastic raft, which deflates. My classes always found things that I had missed in my own writing, and more often than not, found everything that I was hoping they would find. Put your object against your ear. Then I tell them how I would respond--this tends to give them as idea of what to expect. I tried to make an opener that would suck-in the reader and make them want to read more (another thing I emphasize in my classes). this is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter. I write the analytical points on the board. Procedure: Show an action-packed, short (5 min.) Have students try this with highlighted source sections of their drafts. A white boy, who appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, came pedaling a bicycle casually through the neighborhood” (3). But such passages about such times by themselves make for dull reading; they can be used as lulls in an otherwise tense situation, as a resolution, even as a hint that something awful is about to happen. Deadline is 10/6/2020. All of us together. Use the filters to find and practice specific techniques — and show that blank page who’s boss! An easy exercise for demonstrating descriptive writing - and descriptive responding. None of them are identified. This exercise allows students to begin with revising one essay as a class so they can get an objective feel for radical revision, and then the revision strategies can be extended to the student’s own draft so they can get something tangible to consider using for themselves. Selfassessment. For a video clip, something like Michael Moore's interview with Marilyn Manson would work. Project the example paper on the overhead screen and workshop it as a class, going paragraph by paragraph. Discuss handling sources as if in dialogue with them. September 16, 2020 August 1, 2017 by Barrie Davenport. He decides on a romantic drama starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfieffer, and they all enjoy it. Once you feel you’ve got sufficient conversation/dialogue generated on paper, ask a few students to read their replies as you reread the "source" (like a script), creating an actual conversation. Procedure: Present the following information to your students. This is an indication that there’s too much source and not enough author-source dialogue. (29). The design of this exercise is to assist with sentence-by-sentence revision, thereby maximizing clarity and directness. She’d been growing Indian corn ever since. Make note of what delineates a good summary on the board (features like tone or objectivity, selectivity or inclusivity, etc). Procedure: Start by reading aloud, or writing on the board (if you have an interactive classroom there are even better ways) the following title. This would work well with an early draft of a personal narrative or short story, but could be easily adopted for a research assignment. Get rid of your object. People also had much longer attention spans and fewer competing stimuli!”. Description: This is a class discussion activity that begins with analyzing the title of an 18th century chapbook, and then asks students, as a class or in groups, to examine book titles. Penny Hardwick. What do you see? The Waking is interested in reviews, interviews, and short form prose that, as Bernard Cooper says, "magnif[ies] some small aspect of what it means to be human. Enriching Descriptive Writing. Description: This is a way of showing your students which subjects and what language are worthwhile for the paper assignment they are drafting, and also what you expect from workshop sessions. Purpose: To prepare students for workshopping and the writing of their first paper. There's a group of three high school boys in the lane next to them who courteously challenge them to a team game. Do you want to read it? In her book, Writing Fiction, Janet Burroway explains a very important aspect of fiction writing: Only trouble is interesting. Menon’s approach in this collection gives us a simple, elegant way to listen to others better. –William Henry Lewis, “Shades”, “My desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable split-ups, in chronological order: He finds a beautiful deserted meadow with a lake nearby. Finally, students exchange their own essays with titles in order to critique the effectiveness of each title. Check out the scary story writing activity in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. This scene works well because there are a number of unanswered questions in it. Usually, their sentences are at the bottom of the list, and often, many of the writers do not recognize their own sentences. How does the reader relate to the characters and the narrative action with the newly revised scenes? Suggested Time: This could easily take an entire class period. He can't swim, and Joe has to save him. Part I: Avoiding Passive Voice [Create passive voice handout with examples if you feel it is necessary.]. When Joe gets back to the picnic, the ants have taken over the cake, and a possum has demolished the chicken. Suggested Time: 35 minutes to full class period. What does it remind you of? In essence, show them what you want from them as workshop responders. Don’t be concerned about the time involved, it is not extensive--I write mine in less than half an hour--just don’t proofread it (remember, you want there to be stupid mistakes and sloppy, undescriptive writing). ), Ask questions like, “Boy, wonder what happens in that story!? Students should pick a paragraph of their choice and rewrite with the knowledge taken from discussion (and their own) using active, immediate language. Today, we invite you to support Ruminate with a gift that will allow us to sustain, and grow, this exceptional community of writers, artists, and readers. After recovering from a faint upon seeing them, “Heavens! They all have a great time. They should then write a creative response using the following questions or a similar format: In order for students to successfully complete the exercise, each question must be answered in sentence form. What does it remind you of? First, here's an example from Burroway's book: Example of a dull situation: Joe goes on a picnic. "A very surprising narrative of a young woman, discovered in a rocky-cave, after having been taken by the savage Indians of the wilderness in the year 1777, and seeing no human being for the space of nine years. Dig out the dirt. It makes students develop and possibly appreciate a creative approach to the writing method. Discuss how their revisions have changed the story. Description: This is not so much an exercise as it is a demonstration for good proofreading skills. What’s wrong with it? You look around the room and see your object. Who cares about ferns? After we’ve exhausted this discussion, I move on to titles of the present, and how/why they work. Make sure to give them at least 10 minutes this time. So, the title became the description. ", [A chapbook from America, between 1788-1851. Then, ask students to exchange their essays and essays titles with each other and critique the titles based on how interesting they are and how well it relates to the essay’s topic. This curated directory of creative writing exercises was conceived thanks to a collaboration between the top writing blogs of 2020. Is it better? Overall it is a "show, don’t tell" exercise. Ask the students to break into pairs and read each other’s drafts in search of summary, circling the portions they find. How can we make it better? His ex-girlfriend's husband arrives at the restaurant and buys the three of them a round of drinks. (From Popular Culture in American History, Jim Cullen ed. It also works well to make a first and second draft of your paper and show students how to workshop and the process of drafting at the same time. You can also use the same paper over and over again in later semesters. Have students implement this exercise in their own work for the next revision. The others run for it, but because of his bleeding heel the best he can do is hobble. I believe there’s a writer inside of all of us. They bowl three games together, and each person wins one game. Additional Information: This exercise is a lesson in language, not in grammar. I complete the discussion by extending the invitation: Can you guys think of any good ones, and why are they good? Make them tell you WHY and ELABORATE on why they don’t like something. They feel that whatever they’ve written is set in stone and cannot be changed. Ask students to write a one-paragraph summary of what they’ve seen, giving them +/- 10 minutes. Afterward someone asks Joe how his picnic was. I want my students to feel as though they can and should write anything they want so I try to choose personal (often embarrassing but serious) topics. August brought heat I had never known, and during the dreamlike drought of those days I saw my father for the first time in my life” (1). They rarely take these trips together, but Joe is confident they will enjoy whatever film he chooses for them to see. Too much color one means source overload. Kick ass.”. 3. How many steps did it take? What is that taste? Dispose of it somehow. 5. The color red paints sinister pictures in the mind. “Turn over rocks. Copyright, Course Materials for ENC 1102: Strand IV "American Culture -- The Popular, The Personal, The Political", Our Own Words / The James M. McCrimmon Award, Developing Source Dialogue—Revising Researched Writing, Make it Interesting/Make me Want to Read it: Catchy Openings, Proofreading Pitfalls Handout for Self-Editing, Raising the Stakes: Adding Tension and Intensity to a Story, Stylistic Revision: Maximizing Clarity and Directness, The Wet Beagle: Show Me, Don't Tell Me Workshop, What Is It? This can be a good exercise to do after the class has read Rick Straub's "Responding, Really Responding, to Student Writing". What does that sound (or lack of sound) remind you of? Even if they have paraphrased the source, highlight it. Madison confesses her love for Aidan, Landon or Rory. incorporate them into your creative writing class. We know enough about this story by inference to maintain some interest. Now, rewrite the following situations to make them more interesting: Dull Situation #1: Joe, his roommate, and his girlfriend take a trip to the bowling ally. This might take a little prodding, but once they get the hang of it, you should have no shortage of responses. However, this exercise can be tailor-made to show whatever you don’t want (repetitive, redundant, too long, too boring, spelling mistakes, grammar errors). The creative dissertation allows PhD students in Creative Writing to present a book-length original work in poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, drama, or some combination of these, in addition to a scholarly research component. (tiny bumps? Joe has two choices: try to outrun him or stand perfectly still and hope he's interested only in a moving target. Take one of the responses and start a deeper, discussion-based analysis. They cannot be used as a whole plot. Afterwards, have the students discuss how the summary portions might become analysis. Joe feels no regret about the encounter and arrives at the hotel thinking of his wife. The weather is splendid and so is the company. Leave the second draft open for improvements. Joe pats his father on the back, and then leaves them with a feeling of contentment. Afterward his parents take him out for coffee and pastry. Life offers periods of comfortable communication, peaceful pleasure, and productive work, all of which are extremely interesting to those involved. Then challenge students to rewrite opening sentences 3 or 4 different ways. Just then the sky opens up. Discuss what they came up with in their summaries, having them read their actual texts aloud. The game ends in a tie, and everyone shakes hands afterwards. Your object is lying next to several other things. She chewed threw her bonds [this sound fishy to anyone else? Long before the virus, you and I abandoned reality. Using this quote as a guiding principle, take the following situations and rewrite them. (dead things, feces, etc) How does this make the word “lord” more intriguing? Purpose: The goal of Stylistic Revision is to concentrate on sentence construction in later revisions, focusing on concision and detail. You are getting tired of this exercise. Experienced TA’s may want to use past student papers of In Our Own Words but I advocate writing one yourself. By this point, the students should have the bulk of their essays written and are therefore focused on revising and polishing their essays. Purpose: To help students differentiate between analysis and summary and then apply that knowledge to their own drafts. It is usually one of the best things I do all semester long. Alison Ashworth. Have students read “Out from Under the Rug” (2006-7 OOW) before class. How does the switch of the word “series” to the near “serious” have an effect? Another option is to stand at the computer station and demonstrate the COMMENTS function in Word as you project the document. What conclusions can we draw about, say, the briefcase in the Pulp Fiction scene? ", THOUGHTS ON LIVING AWAKE DELIVERED WEEKLY TO YOUR INBOX ... PLUS UPCOMING EVENTS, SPECIAL OFFERS, & SUBMISSION REMINDERS, © 2020 Ruminate Magazine. 3. There has to be something else going on there, we think. This exercise is an attempt to help students enliven writing. Purpose: This exercise focuses on research article revision. What does the scent remind you of? Description: This revision exercise helps students identify source-heavy writing and work towards viewing source material as a "person" with whom they carry on a conversation. As a requirement for the next draft, they must sustain that interesting voice throughout the entire paper, demonstrating audience awareness. I sometimes cut-up and distribute this paragraph to the class, or you could just project it if you have a tech room. Description: Students often dislike revising, particularly at the beginning of ENC 1101. Curiosity’s raised by implication. If you write the paper then you can make sure it has all the positive and negative qualities that you desire. Have a brief discussion about what they underlined, including a brief discussion of passive voice, using examples from the essay. How well can you see it? This can also help with the concepts of claims and evidence-- be wary of students jumping to conclusions and ask them for evidence from the text (film) to support their claims. This leads into the present day, and how this story could be adapted – or what stories/movies they know of that seem to have borrowed this theme. Ask them to go through and mark those passages containing strictly author opinion, viewpoint, unique ideas, or thoughts. As you workshop, praise comments that are useful and don’t let students give responses like "I like that" or "I don’t like that--it sucks." Ask students to rewrite a specific scene from the perspective of another character. How did you get rid of it and how do you feel now that it is gone. Encouraging them to watch closely to see if we missed anything. How do we know this? Purpose: This exercise helps students learn to become more effective writers of fiction. It makes students develop and possibly appreciate a creative approach to the writing method. “The fellas and I were hanging out on our corner one afternoon when the strangest thing happened. Now, take out highlighter color two. Description: Taking into consideration noted author (and retired FSU faculty member) Janet Burroway’s advice that “only trouble is interesting” and studying her example of turning a dull situation into an interesting one, students practice turning a series of dull situations into interesting ones. They’ll probably start to notice their pages turning pink, orange, yellow, or green – depending on the color of the highlighter! Ask students to bring two different-colored highlighters to class with their drafts. little lines?). Go ahead, stick out your tongue. The pomp and circumstance arrive for good reason. 5. University. I usually close by asking them how they would respond to this as a first draft. They’ll likely be in the later stages of drafting the research article, using a lot of source material. It’s out there! Where am I?” she exclaims, and proceeds to tell them that she and her lover had been attacked by Indians, who murdered her lover and captured her. Pick up the object. Does the story still make sense? When Joe gathers his things to race for the car, he notices an irritated bull has broken through the fence. I explain that print culture has changed in these decades, that books then couldn’t afford advertising or enticing covers to inspire readership, and that no print could be spared for a back cover description. Both of them are now married, and they each discuss how happy they are in their respective relationships. This exercise works well with an early draft of the short story assignment. In a letter from a gentleman to a friend. Packer, “Brownies”, “I was fourteen that summer. Discuss ways to tighten the language, avoiding clichés and generalities. I ask if it has potential, should be scrapped, etc. How heavy is it? Choose one with an overtly opinionated bent/bias that is sure to elicit a response. Rather than tell my students what to do I show them in my own paper. 3. 2. 1. We recall the common phrase “G.I. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. I find next to nothing offensive and use this as a way of showing that. ), How does the size of the book make you ironically interested in terms of the title? While you have the object this close to your face, you might as well taste it. Purpose: This exercise stimulates students to enrich their descriptive writing by using a plain object and writing about it in an extravagant way—using lots of detail, metaphor, and imagery. This is an excellent way to show them what types of subject matter and language you think are worthwhile. Turn a dull situation into something worth reading. Even if you don’t think you write well, you do have something to say. On the way in he gashes his foot on a broken bottle. Florida State Some groups may need a little guidance, others will get it right away. He and Joe have a great time talking about football. Sarah Kendrew.” (3). Discuss their responses again, noting if something is summary. Purpose: This exercise stimulates students to enrich their descriptive writing by using a plain object and writing about it in an extravagant way—using lots of detail, metaphor, and imagery. ], and in order to escape: “I did not long deliberate but took up the hatchet he had brought and, summoning resolution I, with three blows [she took note to count them, apparently], effectually put an end to his existence [axes will do that].” She managed also to lop off his head, quarter the corpse, and drag it half-a-mile to some foliage she figured could use the fertilizer, and hid it. One of these things reminds you of something or someone else. © Florida State University Read or play the sample, statement-by-statement, pausing at each point to allow students to write their honest, opinionated, conversational response to what the "source" has just said. You have a story to tell, knowledge to … Talk about tone and narrative voice (probably a topic you dealt with at the beginning of drafting). Ask students to revise a scene from their own papers from either a different perspective, or to completely change the ending of their story. –Octavia Butler, Kindred. –Nathan McCall, Makes Me Wanna Holler, “He came to kill the preacher. It could be quite useful in any course in which a composition assignment focuses on writing fiction. Chapbooks were the Reader’s Digest of the period; cheaply printed and pedaled by traveling booksellers. Now discuss the closing paragraphs of the essay, describing what’s working, what they notice, what strikes them, what doesn’t, etc. 1. Tell students that you’re going to play the part of a talking source by reading your chosen excerpt allowed (or playing your video clip). “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. Creative writing prompts for college students for write an essay on if i was a superhero i would be. We don't allow comments that are disrespectful or personally attack our blog writers. His mother comments on the fine acting, and his father, in a rare display of emotion, cries when asked how he feels about the plot. June 01, 2015. Question no. After discussion have students rewrite the last paragraph avoiding clichés, etc. Use the words below and here the segmenting within as weil as by teacher trainees philips and carr. Show the clip again. They meet at a restaurant to talk about old times. By following a set of questions provided by the instructor, students will write a prose style response – not just a list or catalog. Be sure to note if something they say is analysis. What do we associate flies with? What things do we associate with the term “it” (It’s gonna get you! What does it smell like? Description: Through visuals, this activity asks students to differentiate between summary (this is what happens) and analysis (this is why it happens) by watching a movie clip twice and writing two different texts in response. Can you toss it in the air? Questions or Comments, Privacy Policy As the final step of the exercise, have students rewrite introductory paragraphs to maintain the “more interesting” voice throughout. Most students will find this color a bit underused, but others will notice too much highlighter here if their source material was seriously lacking. Creative Writing Prompts for Graduates Home The Waking Creative Writing Prompts for Graduates. Procedure: Write a 3 page draft on the same topics your students are writing.