1 / 13

English 265

English 265. Introduction to Creative Writing. Robert Majzels Thursdays: 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm ST 141. Lectures. Tuesdays 3:30-4:45 Instructor Robert Majzels T01 ST 055 Rod Moody-Corbett T02 ST 059 Dawn Bryan T03 ST 061 Erina Harris T04 ST 063 Heather Osborne.

zoie
Download Presentation

English 265

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. English 265 Introduction to Creative Writing

  2. Robert Majzels Thursdays: 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm ST 141 Lectures

  3. Tuesdays 3:30-4:45 • Instructor Robert Majzels • T01 ST 055 Rod Moody-Corbett • T02 ST 059 Dawn Bryan • T03 ST 061 Erina Harris • T04 ST 063 Heather Osborne Tutorial Workshops

  4. Participation (workshop submissions, exercises, attendance 10% • Poetry assignment (5-8 poems) due Thurs. 05 Oct. 2012 15% • Fiction assignment (1500 words) due Thurs. 01 Nov. 2012 15% • Assigned Exercises 15% • Final Portfolio due Thurs., 19 April 2012, 4:30 pm 45% Assignments

  5. Fiction digital text Poetry Drama Philosophy Film or TV scholarship Creative Non-fiction song lyrics What is Creative Writing?

  6. Close your eyes and call up a memory of a place, any place that has some significance. It is not necessary to be able to pin down exactly why you remember that moment. Just remember the place which holds significance. Write down random thoughts on a sheet: words or phrases that come to mind, or describe the place. Now write a brief paragraph describing the place. Do not explain its significance, or use abstract terms like states of mind or emotion (fear, lonely, sad, angry, etc.); just be concrete and specific. Don't try to be fancy, just be clear and factual. Description Exercise

  7. CONCRETE = APPEALS TO THE SENSES SEE HEAR SMELL TOUCH TASTE CONCRETE LANGUAGE

  8. CONCRETE A dirt road wound through the forest I heard someone calling my name The smell of burning was in the air. A bright flash of lightening ripped through the sky. ABSTRACT I felt alone and uneasy. I knew my mother was looking for me. Somewhere a fire was burning. A scary bolt of lightening flashed across the sky.

  9. VAGUE SPECIFIC a tree a birch tree a tall white birch leaning over the lively stream a car a white car a white 1999 Pontiac Sport a white 1999 Pontiac Sport with a dented front fender a salesman a slim salesman a slim salesman with pointy features a slim salesman with pointy features in a blue suit a pungent aroma the sulfuric smell of rotten eggs

  10. A small boy, 6 or 7 years old, stands alone on a dirt road lined by pines. The scent of pine sap is sharp. It is very early morning, the sky is clear and the sun sits large on the horizon down the road between the trees. The boy stands still for a moment, then sits down in the road. He turns his face momentarily to the sun. The air is buzzing with insects. A single bird’s looping three notes interrupts the silence. The road is rutted and dry and the boy begins to study its detailed surface from his seated position. An ant works over the terrain, carting a particle of something pale toward a slight earthy mound no more than two centimetres in diameter and the perfectly round entrance at its centre. DESCRIPTION

  11. I must have been about 6 or 7 years old. Our family had rented a cabin in the Laurentians. There was a family with 4 boys not far off down the road. This is the moment: it's early in the morning. I'm on the way over to hook up with my friends as we have every day during the summer. Only it's too early in the morning, or something is making me hesitate. The dirt road is lined with pines and a few clusters of birch. I sit down on the dirt road to wait before going over. The sun is pleasantly warm. The air is perfectly still and buzzing with insects. There's no sign of anyone. Time has stopped. Completely. The road itself is rutted and dry. As I sit there, the surface of the road suddenly appears in great detail, as though I were looking at the ground from an airplane. I feel greatly detached. The bumps and ruts are mountain ranges. I watch an ant at work, moving over the terrain. I am alone. Abstract Description

  12. (i) What I was trying to do (I wanted to write a concrete and specific paragraph). • (ii) My main difficulty or difficulties (e.g. I keep slipping into clichés, I can’t think of the right word, I keep telling the reader what to feel); • (iii) What am I going to do in the short term to improve (read X poet, buy a good grammar book and go through it thoroughly, make lists of concrete nouns); • (iv) What am I going to do in the long term (read Henry James and Gertrude Stein, I don’t know). Writing Difficulty Statement

  13. Rework your description, add detail and improve the language. • Attempt a first Writing Process Statement. • Read descriptive poems on the website. Assignments

More Related