Writing Poetry- 5/16

Now it's your turn to try writing either a narrative or lyric poem.

As you write, ask yourself:

* What is my poem about?
* What feeling or mood do I want the reader to have?
* Do I want the poem to move quickly or slowly? Are there places I want it to speed up or slow down?
* What words or phrases do I want to highlight?

***You can post your poem when you are finished.***

Remember,

1. Let your ideas flow. Let the poem out of your head.

2. Then, go back to the poem later and work on improving the poem structure and form (which is what we will focus on in our seminars next week).

Writing a Thesis Statement

HAPPY MONDAY!! I hope you all had a great weekend:)

***Please do not start this blog until we have finished my Power Point presentation.

Think about the thesis you would write if you were going to be writing about "Raymond's Run". Follow the guidelines I've given you in the Power Point presentation to create your thesis. Post it on your blog.

With a partner, evaluate your thesis. Your partner will post their comments on your blog.

Is your thesis specific?

Is it a conversation starter?

Is your thesis about only one main idea?

Does your thesis take a stand?

Blog Prompt- May 6th

Please read the following poem and respond to it in a paragraph.

What does the poem mean? Why is the poem important? How did it make you feel?


I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

By Emily Dickinson

Blog Prompt- 5/2

Today, I'd like you to put yourself in the shoes of one of the other characters from "Raymond's Run". Writing in 1st person, tell their story. How do they feel about Squeaky and the action of the story? You may read someone's blog from Hour 1 to see an example.

Blog Prompt- 4/29

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Here's today's question:

Do you have a hero? Describe him or her. What is it that you admire about them? What have they done to make them a hero? What qualities do they have that set them apart? Are there ways in which you could be more like them? Are there ways in which you already are like them?

Blog Prompt- 4/28

Here's today's question:

If you found out that you only had one year left to live, what would you do with your time?
Please write for 10 to 15 minutes:)

If you really knew me...

You'd know that I never think I'm good enough. When people tell me I'm doing a good job, I assume that they're just humoring me. "How could they possibly be telling the truth? They're just trying to make me feel better?".

If you really knew me, you'd know that I apologize too much because, somewhere deep down, I feel the need to apologize for being me. I know that's not true, but I have a hard time believing it. There's a big difference between knowing and believing.

If you really knew me, you'd know that it is hard for me to believe that I deserve to be loved. Again, I usually think to myself, "How could they possibly love me?". I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Subconsciously, I think "When are they going to figure it out and leave me?".

If you really know me, you'd know that sometimes (a lot of the time) I hate the way I look. Sometimes, I feel like the ugliest person in every room.

If you really knew me, you'd know that I have treated people poorly and regretted it. I have let moments where I should have stood up for someone pass me by without saying a word. I have said "Yes" even though I wanted to say "No".

If you really knew me, you'd know how much I've changed over the years. All of the stuff I said above makes it seem like I really hate myself. There was a time in my life when I did, yes. However, a few years ago, I started to make a conscious effort to change the way I viewed myself. I discovered that the bad decisions I had made were making me dislike myself more. I realized that no one else has control over my actions. My words and actions are the only factors that I truly can control in life. I realized that there's no point in being sad or angry about a situation unless I've done all that I could to make the situation better. I'm always trying to be better than I was before. If I've made a decision in my life that didn't work, I try something new. I can honestly say that this is one of the things I like best about myself.

I would challenge you to talk to yourselves (not out loud:). Have a conversation in your head with yourself where you ask, "Did I do everything I could to make the situation better? Did I do the right thing?".

"Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda": What should I have done? What would I have done? What could I have done?

All great questions to ask yourselves in order to reflect.

What about asking "Should, Will, Can": What should I do now? What will I do next? What can I do to make things better?

You are the only person who controls the decisions you make, the actions you take, and the words you speak. You decide what kind of person you will become. I decided I wanted to be someone that I could be proud of and admire.

What kind of person do you want to be?