Writing Down the Bones Projects were due today.
Writers all turned in their projects (a "receipt" was entered in Edbox). Writers began presenting their projects to the class.

Mr. Zartler gave a brief lesson on the idea of "exploding the moment," he asked writers to try exploding a moment using memories, fantasies, predictions, flashback, connections, or confessions as the material.

The class read and discussed "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff. This story has excellent examples of exploded moments.

Writers were reminded that at least the beginning of their morbid fiction piece is due on Tuesday 16 October.

Tuesday, 9 October, 2012

Class began with the vocabulary word: pathetic fallacy. Pathetic fallacy is the term for when non-human things are portrayed with human characteristics. Sometimes setting is treated with pathetic fallacy in order to help create a mood.

Free Write: Writers were encouraged to develop a descriptive list for fall, then to use setting for their writing. Writers were encouraged to use the writing to develop material for their morbid fiction.

The class then reviewed direct and indirect characterization. Direct characterization being when the author explicitly makes a statement about the character (the reader may still need to draw an inference). Indirect characterization is when the author describes how others react to the character in order to explain what kind of person the character is. (An analogy is when one person flinches their head back, one may assume that someone else had been about to hit them.)

Writer's then identified direct and indirect character attribution in "In the South." The class discussed Raymond and Jill and created a Venn Diagram of their personalities.

HOMEWORK: Writers have their Writing Down the Bones project due on Thursday!