Creative Writing at Uni

Now, for something a little different, we're going to look at spoken word poetry (some of which is also known as slam poetry). Amanda Gorman, "The Hill We Climb" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ055ilIiN4 Create a list of homonyms (for example, "right," which has many different meanings pronounced and spelled the same) and homophones (for example, "right" and "write," which sound the same but are spelled different and mean different things). Then consider how you can move from one of these words to another in a poem. Play with the words and the sounds; you can try for internal rhyme, consonance, assonance, alliteration, etc. You can also take a longer word and break it down into shorter homophone words (like the way Amanda Gorman writes "what just is / may not be justice"). One possibility: start with your name (first, last, middle, nickname, or a combination), and break the name down into rhymes and/or homophones. Then keep going!...

I received another great list of links to literary journals, and this one specifies publications that focus on particular genres: » 50 Literary Journals and Magazines Open to Genre Work (authorspublish.com) So many interesting possibilities! Take some time to check out anything that grabs your eye. For writing, here's what we can do: 1) Continue to develop one of your previous pieces of writing from this quarter (or last), with the ultimate goal of having something you feel comfortable sharing with the class during the last week or so of the semester. 2) One of the prompts suggested by a student for group writing was "crime fiction." Let's put a little twist on that: crime fiction + another genre! (The first entry on that publications list is for "crime poetry," in fact. Why not dystopian fantasy crime poetry? Sky's the limit!) We can do this as a group writing activity, so think of a way to start a crime fiction story that also involves another genre, w...

Today's activity involves a small piece of writing that you will generate, revise, and polish to what feels like solidity.  Going forward after today, you'll have time to go back and look at other writing you've done this quarter (and this entire semester, for that matter) and use the same process: take what's been generated, develop it, revise it, and polish it, with the goal of sending it to me for suggestions if you like (this is optional but I'm always happy to look at your work and discuss it with you), but ultimately, certainly, to share it with the class. The writing prompt for today: write about a memorable dream or nightmare you have had. By "dream or nightmare" I do mean the kind that happens in REM sleep rather than the more conscious or situational kind.  Unlike most writing you do for this class, I'm going to suggest that you be conscious of the time. Spend roughly 15 minutes generating content, about 15 minutes revising, and 10 minutes po...

For this week, we have a couple more writing prompts suggested by the class. The first prompt is for your individual crafting, and it is very simple: write about a memorable character. This can be fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose or drama. It can be a story or just a vignette. However you craft it, by the end of the week we'll have a virtual party of memorable people posted here. The second prompt is for the class to work on a story or stories as a group: write about a stranger. Look out the window. The first person we see (someone we don't know) will be the subject of the story. Where have they just come from? Where are they going? What are they thinking at the moment we see them?  Today you can work on either or both of these, and/or you can go back and work on any of the previous prompts. Let's write!

Today's individual writing prompt is this: Ever wish, with every cell in your body, that you could run away? From home, from a person, from your job, from yourself? Physically or emotionally, on foot or purely in your own mind? … We’re looking for short prose—fiction or creative nonfiction—that explores the need to leave, to escape, to run. We love a speculative slant, whatever that means to you. It can mean the strange or surreal. It can mean horror or fantasy. It can simply mean it’s not what you’re supposed to wish for. For this prompt, the goal is to write something you feel comfortable sharing. You'll have today's class and next class to work on it. Whatever you write may very well not be finished, but the idea is to write knowing that you'll share your writing with an audience. This particular prompt could inspire a short story, a creative nonfiction essay, poetry, or a play. Escape into words!

The second of our two prompts for today is this opening sentence of a story: Thomas hadn’t expected to be alive when the town’s time capsule was opened. Starting with this sentence, begin creating a story.  Every 20 minutes I will suggest that you go back and check out this page and give you a few minutes to add to one of the storylines. I encourage everyone to participate!

Today we'll look at song lyrics. First, think about a song whose lyrics you particularly like. In the comments, post links to these songs, either just the lyrics or the lyrics with music, and why you like them. We’ll take some time to check out the different songs we’ve posted and discuss them. Next, the songwriting: Start with a “mantra.” Think of a phrase you could say over and over to reflect a mood. Are you meditating to calm and relax yourself, enduring a physical activity like running, thinking of a person you have strong feelings about?  Now try to make that mantra “singable.” Try different versions of the wording. Think about the way the vowel and consonant sounds work together. Say it out loud–does it flow? Chant it–that is, say it without any particular variation of notes but in a rhythmic way. Does it have rhythm? Is it easy to say–and to sing?  Next, take a simple tune, for example, “Amazing Grace.” This is a very common structure for both poetry and songs; many of...

Last time I asked you to consider common prompts that everyone in class could write and post about on our class blog. We'll continue with that today. First, I received a whole bunch of new and interesting themed-submission requests from various creative writing journals: https://authorspublish.com/52-themed-submissions-calls-for-april-2022/ There's a lot of good stuff here! Scroll through and find what interests you, and do some writing on your own in your notebooks. Then after the brain break, post some of your own ideas and/or anything from this list that seems like it would be a good "common prompt" for the whole class to contribute to. Post these in the comments. We'll discuss and possibly vote on which prompts we'd like to do. Also be sure to check out the information on the Chang-Kolodziej award for prose fiction and nonfiction on this blog.

  The Iris Chang & Peter Kolodziej Writing Awards   Iris Chang (1968-2004), who graduated from Uni High in 1985, was the author of three acclaimed works of nonfiction, including the best-selling Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (1997). Peter Kolodziej (1963-2005), who graduated from Uni High in 1979, was a Harvard- and MIT-trained biochemist and biologist whose work as a Vanderbilt University scientist focused on the genetic factors involved in the development of neurons and the trachea. After the passing of Iris and Peter within months of each other, Peter’s brother Daniel Kolodziej offered to establish an award in their honor. Daniel had worked with Iris as an editor of the Unique literary magazine and knew of her passion for good writing. Peter was also devoted to the written word, both as an avid reader and an accomplished scientific author. Thanks to Daniel’s initiative, as well as the generosity of Iris’s classmates, the Iris Chang & ...