Happy Holidays!/ Ten Minute Play

AGENDA:

Wishing you all the best and a Happy New Year!

Continue to work on completing your 10 minute play!

10 minute Play

AGENDA:

Continue to work on your 10 minute play.  1st drafts due Thursday.

Dialogue/ 10 minute play

AGENDA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt-xvV-ADLI&t=162s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyIV6qxJKc8


Master Class---Mamet on Dialogue

Work on 10 minute play

Script Format

AGENDA:


http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/stageus.pdf

Writing the ten minute play

10 TIPS on Writing your First Ten-Minute Play

1 Ask a Question

What do you want to prove with this story? What is the point? Make sure every detail answers this question. If it doesn’t, cut it out.

2 Get Right into it!

Don’t waste any time introducing the character and their world. Your reader will follow along and figure it out as the story develops.

3 Everything Must Matter

Do not talk about a man walking in front of your character on the street if it isn’t going to be directly related to your plot at some point. You can always show the reader (or viewer) the man walking, but only if it will advance the plot in some way.

4 No Fluff

You have ten minutes, so get rid of the fluffy junk that isn’t required. Remember if it doesn’t answer your question, cut it.

5 Don’t forget the Verbs

Do you remember those commercials about verbs? “Verb: it’s what you do.” The action is essential to any good play. You don’t have to just talk. Dialogue is important, but I see a lot of new playwrights who start writing and forget that the characters have to actually do something also.

6 Point of No Return

Don’t forget the point of no return. There is a decision or action your character will make that means they can no longer go back into their original world. This tells your audience that we are about to know what happens. We are about the “solve” (or not) the “big event.”

7 Take Risks!

This is your play! Take a risk, a chance, and get creative. It is okay to fail, but it is not okay to not try.

8 Remember to check your time

10 minutes is 10 minutes. When you write your first draft read it out loud and time yourself. If you don’t finish in 10 minutes, cut something.

9 Don’t write a three-act play

You might have a BIG idea that will never fit in 10 minutes. If that is the case, write a three-act play! If you want to write a ten-minute play, then try and save your big idea for a big play!

10 Write the First Draft in one sitting

Seriously, it can be too long or too short, but try to write an entire first draft in one sitting. This will get all the ideas out on the page. First drafts are allowed to be horrible, just write it out. Spend more time editing and rewriting. This is a tactic I personally use that works for me.

Bonus Tip: Don’t listen to any ones “tips.”

I love that. Do not get constrained by the rules of the game. They can be limiting and cause you to quit altogether. Take everyone’s advice, use what you can, and throw out the rest. This is your writing journey, not anyone’s else’s.

GET WRITING!!! Don’t forget to check out these reads:


For more ideas:

https://www.creative-writing-now.com/short-story-ideas.html

Plot

AGENDA:

https://writingfortheatre.wordpress.com/writing-for-theatre/plot-and-structure/

https://www.svsd.net/cms/lib5/PA01001234/Centricity/Domain/725/PlotHandoutNotes-toprint.pdf


Continue to develop character and plot for your 10-minute play

Characterization

AGENDA:

Master class: Characters

Handout:  Characterization

Occupations list:

https://improwiki.com/en/wiki/improv/occupations_list

Plot ideas:
https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/100-scene-writing-prompts-75313f8494f0

10 minute play

AGENDA:

AGENDA:

Read the following articles:


http://www.10-minute-plays.com/ten_minute_play_structure.html

http://www.10-minute-plays.com/how_to_write_a_10_minute_play.html

https://www.emwelsh.com/blog/10-minute-play



View video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIBXAswryKs

https://www.dummies.com/education/language-arts/creative-writing/playwriting-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/

Playwriting 101

AGENDA:

How to write a play:

https://www.education.com/magazine/article/playwriting-101/

READING:  Take 10

Writing:  Work on dialogue scene

Dialogue--Short scene

AGENDA:

More Durang!


Improv starters:

1. Excuse me, ma’am. I need to return this shirt for a refund.
2. Miss, I am afraid I did not order a hot dog for dinner.
3. Look, I know you hate this, but we need at least one good photo of you.
4. So, Jordan, please explain why Paul’s homework was in your backpack.
5. Officer, please, no! Don’t give me a speeding ticket!
6. Do you think Mother would like this crown or the silver one?
7. Oh! It is such an honor to meet you! Could I get your autograph for my daughter?
8. Sir, your suitcase will not fit in the overhead bin.
9. I think our cheer needs a better jump and some words that rhyme with "team."
10. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome today’s guest—Pat Perkins—an expert on how to organize your desk!
11. Look, my muscles are killing me! Can’t we take a break from this workout?
12. Just rip the paper off! I can’t wait for you to see this totally unique gift!
13. Excuse me, ma’am. Is that dinosaur skeleton real or is it just a model?
14. Well, this is what we’ve been training for—the Olympics! Are you ready to earn that gold medal?
15. I think these shoes make my feet look far too big. Please get me a different pair.
16. Ugh! All the other parents let their kids see PG-13 movies! You’ve just got to let me go!
17. All you have to do is step-kick-step-kick-step-kick. Now try it with me.
18. Behind us is the U.S. Capitol Building, and over there, you’ll see the Washington Monument.
19. It’s just a little tattoo on my arm! Dad has one! I don’t see why you are so upset!
20. Mr. Higgins, please tell our viewers how you plan to spend your lottery winnings!
21. I understand you were an eyewitness to the skateboard theft. Please tell our viewers what you saw.
22. Oh, I am so sorry, but pumpkin spice latte season ended yesterday! What other drink can I get you?
23. Did you honestly think that a trail of breadcrumbs would help us find our way out of the forest and back to our house?
24. Stop right there. You are not leaving this house dressed like that!
25. Halt right there! You are not leaving this palace dressed like that!
26. Your teacher tells me that your classroom behavior is inappropriate. What is your side of the story?
27. I am so sorry, but your credit card has been declined. I’ll need another form of payment.
28. O woe! O pity! There is no way we shall ever reach the castle by dark!
29. Ew! I thought you said you could cook!

Christopher Durang

AGENDA:

Go to library for books.

One-act Plays:

READ: Christopher Durang "DMV Tyrant"  "Funeral Parlor" "Actors Nightmare"

http://www.christopherdurang.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsysNVQHnQs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OIwcRAid1o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfDyTUiL8xs&t=108s

Laughing Wild monologgue:

pdf:  https://www.dailyactor.com/monologues/Laughing-Wild-Woman.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee_8E_BlRKo

HMWK:  Read "Actor's Nightmare"

Monologue

AGENDA:

What is a monologue?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfIGqK0FGMo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRuiavPvS5o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXpQ0Zou6OU

Exercise: The Monologue

ONE: Dealing with the Past

It is a common practice with monologues that a character relates a past story in order to illuminate something that is currently happening the plot of the play.

The problem with these types of monologues is when a character says, "I remember." "I remember" creates an insular experience; it's something that only happened to the character and it's difficult for the audience to share in the event. The audience doesn't remember.

Another problem with past monologues is the use of the past tense. When something has happened in the past, it's over, it's done. Using the present tense is much more alive and active.

EXERCISE

1. Write a monologue where the first line is 'I remember when...' and uses the past tense. Have a character talk about a childhood memory that has significant impact on how they are today.
2. Re-write the monologue, taking out all mentions of 'remembering.' Just tell the story.
3. Re-write the monologue in the present tense.
4. Read aloud the first version and then the third. Discuss the differences.

TWO: Making the Story Count

If a character tells a story in a monologue - "I went to the grocery store and THIS JUST HAPPENED," there has to be something besides the base story going on for the audience. There has to be more. The story has to show something: a character flaw, a plot point we didn't know, a lie, a romance, and so on.

EXERCISE

1. Write a monologue where the character tells a story about going to a parade.
2. Re-write the monologue so that by telling the story, the audience sees the character is a liar.
3. Re-write the monologue so that by telling the story, the audience sees the character is heartbroken.
4. Re-write the monologue so that by telling the story, the audience sees the character is in love.

THREE: The Need to Speak

In every monologue a character must 'need to speak.' Otherwise, why is the monologue there? In every monologue you write, you must determine the need for the character to speak. What drives the character? Is there anything that stands in the way of the character's need to speak? The character doesn't necessarily have to succeed with what they need. Maybe they're too afraid, or they change their mind, or there's something stopping them. Obstacles are good! But start with the need and then see what happens.

EXERCISE

Choose one of the following needs. What kind of character would have that need? Give them a name, an age, and a physical appearance. Who are they talking to? Who is the listener? What is the relationship? Decide if your character will succeed or fail with their need. Now write the monologue.

1. The character needs to reveal a secret to the listener.
2. The character needs to prove something to the listener.
3. The character needs to reveal they love the listener.
4. The character needs to reveal they hate the listener.
5. The character needs to stand up to the listener.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+write+a+dramatic+monologue&view=detail&mid=A2ED1B0F5F2C76364589A2ED1B0F5F2C76364589&FORM=VIRE2&adlt=strict

http://www.monologuegenie.com/monologue-writing-101.html

Prose Poems

AGENDA:

Consider writing a prose poem.  Here are some examples:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/browse#page=1&sort_by=recently_added&filter_poetry_teens=1&forms=281

Go to this website to study for TEST on Thursday!

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/browse#page=1&sort_by=recently_added&filter_poetry_teens=1

More poetry prompts

Poetry Writing Exercises from The Poetry Resource Page www.poetryresourcepage.com/teach/pex.html

WRITING EXERCISES: POETRY

Alliteration Exercise Make a list of twenty phrases that use alliteration, such as the sun settled on the south hill with sudden color. Pick two or three of these phrases and try to build images around them. Use at least one of these images in a poem. Body Exercise Make a list of fifteen physical experiences that you’ve had, such as falling out of a tree, riding a roller coaster, or jumping on a trampoline. Choose one from your list and use images to create a lyric poem about the experience. (by Jay Klokker, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Body Part Exercise Write a poem addressed to a particular body part. Make sure you maintain a consistent tone and focus. Childhood Exercise Try to remember everything you can about a particular event that occurred when you were a child. In can be any type of experience, no matter how insignificant. Make a list of all the details you can remember. Once you’ve finished your list, build a narrative poem around it. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be faithful to the past. You can change details, descriptions, or actions if the change will make the poem work better. Circular Poem Write a short poem that begins and ends with the same line. The reader should feel differently about the line the second time around because of what has happened in the poem. Confession Exercise Write a poem in which you confess to a crime you didn’t commit. You can create the circumstances – perhaps you’re talking to a priest, or you’re being interrogated by police. Turn your confession into a narrative poem in which you describe the events leading up to your crime. Construction Exercise Write a poem in which you literally build or take apart something for the reader. Describe each step of the process for the reader, incorporating technical terms and descriptions of materials. Create a lyric or narrative poem that “shows” the reader how it’s done. (by Deborah Digges, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Crime Exercise Write a “confession” poem detailing an emotional crime and how you committed it. or write a poem in the voice of a murderer. Make the reader sympathetic to the murderer. Death Exercise Freewrite about the first experience with death you can remember, whether it involved a person or an animal. Then freewrite about your most recent experience with death. Combine the details, memories, and images from the two into a lyric or narrative poem. Dream Exercise Many people have recurring dreams – of flying, of being chased, of being in a particular location or situation. Write a poem about such a dream that uses repetition to capture its obsessive nature. Try to repeat fragments rather than simply initial words or complete sentences; let the repetition interrupt the flow of the dream-story. Dying Exercise Write a poem in which you speak after your own death. In it, describe what death looks and feels like. Describe how it feels to be conscious at the time of death, what your emotions are. Give advice to the living about how they should face death. Elegy Exercise Using the third person, write an elegy poem for yourself, imaging that you’ve just died at the age of ninety. Include a description of yourself, and things that you would like to be remembered for/by. You may want to include places you’ve been, inventions you’ve created, famous people you’ve met, your talent for singing or dancing or cooking, your favorite book or movie or color, where you had your first kiss, what you did for a living, how many times you were married, how many children you had, all the states or countries you’ve lived in, etc. Endless Exercise Write a poem of about thirty lines that consists of a single sentence. Experiment with clauses and phrases and parallel structure. Try to keep the sentence moving forward, enjambing it across lines in different ways, while making sure it is grammatically correct. This type of exercise will help you develop flexibility as a writer, teaching you new ways to phrase things and new ways to play with the syntax of a line. (by Richard Jackson, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Erotic Exercise Brainstorm a list of everyday activities, such as washing the dishes, chopping vegetables, mowing the lawn, going grocery shopping, etc. Choose one and describe it in precise detail, focusing on every action it requires, all the little sensory moments involved. Take all of these details and images and use them to write a lyric poem in which you make some everyday experience sound erotic. OR Choose a landscape to describe. It can be any kind of landscape, but try something nontraditional – a junkyard or an empty parking lot. Use your descriptions and images to write a lyric poem in which you make the landscape seem erotic. Good and Evil Exercise The traditional imagery for good and evil is light and dark, white and black. Brainstorm a list of images called up by the two opposites. Then write a poem that reverses traditional expectations. In other words, write a poem about what is beautiful or inspiring about the dark, or a poem about what is awful or terrifying about the daylight. Fairy Tale Exercise Write a lyric poem in which you adopt the persona of a character from a fairy tale. For example, you could describe the way Snow White feels while she sleeps inside her coffin, or how the Prince feels as he holds Cinderella’s glass slipper in his hand. False Memory Exercise Write a poem in which you “remember” something that never happened. Use strong sensory images to convince the reader it really happened. Family Exercise Write a poem in which you adopt the persona of a parent or grandparent. Write the poem in the form of a letter addressed to your significant other. Describe your feelings for this person, the way they look and smell, memories that you have of them, where or how you met, etc. Fear Exercise Think of something you were afraid of as a child. Write a poem in which you describe what it was and how it made you feel. You can write from the point of view of an older person looking back on it, or you can write from the point of view of the child you once were. Field Guide Exercise Read the descriptions in a book of natural history or a field guide, such as a guide to birds, mushrooms, or wildflowers. Write a poem about a plant, bird, rock, animal, or fish from the book. Incorporate information from the book in the poem to help the reader identify your subject. First Line Exercise Take one line from a poem of your own that is unfinished or a poem by another poet. It does not matter where the line occurs in the poem, but you want to select the best line from the poem. Use this line as the first line of a new poem. Try to maintain the same quality of sound, language and thought that the first line presents. (by Stephen Dunn, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Foreign Objects Exercise Many poems arise out of everyday life – something you may have walked or driven by a hundred times and suddenly noticed for the first time. Part of learning to write poetry is learning to look around and observe both the ordinary and the unusual. Exercise: Spend half an hour walking around outside (on campus or in a parking lot, for example). Pay attention to the objects you see. Make a list of five “foreign objects” (such as a Band-aid stuck to a stop sign or a scarf hanging from a tree). Once you’ve made your list, try to imagine the story behind the object – how it ended up where you found it. Build a narrative poem around the object. ORDescribe the scene in great detail – the landscape surrounding the object, then the object itself. Build a lyric poem around the object. Function Exercise Choose one object in your room and make a list of all of the ways you could use it, or all of the things you could do with it. For example, a glass can be used to drink from, to pour from, to collect rain water, to turn upside town and catch a fly under, etc. Turn your list of functions into a lyric poem, using the object as the title. (by Jack Myers, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Gesture Exercise Spend twenty minutes observing people in a public place. Make a list of the gestures that people make, no matter how subtle. For example, the way a child twirls her hair around a finger, or the way a woman tucks loose strands of hair behind one ear. Choose one gesture and describe its motions in great detail. Build a poem around this moment and what you think it tells you about the person. God Exercise Write a poem to God. Make it a tirade, a complaint, a request. ORWrite a poem as God. Let God explain, refute, deny, defend. ORWrite a poem in which God is a traffic cop, a new anchor, a porn star, a grocery clerk. Hands-on Exercise Choose half a dozen small objects from around the house (like a fork, a toothbrush, or a stapler). Close your eyes and run your hands over each object. Write a description of what the object feels like, and how you think it looks. Use metaphor and simile to compare the feel or shape of the object to something else. When you have written descriptions for each of the objects, choose one to write a poem about. Describe the poem in such a way that a blind person could tell what it looks like. History Exercise The poet James Merrill wrote “we understand history through the family around the table.” Think about ways your own family’s story overlaps with the story of others – a historical event, an ethnic group, a social issue. Write a poem about someone in your family and how his or her story is related to history. (based on an exercise by David Wojahn, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Home Exercise Think about your childhood home, recalling the inside (hallways, rooms, closets, etc.) and the outside (the front yard, back yard, trees, swing sets, etc.). Focus on a place inside or out that was special to you. Describe the time you spent there, the things you did, the discoveries you made, the emotions you felt, why you went there, etc. Imitation Exercise Find a contemporary poem that you admire. Write a poem in which you imitate the style, tone, theme, sentence structure, etc. of the original poem. You may want to borrow the poem’s first line and use it to write a poem of your own. You may want to write on a similar topic – a childhood memory, describing an everyday object, providing a narrative for a photograph, etc. Inanimate Object Exercise Choose one inanimate object in your room. Describe what it looks like, and describe the room around it. When you’ve finished your descriptions, write a poem in which you adopt the persona of the inanimate object: what does it think, what does it feel, what does it look out at day after day after day, etc. Interior Monologue Exercise Write a poem in which you adopt the persona of someone famous (they can be dead or alive). Imagine this person sitting alone, looking out over the Grand Canyon at sunrise, reflecting on his or her life. Write a poem in which you convey this person’s character through his or her internal thoughts. Isolation Exercise Write a description pf one particular element of a set. For example, you can describe one book on a shelf, one face in a crowd, one bird on a telephone line, etc. Try to describe both the characteristics of the group/set, and to distinguish what makes the one member you’re focusing on different from the others. Turn your description into a lyric poem. (by Michael Pettit, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Landscape Exercise Go somewhere scenic – to a park or a lake, for example. Describe the landscape that surrounds you using sight, sound, smell, and tactile images. Build a lyric poem out of these images. ORGo somewhere urban – downtown Chicago or St. Louis, for example. Describe the landscape of the city using sight, sound, smell, and tactile images. Build a lyric poem out of these images. Letter Exercise Write a poem in the form of a letter to someone who is dead. In it, make a confession about something you did to them when they were still alive. ORWrite a poem in the form of a letter imagining that you are dead. In it, tell them something you meant to tell them while you were still alive. (based on an exercise by Robin Behn, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Life or Death Exercise Write a lyric poem in which you describe yourself being born. Describe what it feels like inside the birth canal, what it feels like as you push your way out, what you see, smell, hear or taste, etc. ORWrite a lyric poem in which you describe the moment of your death. Describe how you feel as you take your last breath. Describe the last thing you see, hear, touch, taste, smell or feel. Describe who is with you, where you’re at, etc. Metaphor Exercise Take something negative about yourself – an abstract concept, like fear, depression, hatred, loneliness, or cruelty – and find a concrete image for what it feels like. Maybe it feels like a weight pressing down on your, like walking down a dark street at night, or waking up in an abandoned house. Once you decide on a topic and an image, draw out the image in a lyric poem with the topic as your title. Newspaper Exercise Read the newspaper. Pick one story from the paper, and write a poem in which you take on the persona of someone involved in the story. Write a narrative poem in which you tell the story from that person’s point of view. (based on an exercise by Mary Swander, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Opening Lines Exercise Below are the opening lines from some short stories and novels. Pick one that interests you and see what kind of poem it generates: Come into my cell. Make yourself at home. Night fell. The darkness was thin, like some sleazy dress that has been worn and worn. There is an evil moment on awakening when all things seem to pause. It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. “Notice the sensuous curve of the breast.” God help me. She lay in the dark and cried. The big house was still, almost empty. (from Writing Poems , Robert Wallace and Michelle Boisseau, eds.) Personals Exercise Write a persona poem in which you take on the personality of an older, single adult of the opposite gender. Write a poem in the form of a personals ad in which you describe yourself and your interests, and then describe the type of man or woman you would be interested in dating. Personification Exercise Look around your bedroom, kitchen, living room, or bathroom. Make a list of objects that seem to have moods or personalities. Choose five of them and create a description of each one’s personality or mood. Pick one of your descriptions and build a poem around it. Pet Exercise Write a persona poem from the point-of-view of your pet. Describe your environment, your day-to-day activities, the food you eat, where you sleep, where you use the restroom, the toys you play with, what you think about, the way your owner behaves, etc. Photograph Exercise Look through an old family album. Find a picture that you’re not in and write a lyric poem that describes the person and/or scene. ORLook through a book of historical photographs. Write a lyric or narrative poem based on the person and/or scene. Picturing Exercise Think of someone in your family, imagining them doing something they typically do – like, your mother gardening or your brother sketching pictures under a tree. Freeze them there in your mind in an “imaginary” photograph. Describe the photograph as if it were real, using the details to reveal something about this person’s character. Piece by Piece Exercise Write a poem in which you describe an object – not in its entirety – but piece by piece. Do not say what the object is. Let the individual parts explain the whole. Language Play Exercise Make a list of twenty phrases in which you use words as different parts of speech, such as he turned to me with a shadowing stare or her kisses purpled his flesh. Once you’ve made your list, choose one phrase to build a lyric or narrative poem around. Reflection Exercise Look at yourself in a mirror for as long as you can stand it. Describe yourself in as much detail as possible. Build a poem around your own reflection: the way your body changes over time, the small details of your face that no one notices, the reality of “facing” yourself, etc. Repulsion Exercise Make a list of things you find repulsive – the smell of garbage, fast food employees, people who never shut up, etc. Choose one and write a poem in which you describe that person, place or thing in such a way that it becomes beautiful. Sandwich Exercise Find a short lyric poem you really like and type it on your computer, leaving three blank lines between each line of the poem. Print it out. In the spaces between each line, fill in a new line of your own that seems like it would sound right following the line original line before it. Once you have filled in all the spaces with lines of your own, cross out all the typed lines from the original poem. Revise the poem using only the lines that you have written. (by J. D. McClatchy, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Scene Exercise Sit in one place for fifteen minutes and write down everything you observe about the place: sights, sounds, smells, feelings, colors, temperature, lighting, etc. Once you have a complete description, create a poem that develops a scene through a series of images. Scissors Exercise Take a poem that you’ve been working on but have been unable to get “to work.” Type it up, double-spaced, and print it out. Cut it into pieces – cutting so that phrases and chunks of sound or sense stay together. Throw away any extra parts, then take all of the “pieces” and try rearranging them in different orders. Add whatever you need, and keep moving things around until it “works.” (by Chase Twichell, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Secondhand Memory Exercise Talk with your parents or someone else who would know about your childhood. Try to find out something you didn’t know about yourself and then write about it as if you remembered it. Sexual Metaphor Exercise THE GROUNDFALL PEAR Jane Hirshfield It is the one he chooses, yellow, plump, a little bruised on one side from falling. That place he takes first. Using Hirshfield’s poem as a model, write a short (4-5 line) lyric poem that is a metaphor for sex, desire, or love. Shame Exercise Write a poem about an experience that caused you to feel a sense of shame. Shape Exercise Sit in one room and make a list of descriptions of various objects and their shapes. Try to be as exact as possible, and to make the description of the different shapes distinct. Meditate on the shape and form of objects. Try to build a poem around one or the objects, a particular shape, or the idea of form. Suspense Exercise Write a poem in which you withhold the subject and verb for as long as possible; begin with a preposition or adverb, then pile up the phrases and clauses. Syllabic Exercise Write a poem that is composed of only one-syllable words, or a poem that alternates between one and two-syllable words. Voice Exercise Write a poem in which you take on the voice of one of the following: A used napkin A scalpel A turtle turned upside down by a group of children A washing machine A framed photograph A ceiling fan An unopened letter A remote control Widow Exercise Write a poem in the voice of a widow whose husband has drowned. Invent any story you like about how this happened – he was a fisherman who was washed overboard in a storm or he was in a boat that capsized. Imagine that the widow, who now hates water, is forced to confront it due to circumstances beyond her control. Perhaps she goes to visit a friend who lives by a lake, or she must jump in a pool to save a child who has fallen in. Write a poem in which you adopt the persona of the widow. In her voice, describe what you see and feel as you look out at the water. (by Maura Stanton, from The Practice of Poetry, Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds.) Window Exercise Write a poem describing a scene outside your window. Do this even if your window faces a brick wall or a boring landscape; use your imagination to make it interesting. Word List Exercise Writing poetry teaches you to experience language in new ways, and the most important thing that you can do as a writer is to develop a relationship with words – to look at them individually, to learn how to see and hear and taste and feel the different textures of each word, and then to learn ways to weave words together into poems. Exercise: Make a list of twenty-five of the most beautiful/sensual/or poetic words you can think of. (For example, some of my favorite words are: obsidian, wisp, hollow, trickle, iridescent, and flicker.) If you can’t think of any off the top of your head, flip through the dictionary. Once you have your list of words, pick one to try to build a poem around. The word can be the title of your poem, part of an image, central to a narrative, or just a word in a line.

Rita Dove Poetry Prompts

Rita Dove Poetry Prompts

https://poetsfieldblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/18/in-my-mothers-kitchen-a-poetry-prompt/

“Write a poem about your mother’s kitchen. Put the oven in it, and also something green, and something dead. You are not in this poem, but some female relation–aunt, sister, close friend–must walk into the kitchen during the course of the poem.”

Poetry Portfolios/REVISION

AGENDA:

Your portfolio should have 10 poems.  At least 2 of those poems should have revisions (not edits), but revision.

Revision:
Read article:
https://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/5-ways-to-revise-poems

CONTESTS:
Last call for Hollins and Bennington

Poetry Collaboration Rubrics/Poetry Portfolio/CONTESTS

AGENDA:

Fill out poetry collaboration rubric and give feedback.

Work on poetry portfolio.  Revise and edit poems.

Contests: Bennington and Hollins

school #--585-242-7682

marcy.gamzon@rcsdk12.org


Other forms:
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/types/g

Sestina

SESTINAS

/www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5792

Check out the Ashbery Sestina!
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/sestina-poetic-form

Here's another famous one

Elizabeth Bishop's Sestina 
www.poemhunter.com/poem/sestina/   

And there's also a tritina!
Go to:
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/wd-poetic-form-challenge-tritina

1 KNOW THE PATTERN. A sestina consists of six sestets (6-line stanzas) and one tercet (3-line stanzas). Each sestet contains the same 6 end-words, but in different a order for each stanza. The final stanza, the tercet, contains 2 "end-words" per line. Following is the pattern for the sestina ==> stanza 1: 1,2,3,4,5,6; stanza 2: 6,1,5,2,4,3; stanza 3: 3,6,4,1,2,5; stanza 4: 5,3,2,6,1,4; stanza 5: 4,5,1,3,6,2; stanza 6: 2,4,6,5,3,1; final stanza: 1&2,3&4,5&6.

2

CHOOSE YOUR 6 WORDS. When deciding on your 6 words, focus on versatility in terms of parts of speech, meaning, and usage. For example, the word "hand" can be a verb or a noun (as in the sentences "Hand me the towel" and "We shook hands," respectively.) "Hand" can be used in idioms (e.g. give me a hand, on the other hand). And finally, "hand" just has a plethora of definitions (e.g. a poker player's cards, a worker).

3

REVIEW & REVISE YOUR 6 WORDS. Are all of your words nouns? Are they all verbs? Do they seem to point to one specific subject matter you're planning to write about? If so, I'd suggest diversifying. Throw some adjectives in there; open a magazine or book, put your finger on the page, and write whatever word it lands on; or add a word that seems completely unrelated to the others.

4

ORGANIZE. Although it might seem tedious to organize ahead of time, it will save you from the grief that comes when realizing you've finally perfected your sestina, but you accidentally messed up the pattern in the third stanza, making the patterns in stanzas 4, 5, 6, and 7, also incorrect. So, on a piece of paper, make 3 columns. The first column is for the number pattern, the second is for the end-words, and the third is for your lines of poetry. If you are staring at a blank computer screen, make a table with 3 columns and 7 rows. Go to your TABLE panel or dropdown, click "Insert Table," and enter the number or columns and rows. (READ STEP 5 before writing the end-words down.)

5

WRITE. There are many ways to start a sestina, so experiment and find what is right for you. As for me, I like starting the first stanza without a particular order in mind for my 6 words. I just make sure one of the 6 words is at the end of each line. Only after writing that first stanza do I fill in my end-word column.

6

USE OTHER DEVICES. Don't let the end-words fool you; they are not necessarily the most important part of the sestina. Don't be afraid to repeat other words, too. This can actually draw some attention away from the end-words, adding a different type of rhythm and also warding off the dreaded monotony that can result from a sestina gone wrong. Enjambment can also create this effect.

7

BE FLEXIBLE. If you are accustomed to writing free verse, the sestina's constraints may seem to take away from what you want to say or what you're trying to do in your poem. However, I suggest that instead of not quite writing the poem you wanted to write, allow yourself to write a different poem than what you'd imagined when you began. There are many surprises to be found when writing in forms.

Villanelle

Villanelle

AGENDA:

Write a villanelle

Villanelle

A villanelle (also known as villanesque) is a nineteen-line poetic form consisting of five tercets followed by a quatrain. There are two refrains and two repeating rhymes, with the first and third line of the first tercet repeated alternately until the last stanza, which includes both repeated lines. The villanelle is an example of a fixed verse form.

http://poetry.about.com/od/poeticforms/g/villanelle.htm

A1
b
A2

a
b
A1(refrain)

a
b
A2(refrain)

a
b
A1(refrain)

a
b
A2(refrain)

a
b
A1(refrain)
A2(refrain)

The House on the Hill

Edwin Arlington Robinson (1894)

They are all gone away,     The House is shut and still, There is nothing more to say. Through broken walls and gray     The winds blow bleak and shrill: They are all gone away. Nor is there one to-day     To speak them good or ill: There is nothing more to say. Why is it then we stray     Around the sunken sill? They are all gone away, And our poor fancy-play     For them is wasted skill: There is nothing more to say. There is ruin and decay     In the House on the Hill: They are all gone away, There is nothing more to say.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

AGENDA:

13 ways of looking at a Blackbird

AGENDA:

http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/stevens-13ways.html

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Poem
https://reflectionandchoice.org/2013/11/22/thirteen-ways-of-looking-at-a-poem/

https://www.poetrycenter.org/13-ways-of-looking/

https://study.com/academy/lesson/wallace-stevenss-thirteen-ways-of-looking-at-a-blackbird-summary-analysis.html

http://writingfix.com/poetry_prompts/13Ways3.htm

“Six Ways of Listening to Silence”

I.
The lake water stilled
with the quieting wind.

II.
The density of the silence
diffused
for the entry of a thunderclap.

III.
The wind between the trees sounded
as a symphony
of undulating silences.

IV.
Always there is
a certain silence contained within a din of motion
and a subtle roar pervading the implicit din of stillness;
And I wonder if the world was conceived
from quietude or sonancy.

V.
I thought I heard contained
in the mob’s collective chant
the same singular silence felt upon a midnight lake.

VI.
I saw the face of the midnight moon
reflected in the quiet stillness of the lake.