Welcome back...

Hello again to my former Freshmen now returned as Juniors (almost Seniors!),

As discussed in class, we will be using the Blog system exactly as we did in Freshman year, so please re-engage your blogs and reply below this post with your address.  If you want to start a new one, that is fine, but I suggest continuing on with your original.

Some things to be aware of before this semester starts:

• Participation within class will make up a lot of your score, and what ends up on your blog at the end of the semester speaks for itself.  Write anything and everything you want to write when the mood strikes, and make it good.
• Class Discussion  will be weighed heavily, and I will reward you with a higher performance score if you do the following:
• Engage in discussion with each other and myself.
• Refrain from using your laptop. 
• Meet Deadlines: points will be docked if you are continually late with your work.

Your To Do List:

Purchase a copy of "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury. We will spend a lot of time with this book, and you will be expected to respond to selected stories on your blog (the more the better).

Read the first section by next Friday.  You likely won't have a copy of the book by then, so here is a link to the PDF:

http://old.fantasy.ir/files/public/bradbury_ray__the_martian_chronicles.pdf

Read the first 7 pages, or the following:
1-Rocket Summer (January 1999/2030)
2-Ylla (February 1999/2030)
3-The Summer Night (August 1999/2030)

 Come to class ready to discuss, draw comparisons, and share your favorite quotes etc.

Assignment #1

"As you play in the sand box, you hear the joyous sound of the ice cream truck approaching.  All your friends shout 'ice cream!' in unison, and soon enough a collective horde of 7-year-olds are charging across the playground towards the ultimate reward of a hot summer day.  But as you take your place in line, already imagining the sweet soft taste of cold vanilla, you discover that the coins your mother gave you that morning are missing from your Hello Kitty change purse! You immediately burst into wretched tears, and the happy circus-like music of the ice cream truck sounds like poison in your eardrums.  No ice cream for you."   

Write a creative narrative in the 2nd Person, which reflects on a childhood experience and/or "trauma" that you can clearly remember.  Incident should occur before the age of 13, and have taught you something.  It doesn't have to be serious.

There aren't many rules with this bit of writing, but I will expect to see how effectively and engagingly you can use the 2nd Person narrative.  You have many choices with this one, and will have to decide a strategy towards achieving the best mode for your particular anecdote.  Past tense or present tense?  From the point of view of your current or former/younger self?  Heavy on internal dialogue and light on imagery, or the opposite?

This is a creative writing exercise, so dig deep and have fun.  

Minimum of 500 words, due next Friday, September 7th.  (Note: due dates that are further away will raise the bar concerning quality and attention to detail).