Class 7

We began today's class looking at a few great sentences from your homework assignments. Then looked at a couple things to remember for your future writing.

1) Keep verb tenses consistent. I'm seeing this a lot, this switching from present tense to past tense (or vice versa) in the middle of a sentence, paragraph, or story. This tells me you're not copy-editing thoroughly enough. Pick a verb tense and stay consistent!

2) Avoiding cliches. Two phrases I'm banning for the rest of the term: "We looked deeply into each other's eyes" (or variations thereof) and "Tears streamed down her face" (or variations thereof). I'm banning them not only because I see them too often, but also because they're inaccurate. Think about the last time you actually stared into someone's eyes. People don't really do that. It's creepy. Or think about what someone who's crying actually looks like--the tears aren't really "streaming." We did an in-class exercise regarding these two cliches, rewriting them to be more accurate.

Then we talked about this week's reading for the rest of the class.

Interesting link: "The Cruxifiction Written as an Uphill Bicycle Race" (hat tip to Connor). This was the story referenced in J.G. Ballard's piece.

HOMEWORK

Creative Assignment: Write a story that takes the form of another kind of text. It's important that the form being mimicked is not usually a vehicle for dramatic narrative. Some possible forms suggested by our readings include:
A formal letter, such as a customer complaint letter, letter to the editor, etc.
A How-To article, instruction manual, or "For Dummies" book
An article from the sports page in a newspaper
A tour, such as an audio tour in a museum
A class reunion brochure
An anthropology or history report
An academic essay
A school test or quiz, an SAT exam
A biography
A list

Critical Assignment: Read the stories for next week. The theme is "Myth & Fable." Write a Reading Response & try to bring to class a few myths & fables that you're familiar with.