Be sure to read Tammy Solis' Creative Monster story below, and check out her new blog! Way to go, Tammy!
Link to "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brian, for those of you who don't have the book yet:
Please see your syllabus for a complete description of the Descriptive Assignment due on Tuesday.
Journal #1: Character Sketch
(This is the first prompt that should be in your journal.)
In class we paired up. On your own, you should find a stranger, maybe a classmate, maybe a stranger on the bus, etc. The idea is to "sketch" the person with words. Basically you are going to describe them, but focus on the particulars, on the details, on what about them makes them stand out as an individual. Don't just say they are wearing shoes, but what KIND of shoes? What is unique about them? And then take your observations a step further: by just looking at the details, what kind of person might they be? What might they do in their spare time? What might they be thinking about right now...?
The idea is not to be "right," as you will probably in fact be wrong. The idea is to create a character out of them, invent them, make it all up and use your imagination.
Write for 10 minutes in your journal.
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Christopher Darby
ReplyDeleteJune 2, 2010
EGL 090-008
The Sunshine Monster
By Chris Darby
Once upon a time, there was a student named Tyrone Biggems. Tyrone was considered the new kid on the block. During his first day of school, he became friends with everyone and everyone enjoyed his presents. The day seemed to be going well until he walked into her classroom.
There was nothing but sunshine, flowers and pretty rainbows with her. She is the kindest and sweetest teacher you’ll ever know. When forced to face her it feels as if she’s slowly sucking away any and all happy emotions you may have right out of your body. As Tyrone entered her classroom he noticed how every student looked as if their spirits were taken from them. The sight of this reminded Tyrone of a horror movie he seen three weeks before, where everyone was flesh eating zombies looking for brains.
After quietly working, Tyrone finished his first day project and raised his hand. As the sunshine monster approached, Tyrone saw how drained of spirit everyone became as she passed by, “are you done Mr. Biggems”, she asked sweetly. Her sweet talking makes you feel like a little kid who just got a blue ribbon for a crappie finger painting. Tyrone for sure believed that she must of done sum psychedelic drugs back in her time which made her this way.
As the day came to a close, Tyron realized that the happier someone is the sadder you may become depending on how you deal with it. Although she wasn’t necessarily a monster, the thought of her happiness made everyone fear her. Therefore, she will always be known as the Sunshine Monster.