The Harsh Rules of Writing

http://thoughtcatalog.com/cody-delistraty/2013/09/21-harsh-but-eye-opening-writing-tips-from-great-authors/

our history in 2 minutes

http://marcbrecy.perso.neuf.fr/history.html

Such determination - what is her future?

The Creatives

http://www.matthewschuler.co/why-creative-people-sometimes-make-no-sense/

Seth Godin today

Victims of the Hollywood Paradox

The studios spend ever more on the blockbusters they make because that demonstrates their power and pays everyone in the chain more money, which creates more (apparent) power for those in charge.

But since they pay so much, they have no choice, they think, but to say, “This must work!” So they polish off the edges, follow the widely-known secret formula and create banality. No glory, it seems, with guts.
Every meeting is about avoiding coming anywhere near the sentence, "this might not work," and instead giving ammunition to the groupthink belief that this must work.
And as soon as you do that, you’ve guaranteed it won’t.
Every bestseller is a surprise bestseller, and in fact, nobody knows anything.

(And of course, it's not just movies, is it?)

Cinematography: what is it?

http://www.boredpanda.com/must-see-powerful-photos/

Learning how to write better

see esp:  "Hone"  http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/6hJDaz

Gold Digger Prank!

You're in good company if you make certain grammatical errors

Can you find Einstein's error in the opening sentence below?

LOLOLOLOL

Thanks for your comments.  I was worried about one person who circled "I have to drag myself to class."  Turns out that person likes to sleep in, so LOL.  Two people "sort of" resent that they have to take the class; the rest are 'OK' with it.  And the biggest LOL:  one person said that he (or she) might try to fail the class so she (or he) can take it again.  How sweet is that?  Thanks for a great discussion today - lots of great energy.
Premise:  communication energizes.

And if telekinesis was real ?

Agenda: The very big and the very little

1. Cartoon and re-dos hand in
2. 20 questions
3. Rule 1 - format
4. Rules 2-3
5. Assign Rules 4-5
6. B R E A K 3:40 or so 3:45
7. Love (in class for now) - but save this and all in class writings for this week's essay
8. 2 poems:   Sound - Gesture - lexicon
9. Dillard and Orwell - see the link on the right side of the blog.  READ ORWELL - at least in part - for next week.  Do this.  1984 Orwell.
10. Writing about writing - assign essay due next week:  Dillard/Orwell
11. coming up:  structure, NEXT WEEK
12. Aspect of film/tv/media that U love

due for next week

A.  Rules 4-5

B.  Skim Orwell and read 3 paragraphs of Dillard "The Writing Life"

C.  Writing about Writing

D.  Extra credit:  errors you find in MY writing or in main stream media (e.g., ... travel with Penny and I)

My favorite movie director.

For Week 3

1. re-do paper if you want a better grade
2. AP  --  two-way
3. MP -- keep it consistent.  don't think.
4. buss letter
5. cartoon

               name
               a great title
               the sequence
               at least 5 sentences:   one paragraph of 5 sentences  or 3 paragraphs:
                   a 1 sentence paragraph
                   then 3 sentence paragraph
                   then a 1 sentence paragraph

here is a wise young man

Welcome Writers Autumn 2013

WHAT, HOW, WHY, FROM WHERE     

Partners Movies: Types

Shawshank Redemption
Jules and Jim
Lone Ranger and  Tonto
Wally Shawn and Andre Gregory
Batman and Robin
Ragin Bull
Sherlock and Watson
Thelma and Louise
Bonnie and Clyde
Fight Club
The Kids are Alright
Brokeback Mountain
V for Vendetta
Pulp Fiction

Set up
Development - denoument
detail detail detail 

Watch this

Pope Francis: "Who am I to judge" gay clergy?

Due for July 30

1.  re-do Poetics paper
2.  list 3 favorite "buddies" or "couples" movies
3.  Set up "Act I" of American Beauty
4.  continue (start) Morning Pages
5.  continue Accountability Partners

300 WORDS - on a critical reading of .

Aristotle Poetics  (2ndary source)...  Capture what Aristotle says about these components of drama:

• action
• structure:  beginning middle end - later, the 5 parts
• episodic moments
• revolution
• discovery
• conditions turning into their opposite
• the hierarchy of development of tragic plot:  what's best, second  best, and worst 

What do YOU "get" from reading this piece?

1. What is the outstanding bit that inspires or frightens YOU?
2. Does he have "sources"?  What?  From where does he "get" this?
3. What seems to be his purpose or motive in this instruction on writing?

350 400 words  (1.5 - 2 pages)  300 WORDS - Due July 17
This is to be a minimum of three paragraphs.  Why?
This is to have a compelling title, i.e., not "Aristotle Poetics"

Becket: bare bones

The story:
A man who believes in nothing, a man who has "a void" inside, a man who has been given all kinds of unexpected rewards finds something to believe in. Another man who has everything has nothing.  Their fates knit together - can you describe "the sweater" their yarns create?
This is a story of politics and the soul.  Can you imagine a story so profound be told of those who rule our world today?

Do you love Amy Winehouse?

films about values and thinking

• Star Wars
• The Godfather (I)
• Full Metal Jacket
• Natural Born Killers
• 2001 - thinking is mechanical, imposed by something outside, not innate
• Lion King
• Bambi
• Becket
• American Psycho
• Kill Bill
• Masculine Feminine

Action is action; action comes from ideas
Ideas and thinking come from values

Characters (forces) in Wall Street

1. Father
2. Son: Bud Fox
3. Son's boss
4. Son's co-workers
5. Son's college buddy: (Spader)
6. Hal Holbrick (God figure)
7. "the girl"
8. Gekko
9. Sir Larry
10. The union folks
11. The U.S. Attorney's Office

you want to pick two and state their objectives How did their objectives get whirled around by the two plot points?

the target of opinon

When we give an opinion, sometimes we say more about ourselves that that about which we express the opinion.   We may think we are assessing the thing or the idea or the target, but we say something about ourselves.  Hence we want to take care when we analyse a film that we take the film on its own terms and assess it according to whether it succeeded in its own terms.

No problem with the emotional responses to the film we saw.  That's part of it, too.  It is just that we do not want to stop there.

Good group!  Lively!

Alas! The five actions for our writing assignment are:

1. Phone rings
2. Running for your life
3. Scavenging for food
4. Trying to understand
5. Writing on the board

Agenda Week 2

R E V E L A T I O N
One Word Improvisations - assignment (no more than 2 pages)
Blog - show and tell
cartoon
love
MP - questions

Business Letter:  assignment
Read 1st three chapters of Zissner book.

4:45  "Is this movie good?"  why? why not?  how? what didn't it do or couldn't it do or could it have done?

NEXT WEEK

Grammar exercises (fun ones)
Quads - and an assignment

Agenda Week 1

Introduction:  Vonnegut

Table of writing (syllabus and this blog:  the table)  Stages of the writing process

Yourself as a writer (no name)  - 7 groups of 2:   Feedback (names) then return to creator for revisions- due next weekVideo - two posts down:  on revising.   Hand in next week.   around 300 words.
"Research" and "critical thinking":   Aristotle assignment
Map writing
Blog sign ups

Morning pages assignment - and test it here

Syllabus

Assumptions Predictions

what is your position - your belief, your position, your knowledge - on capitalism, efficiency, and automation?

250 words  . . .  then