Angelou: Writers Dreaming

Thank you for taking the time to consider author Maya Angelou's ideas about how dreams play into the writing process. Please do a New Post on your blog  with your answers to 4-6 of the questions on the blue handout I gave you. Your post should be a decent length (500 words) if you've provided thoughtful answers. Title the post Writers Dreaming.  Also include an image (of Maya, of something connected to dreaming or an aspect of one of your answers) on this post.

If you're interested in learning more about Maya Angelou, her interesting life and her beloved works, you can start at her official website. I  bought this t-shirt showcasing her autobiography (one of my favorite books) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings from a little store downtown next to Maria's called 5# Apparel. Most of the proceeds the store nets are donated to charities around the world. You can also find the t-shirt and others featuring classic, challenged books (ones that have been put on banned books lists at one time or another) at Out of Print. Click the "Shop" link to get to the t-shirts--the site donates a book to Books for Africa for every purchase made. I'd like to do some thinking next week about books that have made a difference to us as people and as writers, and I wonder if you've read any of the classics featured on their other shirts...

I love that several of you have mentioned you "dream" of becoming professional writers. Leave a comment here telling us why you'd like/not like to be a professional writer and/or what kind of writing you see yourself doing.

Stephenie Meyer said on Oprah that she always heard that was an unrealistic, financially hopeless goal, but I hope that no matter what anyone says, if that's your dream, you go for it. Seems like you'd regret not trying more than you'd regret taking a shot at it...

Maker Project: Dream Catchers

The Legend Of the Dream Catcher

"The Ojibwa (Chippewa) believe that night is full of both good and bad dreams. When a dream catcher is hung above the place where you sleep it moves freely in the night air and catches the dreams as they drift by. The good dreams, knowing their way, pass through the opening in the center of the webbing while the bad dreams, not knowing the way, are caught in the webbing and destroyed at the first light of the morning sun. 

There are many variants to the dream catcher legend, some which say both the good and bad dreams are captured and some which say the good dreams slide down the feather to those sleeping below. Although the Ojibwa are credited as the first people to use Dream Catchers many other Tribes and Native peoples have adopted Dream Catchers into their culture. Even though the designs and legends of Dream Catchers differ slightly, the underlying meaning and symbolism is universal and is carried across cultures and language barriers. 

Everybody dreams."


As a part of our discussion about dreams and how they can relate to writing inspiration and processes, let's try to create dream catchers in class this week!  

Dream catchers have been a part of Native American and other cultures for many years.  You can do your own research at places like this one to find out more about the various interpretations of this universal symbol.  This, on the other hand,  appears to be something different... :)

To prepare, take a look at some online tutorials and do some thinking about what you'd like yours to look like. Click here and here and here for some ideas.

These are certainly not the only ones--feel free to do your own search.  You'll be using a tutorial of your choice to create your dream catcher during class.

I will provide the hoops, basic supplies, and a few embellishments.  If you'd like to or are able to get your own supplies to really customize your dream catcher, please do so and bring them to class tomorrow.

If I Were in Charge of the World...

In the spirit of DREAMING big, do some thinking about how you might shape the world if you could...what you would change or eliminate, what you would add or emphasize, what you would want for yourself and all of those you share this big place with...

Using the "If I Were in Charge of the World" poem by Judith Viorst as a starting point and a template, gather some of these ideas you have about what you'd like to see in a world of your own dreams or making. Polish and share your poem in a New Post on your own blog. Include at least one image, maybe several.  

Another optional musical bonus I thought of putting this together...

Dream Threads

"Rappel Upward on Dream Threads" by Joji

In a New Post on your own blog, try the following writing activity using the interesting sentences regarding dreams that you and your classmates came up with on Tuesday.  We'll call these sentences "dream threads," little bits that you've pulled from a bigger piece and that could be "woven" back together in interesting ways.

• Choose one of the sentences to begin your story.  You may use it word for word or alter it slightly if necessary.
• Choose another sentence to end your story.
• Fill in the space in between with a story connecting the two sentences. This will likely be fiction but it doesn't have to be.  It also doesn't need to be especially long and may only be a portion of a bigger, more complicated story--maybe 200 words or so--but it could be. It could also be a poem.
• Put the sentences you took from other people in bold or another color.
• Include at least one image.

Here's our list:


I look back up at the clock:   Five more hours, I tell myself.The last thing I saw was me looking down upon a massive burning city

“What was the point of going on with so much rejection in my life?”

“This is what madness sounds like”

“I personally don’t find scribbles and lines scary, but in this dream they are terrifying.”

“Why should I let this hold me back?”

There’s too many voices, I don’t know which one is my own.

“I close my eyes and see all sorts of chaotic color and commotion.”

A dream about zombies in which i never dream about but seem very interesting to me  

Being told that i will never play football after being hurt

You may say I'm a dreamer...

...but I'm not the only one. Some people say they never dream when they sleep, and I've read that isn't true: Everyone dreams many times every night (the average dream lasting only 3-5 seconds) but we remember so few (or none) of our dreams because they're sent straight to our short-term memories. Unless you do something like write the dream down or share it with a friend to transfer the information to your long-term memory, that dream is gone and you may never remember having it at all.

I've done a lot of thinking and even a little writing about dreams over the years--what dreams mean, why I always have the same ones, how to avoid really scary ones...I wonder if this is a topic that is interesting to you? I've heard that it's really fun for us to talk about our own dreams but it isn't all that fun for everyone else listening?  I'm not sure anyone really wants to know about my recent dream regarding my neighbor in the buff drinking coffee in his backyard or the one where I'm sorting through tornado rubble in only a towel.  :)

I have a couple of recurring dreams, meaning dreams I have had several times throughout my lifetime, and I have to say they are mostly bad, or at least very uncomfortable. I often dream that I am still in high school and I have a volleyball game or track meet to go to and I'm not ready. I've either forgotten my uniform or shoes or I can't remember going to any practices beforehand to train. I haven't played high school sports for 20 years...why would this keep showing up in my subconscious?  Another dream I've had a lot (although not in quite a while, now that I think of it) is that my teeth are really chalky and they're crumbling out of my mouth, or they're all loose and if you tapped one they'd all fall out in a sort of domino effect.

I've read that you're likely to have nightmares if the room you are sleeping in is very warm and if you sleep with your arms above your head...I wonder what conditions make for more pleasant dreams? Do you think that what you have in your head right before you fall asleep will come out in your dreams, or do the littlest things from earlier in the day somehow pop up? Do you think you can control your dreams? I have a friend who is into "astratravel," which is, very simply, being able to will yourself to go places in your dreams. She said she could think about checking in on her cousin before she fell asleep and then she'd dream something about her cousin that would let her know how she was doing. She also told me that if you ever see yourself in your dreams, like you're looking down at yourself from above (in video games isn't that the third-person view?) instead of seeing the dream through your own eyes (like first-person in video games?) that you have astratraveled without even trying. Interesting...

There are various books and websites that offer interpretations of dreams and the elements involved.  You may or may not find these valid, but you considering dreams and what they might be saying could probably spark numerous writing ideas.  Take a look at some of these and see what you think:  Dream Dictionary    Dream Bible   Psychologists World      

I hope you've also done some thinking about how dreaming can play into the writing process. Please post a brief but thoughtful comment on this post answering one or more of the following:

...a recurring dream you have

...the worst dream you've ever had

...the best dream you've ever had (PG-13 or tamer :) )

...what you think causes dreams

...books you've read about dreams or dreaming

...if you think dreams are symbolic or have deeper meaning

...what you found in the dream interpretation books

...if you think astratravel or lucid dreaming is possible

...your daydreams or your dream day chart

...your dreams for your future

...if you think dreams could inspire writing for you

...something else connected to dreams?

Colorful Comments

TGIF!  Thanks for all your hard work so far.  And thank you for your patience as I sort through your blog posts and leave comments for you. I really enjoy seeing what you come up with.

Today:  Please check out all the COLOR pieces by the members of your group and leave them the kind of friendly, specific, supportive comments we are going for.  Maybe identify a favorite line or bit of imagery or tell them something their piece reminds you of or makes you think about. Thanks!

Then, copy and paste your comments to a New Post on your own blog so I can quickly see what you've done and give you credit for your feedback.

Garrett
Sophia
Courtney

Lily
Michael
Coral

Angel
Alyssa
Sam

Jordin
Isaiah
Carson

Please have all posts and commenting connected to OBJECTS and COLOR completed before we move on to a new theme (DREAMS!) next week.  Once we move on to a new theme you won't be able to receive credit for work from the previous one...

Also FYI:  Mid-Quarter Journal Check next Friday!  You'll need 20 full pages (since we are 4 weeks in and you're doing 5 pages per week). Have a great weekend!

Color Collage Poem

In a New Post on your own blog, please post a poem of 8 or more lines inspired by some aspect of your magazine cut-out collage in your journal featuring the paint chip shade you selected.  

The color may or may not make an appearance in your writing.  Your poem might describe a place, an event, a memory, a feeling, a person, or a combination of those.  It might take the form of a Narrative Poem, a Free Verse Poem, a Rhymed Poem, an Acrostic Poem, or a series of 3 or more Haiku Poems.  

Please include an image to go along with your writing and title your post Color Collage Poem. Include an Author's Note about the origin of your idea. 

Color Story

In a New Post (of at least 300 words, with at least one image and a creative title) on your blog by the end of class on Thursday, write a short story (fiction or non-fiction narrative) that begins with a sentence that includes the word BLUE.

Start each of the paragraphs (at least 4 total for your story) following with  a sentence using a different COLOR word.  Include at least one image.  If you need more than 4 paragraphs to tell your story, that's fine.  

Use the COLOR word only once in each paragraph, but suggest the color in as many ways as possible. Highlight the details you've used in the color they're suggesting.

For example:

The world had turned GREY. Nothing but mud and asphalt surrounded the unpainted house, little more than a box made of concrete blocks. Charlie, dressed in faded work pants, rubber boots, and a thick wool sweater, steadied himself with a hand on the top rail of a weathered cedar fence. Behind him, nothing but ash-coloured sky, bare trees, and plumes of smoke belching from the factory in the distance. A lone sparrow rested on a branch, one beady eye watching.

Here's a link to an example of a Color Story from one of my past students that might inspire you...

Paint Chip Poetry

Please polish and post the paint chip inspired pieces (alliteration!) you came up with in your journal during class on Tuesday.  You may group them all in one post or do a separate post for each one.  Include an image for each piece.  Let me show you how to do this if you don't know--it's easy and important to add visual interest to your work.

You can post all your poems, but at minimum please post these (in any order you choose):

• 2:  haikus 
• 1:  acrostic using a paint color name
• 1   8+ line free verse poem that uses the 4 paint color names
• 1:  8+ line narrative poem using the paint name as a title or in a line

If you finish with this assignment, click around on the info at HGTV about the Psychology of Color, how different colors affect our moods.   There are various color quizzes out there you could try, too.  Or you could continue to customize your blog with gadgets (quotes, images, tools) on your sidebar, or update your profile.  You could also check out what your classmates are posting today and leave them the kind of friendly, specific, supportive comments we are going for.  Thanks!

Comments for Classmates

First, be sure your Object-Inspired Piece is posted to YOUR blog and:

• has a creative title (something more than Object Piece...) 
• includes at least one image (ask me how to do this if you don't know)
• include a brief Author's Note at the beginning or end of your post indicating where you got the idea for your story or which object inspired your piece

Next...

You all worked so hard on your object pieces--I'd like for you to take some time today (and/or tomorrow) to see what your classmates have come up with.  

Find your name in the groups below.  

Read the Object-Inspired Pieces of the classmates in your group and leave a comment with 3 specific, supportive and complimentary remarks regarding the piece and how it was written.   Nothing critical or suggesting changes at this point...

Include a greeting at the beginning of your comment (like "Hi, Taylor!) and a brief statement of encouragement at the end of your comment (like "Thanks for sharing this!" or "I look forward to seeing more of your work.")

Go beyond a short, generic comment and get specific. As in:  "You really got me with that twist at the end--I would have never guessed it was her sister stalking her all along.  Creepy!"  Or:  "Your use of dialogue was effective and pulled me into the story.  I never thought a conversation between a little boy and his baseball could sound so natural."  Don't cop out and put a rushed, generic comment like, "It was good" or "Nice job."   

Please read the person's I am... Poem also and leave a friendly comment, maybe something you have in common or find interesting.

Then copy and paste the comments you made into a New Post on your own blog so I can quickly give you credit for offering feedback.  You can title the post "Comments for Classmates: Object Writing."

Here's what your post might look like...


Jordin
Angel
Michael
Sophia
Coral
Sam

Alyssa
Lily
Isaiah
Courtney
Carson
Garrett

Inspired by objects

"One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at.  This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity..." ~Edward de Bono

Please post a new piece of writing on YOUR blog inspired by our look at found objects.  Please spend time to come up with at least 500 words (you can type on Docs for a word count then copy and paste if you want to).  Also, add at least one image  (click on the icon on the tool row that looks like a photo--I can show you how, just ask).  Also add an "Author's Note" at the beginning or end of your post briefly identifying the object/activity that inspired you and bit of your thought process.

Be creative and take this assignment in whichever direction you choose:  fiction, narrative, poetry...You may come up with a finished product today or maybe just a good start on something you revisit and finish up on Thursday.  This piece will be due at the end of class Thursday.

Some options:

• use one of the objects we passed around during class last week (some are pictured above...expand on one of the ideas you jotted down in your journal)
• use one of the objects you found on our walk around campus and the park (you could even steal someone else's object)
• use one or several of the objects you cut out of the magazines Friday
• go back to one of the objects you shared with everyone those first days of class or something someone else shared
• use an idea from the What's in Their Bag? Sketch you will create next week
• write about something you think of when you look at the articles about important objects from history via the V & A Museum, the 101 Things that made America from the Smithsonian, the website auctioning off thrift store items along with writing about them...
• P.S. Here's a link to more information about the 3D printing technology we talked about--scroll to the video at the bottom--this whole idea both fascinates and baffles me and the gun "printed" out makes me think of lots of things to write about)
• you can make a story up or you can write a story that is true
• you could be inspired by a combination of these objects
• the object itself may or may not end up in your writing

When you finish your piece (due at the end of class on Thursday, 31 August), you can continue to customize your blog page with gadgets in the sidebar, an interesting background, updated profile info, etc.  Be sure you've figured out how to add images--they are an important aspect of your blog and will accentuate your writing.  I can also show you how to put in links like I did (all the pink words above).  It's really easy.

Thanks for making class so pleasant so far!