Don't quote me on that...

We often turn to the words of others for inspiration, guidance, or even just a good laugh. These words might come from favorite pieces of literature, song lyrics, a wise family member or friend, even movies or TV.

Please create a new post on your blog featuring some of your favorite quotations.  You can find interesting looking versions of them on Tumblr or elsewhere, or you can simply type them in (you could change up the font and colors to make it interesting).  Be sure to give credit to the writer or speaker.

I have a couple of quotes that I like:

"Love is the answer,

at least to most of the questions

of my heart."

Jack Johnson

Your quote may be from a person you know or a person you don't. It may be funny or serious, thought-provoking or light-hearted. Just so it speaks to you.  You might also want to jot your quote(s) down in your journal for something else I hope we can do this week.

On the topic of "quotes," I'm adding a link here to a funny site that documents superfluous (extra, unnecessary) uses of quotation marks. Maybe it's only funny to me as an English teacher, but take a look: http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/. Be on the lookout for unneeded quotation marks in your world...maybe you could send one in.

I Write Like

Since we've been thinking about how what we read inspires or influences what we write, I thought it might be fun for you to check out a website I've seen that analyzes a bit of your own writing and tells you what published author your writing is similar to.

I tried it with one of my blog posts and evidently I write like Dan Brown. I know who that is, but I haven't read any of his books. Interesting.

Go to I Write Like and try it yourself. Leave a comment on this post telling us your results (and what you think of them) when you do.

Memorable Passage

Post a passage (probably no more than a paragraph or so) from a book that was memorable to you. Type the passage in word for word and add some of your own thoughts before and/or after, explaining why this particular set of words caught your attention or has stayed in your memory.  See the instructions and example on the green handout from Friday. Title this post Memorable Passage.  Include an image with this post, too.

I write quite a bit on my own blog about what I read, if nothing else just to remember, but often to reflect on words that stuck with me. If you are so inclined or need some ideas about books to read or what you might write about reading, you can check out my posts here and here and here and here and here.  Also here and here.  But that's totally optional.

By the end of class Monday, be sure that you have posted this assignment and your responses to the Writers as Readers questions from last week.  Thanks for being wonderful!  XOXO

Writers as Readers

I'd like you to do some thinking and writing about how what we read plays into our creative process, how the stories we read might inspire our own character and plot ideas, how we might both consciously and unconsciously pick up sentence patterns, vocabulary and writing styles from the authors we are exposed to. You might have all sorts of things to add to your blog about your reading preferences and experiences, and you're welcome to do whatever you'd like, but please do at least the following by the end of class Friday:

• Post 5-6 of your answers to the Writers and Readers questions on the pink handout as a new post to your own blog. Title the post "Writers as Readers." Include some images in this post to make it interesting. You can even add links to author's web pages or book reviews or other related websites if you'd like. I can show you how to do this.

I have a gadget on my own blog that you might want to add to yours. It's a link to site called Shelfari that lets me track the books I've read and plan to read. It also has all sorts of options for you to record your ratings of and notes about the books you read for other users to see. You get a little bookshelf on your sidebar that shows what you're reading now. Check it out if you're interested.

I was glad to see that most of you are avid readers. I just think there's such endless inspiration and personal growth that is possible when you take the time to consider the ideas others have put in print. There is so much out there to read...how will we ever get through all of it we want to?

Caged Bird

In another New Post today, please share a poem of at least 10 lines inspired by Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."  You might use the prompts I shared in class yesterday as a start.  Include an image and give your post/poem a creative title of your own making.  Thanks!

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom. 

Maya Angelou

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 2-3 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 almost 15 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...

In a  New Post today, type up the writing you did in your journal on Friday using the Dream Threads sentences and add an image that goes along with it. Let me show you how to add images if you haven't figured it out yet.  This one might be a little shorter. Use Dream Threads as your title.

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 to your blog  with your answers to 4-6 of the questions on the yellow handout I gave you. Your post should be a decent length (400-500 words) if you've provided thoughtful answers. 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 this 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...

Continue to customize your blog layout with gadgets in the right column, maybe a new background or header. Click on the Edit Profile link on your Dashboard and fill in the information about yourself. You can also have a look at your classmates' pages. If you're inclined to comment, be sure to be positive and supportive and write in the best English you can. Please don't be lazy and write in all lowercase with no punctuation, and don't leave only meaningless "what's up/i heart you" type comments. We'll talk more about giving feedback on our posts in the near future.

I love that several of you 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...

For class Thursday:  Please bring at least 3 books that matter or have mattered to you.  These can be books from your childhood, books you've read recently, books that matter because you love them, books that matter because they taught you something or changed your mind, books that made you want to read...We will each briefly share the books with the class.

For class Friday:  Be ready to turn in your journal for a mid-quarter check.  You should have at least 20 full pages.  Make sure the pages are filled completely to count (partial pages can be combined to make a full page--I'll consider that when I look through your notebook).