1. Dangerous guy on the street.
2. Her roommates are losing their minds in the next room.
3. Art student goes crazy.
4. A grandmother's quilt.
5. Group of hipsters getting into hipster-trouble
6. Graduation—don'ttripdon'ttripdon'ttrip
7. Kidnapped!
8. April Fool's Prank gone wrong
9. Story of a pit bull
10. Ouija board hijinks
11. Weird coming-of-age story.
12. The other world in a girls' dryer.
13. Homeless guy's last meal
14. First day of school.
15. Someone overtaken by hatred.
16. Sci-fi school sucking away all of someone's creativity.
17. Some kid's first job, and it's sketchy.
18. Loss of a pet—ahh, zombies!
19. Someone forgets how to speak English.
20. Frustration drives a guy to crazy new lows.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Flash Fiction Friday:
I pause at the door, and it's like my hand freezes to the knob. I know what's waiting for me on the other side. Who's waiting for me on the other side. It's a room full of my relatives, full of her relatives, and everyone's just sitting there and staring. They're waiting for the inevitable, waiting for the last breath the doctors have been predicting since October. I've just come from the room set aside for family members like me, like us. They've given me papers to sign: me, the oldest daughter and, legally, the closest living relative. My grandparents, her loving parents, were sitting next to me on the ugly blue sofa as the lawyer handed me the papers, and I want to say that it should be them making this decision, it should be them signing her away, but they've missed that window by five months, and now it falls on me.
When I push through the door, no one looks at me, and I can't say I'm not grateful. I know no one blames me, but my uncle, her youngest brother, is sitting next to her on the bed and when I look at him I see not the grown man that he is today, but the thirteen-year-old that she knew and my very soul aches. It takes three more days, but when that last breath finally comes and no one but an estranged brother and his unfamiliar new wife are in the room, that ache will become permanent, and the thirteen-year-old boy will disappear forever.
When I push through the door, no one looks at me, and I can't say I'm not grateful. I know no one blames me, but my uncle, her youngest brother, is sitting next to her on the bed and when I look at him I see not the grown man that he is today, but the thirteen-year-old that she knew and my very soul aches. It takes three more days, but when that last breath finally comes and no one but an estranged brother and his unfamiliar new wife are in the room, that ache will become permanent, and the thirteen-year-old boy will disappear forever.
Banshee Lullabies
Banshee Lullabies by Chazley Dotson
It's hard for me to say exactly why I like this piece of flash fiction. At its most basic, it's about the relationship between a mother and a daughter, it's sort of about the paranormal, and it's bittersweet. If something is sugary-sweet, it's boring and unrealistic. How often does real life get wrapped up neatly in one sweet little package? I like the strangeness of the paranormal, plain and simple. Whether banshees actually exist, it's fun to think about them and wonder. If they were. to exist, how would they be created? Why can't we assume that they would be born, and come into their roles like human children? And as for mothers and daughters...well, I'll probably just have to chalk that one up to a form of jealousy.
A Living Calendar by Anton Chekov
I don't care much for this piece of flash fiction at all. I've read through it several times so far this afternoon, and I've yet to find a reason to care about what happens in the story. I've yet to find much of a plot, beyond “some guy is complaining about how his town has deteriorated and can't remember how old his kids are”. Why should I care? The tone also strikes me as unbearably pretentious: maybe that's on purpose, but it was hard to get through the characters' speech patterns. Finally, a large portion of this story is told through dialogue, which has always struck me as lazy at best when it comes to writing. Especially in flash fiction, where there is such a short amount of words in which to tell a story, I feel action is necessary—not so much the dialogue.
It's hard for me to say exactly why I like this piece of flash fiction. At its most basic, it's about the relationship between a mother and a daughter, it's sort of about the paranormal, and it's bittersweet. If something is sugary-sweet, it's boring and unrealistic. How often does real life get wrapped up neatly in one sweet little package? I like the strangeness of the paranormal, plain and simple. Whether banshees actually exist, it's fun to think about them and wonder. If they were. to exist, how would they be created? Why can't we assume that they would be born, and come into their roles like human children? And as for mothers and daughters...well, I'll probably just have to chalk that one up to a form of jealousy.
A Living Calendar by Anton Chekov
I don't care much for this piece of flash fiction at all. I've read through it several times so far this afternoon, and I've yet to find a reason to care about what happens in the story. I've yet to find much of a plot, beyond “some guy is complaining about how his town has deteriorated and can't remember how old his kids are”. Why should I care? The tone also strikes me as unbearably pretentious: maybe that's on purpose, but it was hard to get through the characters' speech patterns. Finally, a large portion of this story is told through dialogue, which has always struck me as lazy at best when it comes to writing. Especially in flash fiction, where there is such a short amount of words in which to tell a story, I feel action is necessary—not so much the dialogue.
Oh Haaaay
Think I'll just go ahead and start using this blog not for English 328 anymore, but for a Moodle for my EDMT class. Flash fiction ahoy!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Engl 328--Final Reflection
Note that this is not my NCATE essay, but the pre-planning/just a regular everyday blog post about the same topic.
If we're going to be honest—and why not be honest, since this is ultimately my blog?—I'm not sure how much I've improved my writing from this class. At the very least, I know that I've learned how to write a paper that Professor Cassidy will like, but I haven't yet learned whether that is universal. (I guess I'll find out when I get the grades for the two other final papers that I had to write this semester.) Sometimes I still feel like my writing is “right.” It is what comes easiest for me, what naturally comes out of my hands and fingers when I go to write. Then again, for the most part, my teachers in school up until now have fallen all over me when it comes to essays and papers, so I've definitely just been spoiled. (It's not my fault I went to public school, where the teachers are more concerned with getting their tenth graders to spell correctly, than to develop an academic writing style).
However, I won't say that I haven't learned anything. This class has shown me the impact that even changing a single word in a paragraph can have on the overall tone. I am more mindful of my word choices now: when I'm writing a paper, instead of typing whatever I think works best in the moment, I now pause every now and then, and re-examine a choice that I'd previously made. I do try to choose more professional words now, for sure.
I also just avoid effect/affect altogether now. I don't feel like trying to puzzle over which is which, especially when there' are plenty other synonyms to make such a choice irrelevant. I've also learned that it's not a good idea to simply write “this” in papers. While other professors have never seemed to have a problem with it (except when it becomes excessive), I've realized that adding a noun or some other kind of explanation (“this fact shows” instead of “this shows”) has the dual effect* of making my topic that much clearer, as well as increasing my word count in papers! I have slowly been incorporating this new tone into my writing style, and I feel that it will eventually become second nature.
*Oops, I just used “effect.” In this case, I'm fairly certain that I've used it correctly.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Surviving a Foreign Language, 101. (Or 222, or 343, or 444, and so on.)
For my portfolio assignment, I plan on creating a poster board for foreign language students, in order to help them get the most out of their classes. I hope to go beyond the standard suggestions that professors give at the beginning of the semester; although, because they are good suggestions, I will be including some of them anyway. I've interviewed a Supplemental Instructor who has sat in on Chinese classes as well as training sessions for all of the other foreign language classess, and will be counting her as an expert. I chose not to interview a professor because I've been on the receiving end of their first-day-of-class-spiel enough times to pretty much know exactly what they're going to say. I will also be using a great deal of my own experience, having taken six or seven years of Spanish (although only three or four of those years were college-level), but I wouldn't feel “right” counting myself as an expert. I believe that probably goes against the idea of the project, anyway.
My posterboard will be interactive, at least on some level. Because flashcards are helpful in these classes, I will have a stack of them attached somehow to my board, so users can flip through them. I would like to have a microphone or voice recorder included on my project, but I don't actually have either one, so I think a pair of headphones will have to stand in. This works out well, because another great way to learn a language is to listen to it spoken. Assuming that we will not have to leave our presentations sitting in the classroom for any period of time, I may also have Hispanic music (here meaning a selection of songs in the Spanish language and traditional music from an array of cultures). I know that my presentation should not be long enough to play much music, but I believe it's the thought (and accessibility) that counts in such a situation. Because false cognates are some of the easiest things to get tripped up on, I will be providing a chart with non-English words that look like, well, common English words but actually have very different meanings.
As for the aesthetics of my project, I will be trying to make it as visually-stimulating as possible, without being distracting or overwhelming. I would like it to look professional (or at least as professional as a poster board can actually look), and well put-together.
Because my background is Spanish, I know that my project is going to tend towards having a bias towards Spanish classes in particular. This is what I am familiar with and what I may end up teaching. For the most part, however, the information that will be provided in my presentation is all but universal, and will help students in any language classes to succeed. (Now all I have to do is follow my own advice more closely, and I'll be set!)
No, I don't believe I will be slicking my hairback into a bun for my presentation... ...or doing a presentation on economic trends, for that matter.
My posterboard will be interactive, at least on some level. Because flashcards are helpful in these classes, I will have a stack of them attached somehow to my board, so users can flip through them. I would like to have a microphone or voice recorder included on my project, but I don't actually have either one, so I think a pair of headphones will have to stand in. This works out well, because another great way to learn a language is to listen to it spoken. Assuming that we will not have to leave our presentations sitting in the classroom for any period of time, I may also have Hispanic music (here meaning a selection of songs in the Spanish language and traditional music from an array of cultures). I know that my presentation should not be long enough to play much music, but I believe it's the thought (and accessibility) that counts in such a situation. Because false cognates are some of the easiest things to get tripped up on, I will be providing a chart with non-English words that look like, well, common English words but actually have very different meanings.
As for the aesthetics of my project, I will be trying to make it as visually-stimulating as possible, without being distracting or overwhelming. I would like it to look professional (or at least as professional as a poster board can actually look), and well put-together.
Because my background is Spanish, I know that my project is going to tend towards having a bias towards Spanish classes in particular. This is what I am familiar with and what I may end up teaching. For the most part, however, the information that will be provided in my presentation is all but universal, and will help students in any language classes to succeed. (Now all I have to do is follow my own advice more closely, and I'll be set!)
No, I don't believe I will be slicking my hair
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
What Is "What Is Poverty?" ?
In her essay “What Is Poverty,” Jo Goodwin Parker manages to fit an abundance of information into just a few pages. From the first word of the title, to the final word of her call to action, Parker draws the reader into her dirty, stressful life below the poverty line. She needs the reader to know not only what poverty is, but how it began.
Eight of the fifteen opening sentences begin with the phrase “Poverty is...”, which shows just how intent she is on answering the question in the title. Parker's essay serves to dispel the common beliefs that her readers have about poverty. The poor are not lazy. Jo Goodwin Parker has held jobs before, but had to quit when she realized that childcare would suck out ninety percent of her income. In her home, she spends her nights working until her hands crack and bleed. She works vigilantly at keeping the fire (their only source of heat) in its place, as opposed to allowing it to lick at the wallpaper and bring the house down around her children. That her job is largely unpaid and unseen is not her fault.
Parker really only talks about her body as a whole (as opposed to her cracked hands, her worms, the dirt) when she has to, and it is often in a negative sense. When the reader hears about Parker as a whole, it is when she is sitting docilely in the doctor's office trying not to laugh about her lack of money for iron pills and worm medication, or when she has to debase herself by “paying” her neighbor for a ride or asking the government for help. It is human nature to “check out” when one is in an uncomfortable situation, and Parker is providing a clear example of such a state.
This woman has lived in poverty nearly her whole life, and none of it has ever been her fault. In America, there is often a sense that poor are to blame for their own situation. Jo Goodwin Parker was born into poverty, and, although she had a very tenuous grip on something resembling a better life, all it took was her husband losing her job to plunge her right back into it. She broaches the topic in only one paragraph, but her evidence fills the other fourteen.
Another important method which Parker employs successfully and powerfully is with her words themselves. She uses the phrase "you say" often. "You can say in your clean clothes coming from your clean house." "But you say to me, there are schools." This particular method serves two purposes: first, it brings the reader deeper into the piece, since they are now in a dialogue with the writer. Second, this allows Parker to defend herself against the readers who have actually used these arguments in the past.
Additionally, the reader would be hard-pressed to find a single contraction throughout the entire text. Parker does this intentionally, to rail against the idea that poor people are stupid, and speak improperly. The lack of contractions also gives her words a fire that would otherwise be lacking. She is speaking fiercely, directly, and will not be ignored.
Source/Read it for yourself:
What Is Poverty?, by Jo Goodwin Parker
Eight of the fifteen opening sentences begin with the phrase “Poverty is...”, which shows just how intent she is on answering the question in the title. Parker's essay serves to dispel the common beliefs that her readers have about poverty. The poor are not lazy. Jo Goodwin Parker has held jobs before, but had to quit when she realized that childcare would suck out ninety percent of her income. In her home, she spends her nights working until her hands crack and bleed. She works vigilantly at keeping the fire (their only source of heat) in its place, as opposed to allowing it to lick at the wallpaper and bring the house down around her children. That her job is largely unpaid and unseen is not her fault.
Parker really only talks about her body as a whole (as opposed to her cracked hands, her worms, the dirt) when she has to, and it is often in a negative sense. When the reader hears about Parker as a whole, it is when she is sitting docilely in the doctor's office trying not to laugh about her lack of money for iron pills and worm medication, or when she has to debase herself by “paying” her neighbor for a ride or asking the government for help. It is human nature to “check out” when one is in an uncomfortable situation, and Parker is providing a clear example of such a state.
This woman has lived in poverty nearly her whole life, and none of it has ever been her fault. In America, there is often a sense that poor are to blame for their own situation. Jo Goodwin Parker was born into poverty, and, although she had a very tenuous grip on something resembling a better life, all it took was her husband losing her job to plunge her right back into it. She broaches the topic in only one paragraph, but her evidence fills the other fourteen.
Another important method which Parker employs successfully and powerfully is with her words themselves. She uses the phrase "you say" often. "You can say in your clean clothes coming from your clean house." "But you say to me, there are schools." This particular method serves two purposes: first, it brings the reader deeper into the piece, since they are now in a dialogue with the writer. Second, this allows Parker to defend herself against the readers who have actually used these arguments in the past.
Additionally, the reader would be hard-pressed to find a single contraction throughout the entire text. Parker does this intentionally, to rail against the idea that poor people are stupid, and speak improperly. The lack of contractions also gives her words a fire that would otherwise be lacking. She is speaking fiercely, directly, and will not be ignored.
Source/Read it for yourself:
What Is Poverty?, by Jo Goodwin Parker
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