Can you believe the term is over so quickly? Still lots to do in the book-production department, though.

So -- before you head off to your AMAZING summer adventures, here's what you need to know.

I am NOT going to chase anyone for submissions. If you want it to be in your book, you need to get it to me.

A little over-optimism regarding what I could do in our last class means that any material you handed to me then in rough copy ALSO needs to be emailed to me. I will edit it myself [as a sweet freebie to you!] since it is now summertime. I'll also be replying to the plethora of email you flooded me with this week, so remember to check and make sure the material you sent actually arrived, okay?

And to each and every one of you -- enjoy the break, and have a wonderful summer time. Maybe I'll see some of you in Seoul in August!

~kc

We are suffering from end-of-the-term busy-ness, and as such were missing quite a few of our number from our last class. Sadly for you absentee-types, we covered a LOT of material.

Happily, though, there is still time to catch up.

First -- due to a wee mix-up, we're giving you an extra week to finish up reading THE ILLUSTRATED MAN, and completing the questions. Hooray!

We'll end the year reading a selection of stories from the notorious reprobate O. Henry. More on him soon. If you do _not_ have a copy of the ILLUSTRATED MAN pt 2 questions, email me, my pretties, and I will send it to you.

Now. If you WERE away this week, you will find yourself being contacted by email by members of the group into which you have been corralled, explaining your part in the Adaptation of an Original Work, to which all are now devoting their time. We also spent some time working on the cover copy and design for the marvellous artistic productions that will result from your term in The Art of the Short Story Class. If you were away, I'll give you the materials upon your return next week. We are closing in on the end of term -- only two classes remain, so spend your focus on getting missing work in if you can. I am looking forward to seeing how wonderfully your books turn out!

As always, email me if you have any questions.

Until next Friday....!

~kc

But here we are now, so no more headless chicken running!

I promised you the set of questions for Poirot Investigates, Pt 2 and HERE they are: Go Wild!*

1. Now that you’ve had a taste of Agatha Christie, how does she compare to other mystery writers you have read? Would you read more of her work?

2.  Can you name any other detectives created by Agatha Christie? Find a story on-line [or in a book!] starring one of her other detectives. How is it different from the Poirot stories?

3.   If you could critique Ms. Christie’s work to her face, what would you tell her?

4.   Does reading this collection of stories give you an interest in writing mysteries? Why or why not?

5.   Rate these last five stories as a group:

[Really Bad]      1     2     3     4     5     [Awesome!]

*Try to keep your head attached, if possible...

See you all on Friday!

~kc

I'm in Charlottetown, PEI right now, after a couple of great school visits. Time to give you an update for while I am gone.

Reminder -- this Friday is Good Friday, therefore there is no class. And for the two weeks after that, you'll have the Marvellous Ninja James McCann in the mentor's chair. Be good to him, okay? I care about you -- I would hate to see him have to pull out his most Dangerous Ninja Moves... you know his eyes glow red and smoke comes out of his nose when he gets mad, right?

Alrighty, then -- now we've got that settled, time to look at homework. A reminder that while I am away, all the homework -- every last little bit of it -- is to be emailed to me at cwckcdyer@gmail.com

So, sometime before April 29th, you need to send me your first draft of your journal story, and the corrected final draft of your genre story.

Of course, before you can send me the genre story, I have to send you the corrections. And guess what? I don't have your first drafts with me -- too heavy to carry while I was travelling. So, you need to send me those right away, 'kay? I'll correct 'em and send 'em back and then you can do the final to send in for the 29th.

Got it? If not...email me with questions!

Sending a big hello from sunny Charlottetown!

~kc

Since everybody was in class this week [until our exciting evacuation, that is...!] I won't reiterate the homework. But, here's a really good example of someone who took the music from an existing ballad and used it to create something all their own.

First, the original. Bohemian Rhapsody, as performed by Freddie Mercury and Queen:

Oh, man... Freddie Mercury was the coolest dude on the planet for a while there, eh? Okay. Now check this version by a group called the Master Divers:

So -- this is kinda what you should be doing in your project this week. Make sure your ballad tells a complete story, heavy on the imagery...and no big '80's hair allowed!

See you Friday!

~kc

First, for those of you who are mondo Shel Silverstein fans, check out HERE for more info on the new book of his poetry coming out this year. You know, Uncle Shelby may be gone, but his work lives on in our memories and in the books he's left behind.

Now...onto the latest stuff You Need To Know...

In our last class we had a look at some of the different forms longer poems can take -- narrative poems, odes, elegies, lyric poetry and so on. We spent quite a bit of time looking at the idea of satire and all the forms it can take, particularly in relation to verse.

So, by the time we return to class on April 1st [that most Foolish of days...!],  you should bring with you the first draft of a long-form satirical poem -- format of your choice. You also need to bring a line drawing illustration in the style of our beloved S. Silverstein for one or both of your short form poems. You've also been given a Most Excellent selection of pieces to read from STORIES, edited by the mop-haired and charming Neil Gaiman, and some accompanying questions of a most thought-provoking nature. And a few of you [You KNOW who you are....she sez, darkly] have not yet had your author photographs taken, so those who fit in this category may bring with them photo props as you choose, and we'll take your picture with same.

Expect more music, madness and mayhem in our next class. See you there!

~kc

Man -- talk about absent-minded. I forgot to remind you all to check this site on Friday. Ah well, some of you will come to it a bit late...no worries. So...this week.

First, here's a little hint to help you along with your song analysis: a picture of the songwriter Shawn Colvin:

Hmmm....

Okay, so along with your thoughts on her song, don't forget you also need to bring in first drafts of at least two types of short-form poetry -- original verse, of course.

You also need to finish reading WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS, and answer the questions, too.

Don't forget to bring in your illuminated Acrostic poem, too -- full colour, remember!

And what else, what else....? Oh yeah!

Don't forget to bring any stuff that you want in your Extraordinary Author Photo, which I plan to take this Friday. Make it cool, make it interesting - make it ALL ABOUT YOU!

Next week we're going to toast the poetry part of our short-story-telling odyssey with a look at long-form poetry -- ballads and odes and more.

See you all on Friday!

~kc

Okay, for our next class, here's what you need to know:

We're reading 'WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS', up until page 89, at which point you'll find the poem that inspired the title. 

Once you've read the poems, pick one you like and memorize it, so you can recite it to us in the next class. Go wild -- it's Shel Silverstein!

Here's the list of questions for discussion:

1. What is your favourite poem from this selection? Why? [And be specific, here. Why does THAT poem speak to you so clearly?]

2. What do you think Silverstein is saying in ‘Enter This Deserted House’?

3. Describe how the characters are developed in ‘The Crocodile’s Toothache’.

4. How do Silverstein’s illustrations continue each story?

5. Rate these poems from 1 [Really Bad] to 5 [Awesome!]. Tell me why.

Okay, you also need to write me an Acrostic Poem, using your name and making it reflect WHO YOU ARE, dudes. And don't forget your Postcard Story -- less than 100 words, but make 'em good words -- luscious, evocative, descriptive, KILLER words. This is first draft for both your poem and story, so type 'em out and bring 'em in. Once you get back the corrections, you can email me the good copy.

And how do you do that? Well, first you use the template to type out your work. Here it is: kc's template.

Then, you email the work to me at cwckcdyer@gmail.com

Cool?

See you next Friday!

~kc