Assignments From First Week of February

Feb. 1:  Write a paragraph describing how you would transform one of the ancient myths into a modern-day situation.  For example, try creating a modern-day Sisyphus, who is fated to complete a task only to end in futility (the real-world counterpart of rolling a rock up a hill, only to have it roll back down again).  Interestingly there was a cartoon in the Sunday Huntsville Times (Feb 7) of just this thing.  The cartoonist used the modern-day task of getting rid of spam emails as our current Sisyphus' task. 

Feb 2.  Study Renoir's painting "Luncheon of the Boating Party" and then write down three or four associations it triggers as you contemplate it.  Later, expand one of these associations into a dramatic scene that you might later be able to incorporae into a short story or poem.

Feb 3:  Which of your views on current issues are you most motivated to share with the world?  List each view and write a paragraph describing it in detail and then another paragraph explaining your reasons for wanting to share your view with the public.  Today the view I would probably most like to develop and share is how violence in movies, television, music, and computer games has led to a culture that is desensitizsed to acts of violence.  Also a segment of our current population that sees acts of violence as acceptable solutions to various problems.

Feb 4:  Write a memorandum to yourself beginning with "My goal as a writer is to ..."  Go into as much detail asyou can about the kinds of writing you want to master and what you expect of your readers.

Feb 5:  Write a paragraph or two in which you describe how a certain novel--or particular event in a novel--reawakened a long-forgotten or dormant experience.  In describing your experience, try to capture the state of mind of your younger self.

Feb 6:  (1) Open a dictionary of quotations at random,choose a quotation, and use it as a springboard for a short story.  (2) Choose two quotations with contrasting messages and use them to embody the views of two characters pitted against each other.

Feb 7:  Write a two-page biographical sketch for each of three principal characters for your novel.  These individuals should be at least partially based on persons you know well.  You won't be able to think of everything at one sitting, of course, so allow the character to evolve over time.  Keep returning to these initial profiles and add or modify them if needed.