Friday, May 16, 2008

Rubric

Plot: /10
a. story should follow a clear path.
b. story should have a main conflict.

Main Idea: /15
a. characters should follow plot line.
b. characters should have clear idea of where the story is going.

Word Choice: /15
a. no unnecessary words
b. reader can follow story well.

Character development: /10
a. Characters grow throughout the story.
b. readers can relate to characters
c. protagonist/antagonist

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Stories

1. Parents read stories to their children at a young age because it sticks with them if it's at a young age. The earlier one knows about it the more they know it and like it. it's just spelling and walking and talking, you learn at an early age so you know how to do it the rest of your life.

2. Older people read later in life to learn. Just like when one is younger, people learn something new everyday. Did you know that the human uses only 10% of their brain? Well when people get older, they read to expand their knowledge.

3. Stories are so important in our nation because many of them have been passed down through older generations. Many are so fragile that if we lose them stories that have meant so much to people will be lost forever.

4. I remember around christmas time my dad would read a christmas book to me and my brother every night. I remember this because it was around a very popular time of year and so much was going on and he read the story every night. Furthermore, my grandpa use to tell stories to my family but I don't remember them. Now my dad tells my brother and me stories that some day I will tell to my children.

5.

1. comedy
2.romance
3.tragedy
4.follow a plot line
5.develops a strong picture in readers head
6.connects to the audience
7.good tie between the antagonist and the protagonist
8.has to keep the reader from falling asleep when they are reading it.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Hat Game

One day two of my friends and I made up a game called "Hat Game." Only a handful of people know how to play and better yet win. However I will not tell you the secret of how to win. You have to figure that one out on your own.



One day at Pat's house we were bored of swimming in his pool. So we decided to make up a game that would be more fun than swimming in his pool for 15 days straight. But, we had some trouble brainstorming some ideas because if you have ever done this, you would know that thinking of a game is hard work. So Sam, the other guy we were with took my hat and we started playing frisbee with it. So id your wondering why we just didn't go outside and play frisbee wtih an actual frisbee, Pat just bought the house we were at but hadn't moved all of the stuff in yet.



So we were in a room and decided to make the game like an actual game. One person stands down at one side of the, roughly, 15 by 25 foot room while the other person stands at the other end. The "King" starts with the hat and throws it to the other person. However the other person needs to catch it or he/she is out. You can throw the hat at different speeds and different ways in order to make the other person drop the hat.

I guess it's not really that exciting but it passed the time for the 2 years we thought it was a cool game.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Hi, I'm Dave and these are my Writing Territories

I like to read stories. Lately I have been reading Vince Flynn books. He writes action/mystery stuff. He writes about the CIA and how this assassin goes around and finds information about terrorist groups. I also like reading sports stories; Biographies and autobiographies and stories about players and their life before and during and even after their career.

I also love the magazine Sports Illustrated.

I usually just write for school. But when given the opportunity I like to write short stories and mysteries. When I was a kid a loved reading the Hardy Boys and like writing stories like their adventures.

One of the writing territories I love is the food section. I love to eat. I will eat almost everything except I am a very picky eater. I hate mushrooms and mustard. My favorite homemade baked thing is my mom's chocolate cake. She makes the best frosting and the fluffiest cake. She also puts sprinkles on top of the frosting. My favorite restaurant is probably Champps of Scoreboard. I usually get the chicken Chimichanga at Scoreboard and a burger at Champps. I will also get a dessert at Champps. Last night I got the triple strawberry cake. It isn't as good as my mom's but it was delicious. My favorite healthy thing to eat would have to be strawberries or bananas. I love fruit and always have to right amount of servings each day.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Can Last Long Time

What people read can last a long time because the people that read the piece of work can relate to that piece so well. People write about their own experiences and people all over the world and in different time periods can have those same problems and can relate to them so well. For example: The Odyssey by Homer can relate to people all over the world and in different time periods because some people can relate to the longing of a loved one and meet obstacles along the way. They overcome those obstacles and become strong and win at the end.

Advice

I would give a 5 year old advice. I would tell him to get his homework done on-time and to follow your dreams and have fun. If you don’t have fun then you miss the point of everything.

I would give examples from my life so he can reflect on those and live life to the fullest that he can. I would give my advice to him because as people grow up they learn from others and what others did and how others reacted. They learn from their mistakes so they can not make those mistakes when they are older.

experiences of 1st play

I found some of the limitations very frustrating. For example: I thought it was hard to express my thoughts because you need stage directions and then put your thoughts in the dialogue instead of just narrating.

I thought however to read and understand. Instead of saying “and then Frank said...” you can just read the name and then read what that person says. On that note, it’s easier to write because you don’t need to put quotations around what the person says, it’s implied that they are talking.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

conflicts in my play

The play I wrote about with Chris Cross (see blog entry below) has a conflict of his girlfriend dumping him because he is obsessed with sports instead of her. Numerous times he leaves her in the dust to go play sports.

The conflict here is internal and external, that is self vs. self and self vs. person. He has trouble with choosing who to pick, sports or Rachael. He also physically fights with Rachael, well with words.

Themes in my play

A theme I would write about would be about sports. I love sports and they are important to me. In my play there would be a main character, Chris Cross who plays football, basketball and baseball. He is the Zack Buddish in the story but plays basketball instead of hockey. Although Zach Buddish doesn’t have social problems, this character would. Everybody likes him, but he can’t build up enough courage to talk to the prettiest girl in the school, Rachael Smith.

The theme, which is sports, plays a major role in Chris’ life because he eventually talks to Rachael and starts to go out with her. But sports are his first love and ditches Rachael numerous times for sports. But in the end he makes it up to her by showing he loves her through sports.

Theme

I think that one can write about anything they want, however most pieces have a theme. If one is writing to express an opinion, then the piece of work is most likely going to have a theme. An example of this is when columnists write about war. They express their opinion about the war, which is the theme. Another example is cartoon writers. They always draw and write about certain holidays and events in the world.

But sometimes writing pieces don’t have themes. People just ramble on about random stuff that doesn’t make sense. For example: people just write about their day daying stuff that crosses all over the board.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Why is reading important to writers?

Reading is important to writers because a writer can not write without reading in the first place. If one wants to write a book or even a smaller piece, they cannot do so without reading. Reading or learning to read and do so, is like a building block to writting.

When reading one learns the basics of words such as what they mean, when to use them while writing, and how to use them. After accomplishing the basics of reading, one is ready to write. But what can you write about? Well anything really. There are so many topics and forms of writing. Such as peoms, screen-plays, short stories, or novels.

Reading is not only the start of writing, but also the finishing touch. When one writes a piece he or she wants someone else to read it. That's the reason why people write, so others can enjoy, or not for some people if it's really bad, the other's work. That's why reading is so important, because in order to write, you must be able to read and people read what others write.