Newsletter of the Writers Guild of Texas
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The Death of Genre: Why the Best YA Fiction Often Defies Classification
LoriScot Goodson Smith & Jim Blasingame The Death of Genre: Why the Best YA Fiction Often Defies Classification few years ago, I received a phone call from a adding a list called genre-busters, novels which do not desperate sixth grade reading teacher. “Help!” easily fit into a single category. The more I think about Ashe cried, “I have a literary mutiny on my my YA favorite titles of the past few years, the more hands. I need your help now!!” I immediately raced bewildered I become. Zusak’s The Book Thief— upstairs. historical fiction or fantasy? Anderson’s The Astonish- Our sixth graders read Louis Sachar’s Holes as a ing Life of Octavian Nothing—historical fiction or required novel. The teacher uses Holes as part of her science fiction? Rosoff’s How I Live Now?—realistic unit on fantasy. In a time where many middle fiction or science fiction? Shusterman’s The Schwa schoolers are steeped in Harry Potter and Paolini, Was Here—realistic fiction or fantasy? I have come to Holes just did not seem to fit into that the same the realization that genre might be dead, that many of category of fantasy. recently published YA novels no longer fit into the “Mr. Smith,” they argued, “It can’t be fantasy. It’s predictable categories we typically designate for too real.” books. Is it time to despair? I think not. Rather, let us What followed was a long discussion about the celebrate the innovative fashion in which today’s YA different types of fantasy. We debated over the effects authors are bending the traditional definitions of of rattlesnake nail polish, the existence of yellow genre. -
Creative Writing Workshops - by Marjorie H Morgan! to Be Used Alongside the Podcast
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Creative Writing Workshops - by Marjorie H Morgan! to be used alongside the podcast MT Productions 1 of 28 Marjorie H Morgan Sessions Week 1 Introduction to Creative Writing, Writer’s Toolbox and character development Week 2 Flash Fiction and short stories Week 3 Poetry - written and performance Week 4 Blogs and journaling ! ! MT Productions 2 of 28 Marjorie H Morgan Week 1 ! ! Introduction to Creative Writing, Writer’s Toolbox and character development ! ! 10 Rules of Writing 1) Read. Read. Read. 2) Write. ! Write what you know - your POV! Write interests what intrigues you! Write what you don’t know! Write - don’t be perfect, just write (the way you write) 3) Listen.! Listen to your writing! Listen to other people talking! Listen to dialogue 4) Have a story.! Protaganist! Antagonist! Build drama - suspense! Show, don’t tell 5) Edit.! Read you draft ALOUD! Do not be afraid to change what you have written 6) Share.! Constructive criticism 7) Practice.! Take/make time to write! Make it a regular habit 8) Go for a walk.! Inspiration - narrative triggers! Keep human - see people, go places! Make notes - writer’s notebook 9) Finish what you are writing. 10) Be honest. Tell the Truth.! ! MT Productions 3 of 28 Marjorie H Morgan What’s in the Writer’s Toolbox? Toolbox! Vocabulary Grammar (dialogue)! Words / sentences / paragraphs Experience Observation Plots Settings Characterisation - internal/external worlds Style ! ! MT Productions 4 of 28 Marjorie H Morgan In these pandemic times, and beyond, it’s useful to remember -
The Genre STEM Switch Guide
The Genre STEM Switch Guide Ellen KW Brennan & Dr. R. Keith Duncan INTRODUCING GENRE AS A CONCEPT The goal of this activity is to provide students with a concrete understanding of the concept of genre as it applies in the sciences, how it is related to communication modes, and how leveraging genre conventions can impact the efficacy of their message. To begin the exercise, we first need a definition of “genre.” As such, the introduction begins with the following discussion: 1. “We typically find the concept of genre applied in the arts, in categories such as literature, movies, and music. Let’s work together to complete this table. What are some examples of genres in each of those areas?” Complete table. Category Example Genres Literature [Sci-fi, Mystery, Biography, Manga] Movies [Action, Comedy, Romance, Anime] Music [Country, Rap, Jazz, Ska] 2. “When we think about genre, what separates each of these from the others?” Here, we are trying to drive students to a common understanding of genre, namely that there is a set of conventions that both the communicator/artist and the audience agree upon and provides a common ground for both parties to relate. It may be best to focus on a particular category and genre to unpack this fully. For example, using “science fiction books” as the focus here, some possible discussion points might include: It gives you an idea of the setting (i.e. outer space or far into the future); It tells you the values of the society (i.e. scientific progress and innovation); It includes common tropes (i.e. -
ELEMENTS of FICTION – NARRATOR / NARRATIVE VOICE Fundamental Literary Terms That Indentify Components of Narratives “Fiction
Dr. Hallett ELEMENTS OF FICTION – NARRATOR / NARRATIVE VOICE Fundamental Literary Terms that Indentify Components of Narratives “Fiction” is defined as any imaginative re-creation of life in prose narrative form. All fiction is a falsehood of sorts because it relates events that never actually happened to people (characters) who never existed, at least not in the manner portrayed in the stories. However, fiction writers aim at creating “legitimate untruths,” since they seek to demonstrate meaningful insights into the human condition. Therefore, fiction is “untrue” in the absolute sense, but true in the universal sense. Critical Thinking – analysis of any work of literature – requires a thorough investigation of the “who, where, when, what, why, etc.” of the work. Narrator / Narrative Voice Guiding Question: Who is telling the story? …What is the … Narrative Point of View is the perspective from which the events in the story are observed and recounted. To determine the point of view, identify who is telling the story, that is, the viewer through whose eyes the readers see the action (the narrator). Consider these aspects: A. Pronoun p-o-v: First (I, We)/Second (You)/Third Person narrator (He, She, It, They] B. Narrator’s degree of Omniscience [Full, Limited, Partial, None]* C. Narrator’s degree of Objectivity [Complete, None, Some (Editorial?), Ironic]* D. Narrator’s “Un/Reliability” * The Third Person (therefore, apparently Objective) Totally Omniscient (fly-on-the-wall) Narrator is the classic narrative point of view through which a disembodied narrative voice (not that of a participant in the events) knows everything (omniscient) recounts the events, introduces the characters, reports dialogue and thoughts, and all details. -
English 200, Microfiction: an Introduction to the Very Short Story
Dr William Nelles [email protected] English 200, Microfiction: An Introduction to the Very Short Story Description Narrative fiction is traditionally divided into two major categories, the novel and the short story, with the transitional category of the novella serving to cover very long short stories or very short novels. But over the last thirty years or so there has been a publishing boom in what some critics consider a new genre of the very short story, variously labeled as “microfiction,” “flash fiction,” or “sudden fiction.” This new form seems to be an indirect descendant of such ancient literary types as the parable, fable, fabliau, and myth, on the one hand, and a relative of such nonliterary modern forms as the pop song, music video, TV commercial, cartoon, and comic strip, on the other. We will read, discuss, and write about a series of critical essays on the topic and a large number of very short stories (most of them under one page in length) to analyze their characteristics and to consider their relationship to some of these other very short forms. Texts Steve Moss, ed. The World’s Shortest Stories (0762403004) Steve Moss and John M. Daniel, eds. World's Shortest Stories of Love and Death (0762406984) Jerome Stern, ed. Micro Fiction: An Anthology of Really Short Stories (0393314328) The texts are available from the UMD campus bookstore, but can usually be found even cheaper at online stores. Please use the ISBN numbers to be sure you’re getting the right books. We will also be reading a series of critical essays on microfiction: these will be made available online through the course site. -
Sustainable Development As Deus Ex Machina
Biological Conservation 209 (2017) 54–61 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bioc Discussion Sustainable development as deus ex machina Claudio Campagna a,b,⁎,DanielGuevarac, Bernard Le Boeuf d a Wildlife Conservation Society, Marine and Argentina Programs, Amenábar 1595, 1426 Buenos Aires, Argentina b Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, United States c Department of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, United States d Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, United States article info abstract Article history: The advocacy of sustainable development (SD) by governments, NGOs and scientists over the last three decades Received 3 August 2016 has failed to diminish the alarming species extinction rate fueled by overuse and habitat destruction. Attempts to Received in revised form 9 January 2017 satisfy worldwide demands for economic growth and development have, in fact, thwarted conservation efforts Accepted 25 January 2017 and greatly diminished the diversity and abundance of life forms, including key iconic species. Here, we argue Available online xxxx that this crisis is one of values rooted in a discourse that justifies development and downplays the morality of human-caused extinction of life forms. The language of SD does not convey the loss—worse, it masks or rational- Keywords: Language izes it as blameless or necessary. The language of SD represents the loss in biodiversity as fallout from the reduced Conservation discourse capacity of ecosystems to provide services for human benefit, while providing no sense of the values necessary Species crisis for conserving life for its own sake. -
Alternate History
Alternate History "What if?" What if Germany and Japan had won World War II instead of the Allied Forces? What if the South had won the Civil War, instead of the North? What would history have been like and, perhaps more importantly, what would our world be like today? These are the kinds of questions that works of Alternate History address and that have intrigued such masters of speculative fiction as Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova, Philip K. Dick, Harry Turtledove, and a host of others. Sometimes complex but always imagination teasing, the titles in this category have intrinsic appeal not only to science fiction readers but also to fans of fantasy and historical fiction. -- Michael Cart, Contributing Editor, Young Adult Fiction. Alternate history would change our world but what if alternate worlds already exist on some dimension parallel to our own? This is another theme similar to alternate history which uses an explainable, non-magical means of moving from one world to another. Worlds that may have been similar to ours in their distant history are included. Some tales are set so far in the future that the setting is more like alternate worlds than the worlds in hard science fiction. Exploring “what if” can lead you to almost anywhere or any time! John Birmingham. Weapons of Choice. 2004. In this American debut of an Australian non-fiction author, a combination of time travel, alternate history and military science fiction focus on the year 2021 with a United nations military force gathered in the Pacific to end ethnic cleansing by an Islamic fundamentalist regime in Indonesia. -
Efficacy of Genres in Training Videos for Emergency First Responders
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2011 Efficacy of genres in training videos for emergency first responders Kerry Jenkins Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Jenkins, Kerry, "Efficacy of genres in training videos for emergency first responders" (2011). LSU Master's Theses. 2624. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/2624 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EFFICACY OF GENRES IN TRAINING VIDEOS FOR EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONDERS A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of Communication Studies by Kerry Jenkins B.S., Louisiana State University, 2004 May 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………….iii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………...iv ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………...1 1.1 Why Study the Efficacy of Training Videos for First Responders?......................................1 1.2 Organization of Thesis……………………………………………………………………...5 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………….…7 2.1 Pedagogy and Adult Education………………………………………………………….…..7 2.2 Documentary Film and the Use of Narrative Elements……………………………………..8 CHAPTER 3. METHODS……………………………………………………………………….14 3.1 Population………………………………………………………………………………….14 3.2 Pilot Study………………………………………………………………………………….16 3.3 Current Study………………………………………………………………………………25 3.3.1 Videos………………………………………………………………………………….25 3.3.2 Procedure………………………………………………………………………………33 CHAPTER 4. -
Sudden Flash Youth : 65 Short-Short Stories / Edited by Christine Perkins- Hazuka, Tom Hazuka, and Mark Budman
F l a S h S u d d e n Y o u t h 65 Short-Short Stories e d i t e d b Y Christine Perkins-hazuka, tom hazuka, and Mark budman a Karen and Michael braziller book P e r S e a b o o ks / n e w Y o r K Compilation copyright © 2011 by Christine Perkins-hazuka, tom hazuka, and Mark budman For copyright information for individual stories, please see acknowledgments on pages 207–211. all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, digital, electronic, or any information storage and retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher. requests for permission to reprint or to make copies, and for any other infor- mation should be addressed to the publisher: Persea books, inc. 277 broadway new York, new York 10007 library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Sudden flash youth : 65 short-short stories / edited by Christine Perkins- hazuka, tom hazuka, and Mark budman. -- 1st ed. p. cm. iSbn 978-0-89255-371-6 (alk. paper) 1. Short stories, american. i. Perkins-hazuka, Christine. ii. hazuka, tom. iii. budman, Mark. PS648.S5S84 2011 813.008’035235—dc23 011021284 designed by rita lascaro Manufactured in the united States of america First edition Contents editors’ note __ ix Tamazunchale robert ShaPard__ 3 Chalk Meg KearneY__ 6 Twins PaMela Painter__ 9 First Virtual Kathleen o’donnell__ 10 Heartland daPhne beal__ 14 Confession Stuart DybeK__ 18 Sleeping Katharine weber__ 19 1951 riChard bausch__ 21 Little BrothertM bruCe holland rogerS__ 24 Currents hannah bottomy Voskuil__ 28 After bill KonigSberg__ 30 Accident daVe eggerS__ 33 Homeschool Insider: The Fighting Pterodactyls ron CarlSon__ 35 Forgotten anne Mazer__ 38 After He Left Matt hlinaK__ 42 The Flowers aliCe walKer__ 43 Homeward Bound toM hazuKa__ 45 A Car Pia z. -
SYLLABUS HUMS 619-01: August 6-10 Flash Fiction/Prose Poetry: An
SYLLABUS HUMS 619-01: August 6-10 Flash Fiction/Prose Poetry: An Immersive Reading and Writing Workshop Instructor: Martine Bellen Email: [email protected] Room: Downey Hall 100 Though flash fiction (short short stories) and prose poetry have been known to rub elbows from time to time, readers of flash fiction will tend to discuss texts in terms of character, plot, conflict, while readers of prose poetry will deliberate about sound devices, figurative language, and rhythm. In this workshop, close readings of these two genres will be conducted, investigating, side by side, how they work as a means to explore fresh avenues of entry into fiction and poetry, using the other as a springboard to more deeply navigate each genre. In the reading component of the workshop, we will learn how ordinary prose can be heightened to create extraordinary word environments for both fiction and poetry and in the creative writing component, we will apply to our writing the techniques identified in discussions about texts. All participants will be expected to write both flash fiction and prose poetry and to workshop both genres. Texts (can be found at bookstore or ordered online): 1. David Lehman (editor), GREAT AMERICAN PROSE POEMS (Scribner) 2. James Thomas, Denise Thomas & Tom Hazuka (editors), FLASH FICTION: 72 VERY SHORT STORIES (W.W. Norton & Company) 3. THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF JOE BRAINARD (The Library of America) 4. Harryette Mullen, SLEEPING WITH THE DICTIONARY (University of California Press) 5. Barbara Henning, LOOKING UP HARRYETTE MULLEN: INTERVIEWS ON SLEEPING WITH THE DICTIONARY AND OTHER WORKS (Belladonna) Oral presentations: prepare a 15-minute oral presentation on the author (and his or her book/prose) that you’re assigned. -
The Angel of Ferrara
The Angel of Ferrara Benjamin Woolley Goldsmith’s College, University of London Submitted for the degree of PhD I declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own Benjamin Woolley Date: 1st October, 2014 Abstract This thesis comprises two parts: an extract of The Angel of Ferrara, a historical novel, and a critical component entitled What is history doing in Fiction? The novel is set in Ferrara in February, 1579, an Italian city at the height of its powers but deep in debt. Amid the aristocratic pomp and popular festivities surrounding the duke’s wedding to his third wife, the secret child of the city’s most celebrated singer goes missing. A street-smart debt collector and lovelorn bureaucrat are drawn into her increasingly desperate attempts to find her son, their efforts uncovering the brutal instruments of ostentation and domination that gave rise to what we now know as the Renaissance. In the critical component, I draw on the experience of writing The Angel of Ferrara and nonfiction works to explore the relationship between history and fiction. Beginning with a survey of the development of historical fiction since the inception of the genre’s modern form with the Walter Scott’s Waverley, I analyse the various paratextual interventions—prefaces, authors’ notes, acknowledgements—authors have used to explore and explain the use of factual research in their works. I draw on this to reflect in more detail at how research shaped the writing of the Angel of Ferrara and other recent historical novels, in particular Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. -
Young Adult Historical Fiction Book List
Young Adult Historical Fiction Book List Denotes new titles recently added to the list GREEK MYTHOLOGY is doomed to become a werewolf. In this climate of hysteria, the boys’ father is charged Galloway, Priscilla with heresy for covertly reading the Bible. The Courtesan’s Daughter From humble beginnings, Cushman, Karen Phano rises to become one of Alchemy and Meggy Swann ancient Athens’ most powerful Meggy Swann, a girl who walks citizens through her marriage with the aid of two sticks, to Theo, but they both have powerful enemies arrives in Elizabethan London, who don’t share their political views. (2002) along with her goose Louise, to stay with her father who really does not want ICE AGES her, and while he pursues his dream of transforming base metal into gold, Meggy Gear, Kathleen and Michael undergoes a transformation herself. (Summary Children of the Dawnland from Follett Destiny, November 2010). Twelve-year-old Twig, a Spirit Dreamer who can see into the Grant, K.M. Green Jasper future, teams up with best friend Having returned to a politically Greyhawk and the unpopular unstable England after the shaman Screech Owl to warn villagers of an Crusades, brothers Will and impending natural disaster. (Summary from Gavin--with the help of the Follett Destiny, October 2009). red horse Hosanna--attempt to rescue their friend Ellie who is being held MIDDLE AGES prisoner by an enemy of King Richard I. (Summary from Mackin.com 2006) Banks, Lynne Reid The Dungeon Hoffman, Alice Driven by grief over the loss of Incantation his family and by his longing During the Spanish Inquisition, for adventure, Bruce sixteen-year-old Estrella, brought MacLennan sets out from up a Catholic, discovers her Scotland for China, where he family's true Jewish identity, and buys a yohoung girl, who tries when their secret is betrayed by Estrella's best to ease his pain but instead is caught up in his friend, the consequences are tragic.