Reading and Writing Prompts for 10/8

Reading/Prompt 1: What If, p. 61: "Oh ... That Sort of Person."
(Done in class on 10/1)
Read the examples of how authors can capture character through telling details. Think, also, of "White Angel" and the narrator's self-description: "I was, thanks to Carlton, the most criminally advanced nine-year-old in my fourth-grade class. I was going places. I made no move without his counsel." See how this brief description tells us something important about Carlton and about the narrator and his hero-worship of him. The author’s brief description of Carlton, on the same page ("Carlton believes in shocks") does double duty: it characterizes Carlton and foreshadows the shock of his death.

*Write a short character description using the prompt “He/she is the sort of person who ______." It can be one sentence or continue into two if needed. No other context is necessary, just a vivid, concrete description. See examples for some ideas. This will go with the exercise that follows, so make sure it’s a character you’ll want to keep writing about.

Reading/Prompt 2: Read What If, Chapter 8, "Ice Breaker." We did this exercise in class, substituting the 90s-early 2000s (around 1994-2001) instead of the 80s timeline. Write down five 1990s words from the class list (celebrities, movies, news events, etc.), then write down five words from the 1990s that have personal meaning for you, not necessarily from the list (friends you knew, schools you attended.)

*Write a 2-page story using all of your 10 words.
Include in it your character description from “The sort of person who___.”
Bring this story to class on 10/8.

Reading/Prompt 3: What If, intro to part 2 (p. 35-36) and Chapter 15 (p. 42-43), “An Image Notebook.” Read the image notebook description and begin keeping one. Try to jot down at least one image a day. Keep adding to the notebook; I’ll collect them at midterm (10/22).

Our student story for next week and 90s time capsule words will be posted soon.