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This is a fictional exercise for mood setting.

Step 1 – Setting: The Beach

Step 2 – Describe your setting through the eyes of a happy child

The child sees the beach and sprints out as fast as they can. As soon as their feet hit the sand they immediately rip off their shoes and start running around. The crisp air and smell of the saltwater is always something that brings back good memories of all their family vacations. The kid runs into the water as the parents are laughing and telling them not to get wet yet. They can’t wait until they can go put on their swimsuit and jump in. The rest of the family is happy too, mom can’t wait to sunbathe and the other brothers are excited for water games. The youngest brother is always full of excitement on the beach, it’s the happy place. The feel of the sand in between your toes, feeling the waves crash over your back, and the sound of music coming from portable speakers. The beach will always be the favorite destination. 

Step 3 – Describe your setting through the eyes of someone who recently lost a loved one

She lost him in late December. It was just three months ago they were riding bikes on the beach together in their condo that they rent every year. For the first time since, she returned to those same beaches with her kids. At first, the smell of the saltwater was relaxing, almost like all the good times she had remembered. But then, suddenly the sound of the seagulls took her into a daze and she couldn’t help but see him standing there, alone. She froze and burst down in tears. The feeling of stepping back out on that soft sand without him just felt wrong. They had been coming to this beach for 20 years, and now he is not with her. The kids insisted that it would be good for her, and relaxing. Slowly but surely, they made their way out to the water. She just stared at everyone having a good time and the birds yelling as if they had no care. At first, she felt angry, like everyone shouldn’t be allowed to have a good time without him. Maybe one day, she will be able to come at peace and get back to enjoying those long summer days under the hot sun in Florida. 

Reflection – How do the different moods affect your setting?

These two different moods clearly had quite an impact on the character while they were at the setting. The characters could have been at the beach at the exact same time, while the family was having a wonderful vacation and the elderly lady was sad about her husband’s passing. I actually have been in a very similar situation to this in high school. My friend lost her dad to a drowning accident and was terrified of water and boats. So when my friends and I would go to the lake, everyone was really excited to go out on the boat or go kayaking, while that friend was terrified and felt anger when we would want to do water activities. It made it a really tough situation, and I completely understand how the elderly lady feels getting negative emotions toward the beloved beach. 

Fiction: Play with voice. To create the character, grab three random character traits from this random character traits (Links to an external site.) generator. Take the first three you get: that way, you’re more likely to be playing outside your usual choices.  Then the character is going to either write a letter of apology or apologize in person to someone – written or spoken is up to you. I suggest you do this as a ten-minute free-writing exercise: once you have the character traits, just start writing. Let the voice emerge and the voice decide what they’re apologizing for (and whether they mean it). 

Wise, Charming, Compassionate 

Dear Mrs. Harris,

I deeply apologize for class today. It was completely out of character and I promise that it will never happen again. It’s just that sometimes I get really excited and can’t help myself. When you announced what we would be reviewing next, I felt some sort of connection. Sometimes, the other kids call me a nerd and it really hurts my feelings. But you always make me feel like I am doing a good thing, reading during recess and writing during free time. I can only imagine the type of mother you are to your kids. I know this is an apology letter, but I also want to take some time to appreciate you. You have been the best teacher in my life and always understand me. Ever since I was in third grade I knew I wanted to be in your class. The way that you explain things is so much better than the others. That is why I am so sorry for making a scene today in class and yelling. I don’t want you to think of me as a suck-up or searching for brownie points, this is simply just me feeling bad. I also would like to ask you to not tell my mother this happened, for I don’t think she would take it so well. When I go back to school, I will make sure to tell my professor how good of a teacher you are so that you maintain a high rating. I understand this may be goofy coming from a student teacher, but I just want to keep things clear.

Thank you again,
Jess

Self Evaluation: This exercise honestly was not enjoyable to me, and I think it was the timed free write. When I set the timer I immediately felt stressed to find an exciting topic that the whole story turned out really boring. Going back and reading my writing, it doesn’t really make sense and is not a good read. If I were to do this again, I would maybe not set myself a timer so I could think of some better ideas, or maybe write out the ideas before I start writing that way I know where it is going. Also, I understand that the whole idea was to get some character traits I am unfamiliar with, but boy have I never felt so out of place. Wise, Charming, and Compassionate were very foreign to me, as I just don’t interact with those in the real world much. 

This was an exercise that I had put off actually because I wasn’t really sure where to take it and didn’t want to write something too long. After thinking on it some more, it actually came to me really easily. I can’t take all the credit for my plot, as it is loosely inspired by another creative work of art. As you read through, see if you can guess what it is!

Exercise: imagine a soldier who has just returned from a war and is having a strange time readjusting to his/her previous life. You can pick the war, even using an imaginary one. Flesh out the character and the setting. Then write a brief passage where this character is going about some everyday activity, but having difficulty with it. Whatever you do, do not think about the theme of the piece. Just focus on the character and what he/she is trying to do. 

The year was 2009 when the sky began raining food. There were flamangos, sasquashes, shrimpanzees, tacodiles, and many more threatening creatures. Many men and women were sent to fight off the monsters in an effort to save our land. The war lasted four long years before they finally garbaged everything. 

Flint was one of the leading generals for the war, and it was finally the time to head home. He is from Swallow Falls, a small island in the Mediterranean. It’s so small that you can nearly see the water from side to side, but big enough that there is plenty of room to roam around. The sun shined there day in and day out, always a rainbow in sight. 

Flint was a very smart man, he was often made fun of for his goofy personality. He invented these “machines”, but nobody took them seriously. That was until he saved everyone in the war from his FLDMSFR – Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator. It was supposed to save everyone from being forced to eat only sardines, their only source of food. He now suffers from major PTSD, from all those terrifying food creatures. 

It was evident to everyone in town too, the damage that had been done. He is no longer the happy bubbly kid he used to be. One time, he sat down at a restaurant to eat a burger and started screaming at it. It took two other grown men to pull him off it, as he was pinning the burger to the floor. Once he snapped out of it, he was so embarrassed that he ran out of the store and went to the bank to be alone.
He can often be found sitting along that same bank, just talking to himself, and writing in a small notebook. It is said that he will probably never recover from the trauma of the war, as he feels most responsible for it. Although, the efforts of his family and friends still weren’t enough to convince him of therapy. 

Once you have written the passage, write down three to six possible themes. Pick the theme that seems most interesting. Ponder what direction the story may take using this theme in a subtle way. 

1. Mental Health
2. Good vs Evil
3. Love
4. Redemption

The theme that seems the most interesting to me, and speaks ideas naturally is Mental Health. While mental health is not something to joke about these days, I think that the background of the story is silly enough it could work. A made-up issue such as getting a food coma or having scary dreams would be things that aren’t offensive but could be interpreted in a comical manner. My second choice would probably be love, but instead of him falling in love with another person, it could be love with the food he created and feeling sad.

First, I want you to read my poem. Think of what it could possibly mean or where it came from, who the speaker could be, and where the setting is. Then, I will give you the prompt that I followed. 

Ice Water

Plus with no, walls

So many opportunities, fall

Together is a wonderful, light

Combined, we write

I’ve been there, burning 

But unless, I’m learning

Check, it’s early 

Don’t tell me, my hair is curly

Poetry: Turn on a radio (any station) and at your chosen time count to ten. When you reach ten, write down the word(s) you hear. Repeat this as many times as you like. Each time starting on a new line. These words are the beginnings of your lines. 

Now complete them with words drawn from what you experience around you right now. (colours, smells, actions, emotions, appearances). 

Enjoy a drink. The name of your chosen drink is the title of your poem. 

If you couldn’t tell now, this poem has practically no meaning. When writing this, the radio was on commercial break so it was mostly silly ads. I decided to use commas to separate the radio words and the experience around me. I did attempt to make it seem as if it could be some type of story happening. But, for the most part, it is just gibberish in an abstract form of poetry. This was a really fun exercise, and I encourage you to try it for yourself!

Think of a character who is the opposite of yourself. Choose someone of the following differences: gender, age, occupation, background, temperament/personality, etc. Write a passage where the character must live for a while in an environment very similar to your own.

Setting: I grew up on our family farm as a kid, where we had our own chores to do. It is extremely laborious work, and in this situation cousin Nathan is trying it out. Nathan is a military kid who lives on a lake in South Carolina. Visiting the farm and living a completely different lifestyle is showing its toll on the first two days.

Part 1: Nathan 

“Mom, do I really have to go visit Uncle Doug? You know how they are with everything.” “Son, I understand trust me, but it’s only a week. Then when we get back we can go do something fun.” “Ugh, ok I guess that works.” Nathan sat in his room the rest of the day watching Netflix and texting all his friends. He was in a two-month-long relationship with a girl so being close to his phone was a necessity. She called on facetime, “what are you up to”. “I’m just getting some stuff together for the week, it’s going to be so boring”. She says, “well, you better not forget about me or ignore me!” Nathan tried to convince her that he would never just ignore her. But, in reality, he knows that there is no service out there. After some more ranting about random teen girl drama, she hung up to go hang out with her friends. He turned on some music and slowly packed up his things. Uncle Doug lived on a farm, in the middle of nowhere, according to Nathan. So this was about to be a long long week. 

Part 2: The Farm

After a 2 hour flight to Ohio, Uncle Doug picks Nathan up from the airport to drive out to the farm. The car ride is about two hours, and it is painfully awkward. Doug tries to relate by asking questions about swimming and school, but he doesn’t really understand. Nathan attempts to ask questions about the farm, but Doug doesn’t really want to share too much information and gives short responses. Finally, the time comes when they get to the farm. Nathan’s cousins are there waiting for his arrival so they can have fun, just like when they were kids. When he gets there, they show him that he will be sharing a room. “Great, I don’t even get my own privacy”, Nathan thinks. “It’s ok, just one week, It will be ok”. He puts his stuff down and they go to the dinner table. They all eat together every meal, in family-style dishes, and tonight they’re having mashed potatoes with noodles. Everyone is quiet eating, with not much talking going on. “This is so awkward”, Nathan thinks. He wishes he could be back at home eating takeout on the couch with this family. After they clean up he goes out to the sunroom with his cousins to get away and finally have some fun. They play JustDance on the Wii, for this is the only gaming station they have. Nathan wishes they had an Xbox or Playstation like at home, but this will have to work. It comes around to nine o’clock, and Aunt Shelly comes out to tell them they need to head to bed. Nathan says, “why so early?”, for he never had a bedtime at home and would stay up late. Aunt Shelly responds saying “well things are different here, we have bedtimes that way we can get up at a decent time tomorrow, goodnight!” 

Part 3: Tomorrow

Uncle Doug comes in a 6:30 am and wakes Nathan up, “get up, you don’t need to be laying in bed all day”. Nathan is wondering what the heck is going on, it’s still dark outside. What could he possibly be doing this early? He gets up anyways as they wish and goes to the kitchen where Aunt Shelly offers him a bowl of cereal. “We have Raisin Bran, or Cheerios, which do you want?” Nathan thinks to himself, “seriously, those are the only two options? I’d rather not eat.” Aunt Shelly says, “well you better pick something because lunch isn’t until noon.” Nathan settles for the Cheerios and sits in the kitchen eating in silence. He gets on his phone to scroll through social media and check his Snapchat. The wifi is so awful that it takes forever to load, at home, it would load almost instantaneously. After he is finished eating, he goes back to his room to put on some clothes and see what they’re doing today. Uncle Doug comes in and says, “when you’re ready come out to the shop, I have a project for you.” Nathan and his cousins head out there, where they find a four-wheeler with a small metal trailer attached. “You guys will be helping me pick up rocks in the field today.” Nathan says, “wait, like actually pick them up by hand? I’m confused it’s just a field, why can’t we just leave them?” Uncle Doug explains that it will hurt the equipment and hurries them along to get on so they can go to their first stop. 

Part 4: Rocks

After a five-minute drive down the road Doug, Nathan, and his cousins make it to the field. He says “just hop off and start picking up anything you see bigger than a softball.” Nathan can’t help but think how weird this is but goes along with it anyways. 10 minutes have passed, and they have nearly covered the bottom of the trailer. He thinks it’s kind of fun to jump off the four-wheeler whenever he sees a rock and then throws it to the trailer…. 20 minutes and they make it to the end of the field finally, now time to turn around and come back. Nathan has officially broken a sweat and it is up to 75 degrees…. 30 minutes and Nathan asks, “how long are we here for?” Uncle Doug responds, “until we’re done, so the faster you work the quicker it will be.” Nathan rolls his eyes and keeps walking…. It’s been an hour and they are about halfway done with their first load. “I’m tired, I don’t want to do this anymore”, Nathan complains. “I don’t care what you want to do, this needs to get done”, says Doug…. An hour and a half have past and it’s 80 degrees, the sun beating down and they’re sweating in their jeans. They finally get a full load, with rocks piled two feet above the edge. Nathan is feeling pretty satisfied as they are done and get to go home. They go dump the rocks and Nathan starts walking back up to the house. Doug says, “where are you going? We have more to get.” Nathan says, “what do you mean? You said we were done when the trailer was full!” Doug argues back, “no, we still have the field to finish and it’s not lunchtime yet.” Nathan says “this is absolutely ridiculous, I didn’t come here to be your slave, I wish I was at home. This place sucks.” Uncle Doug lets him storm back to the house, for maybe he pushed him too hard on the first day. “Oh well, we can try again tomorrow, maybe with something less physical”, Uncle Doug thinks. “We’ll break him in, there’s still time for him to adjust.”

Take a word/term/idea, similar to how Simone Muench focused on wolves, and search for poems that use that term/subject somewhere in the poem. 

1 Warm summer sun

2 The heat rises in distorted gold

3 Blistered apple, gold that melts

4 Our door was shut to the noon-day heat

5 In between the sun and moon

6 It would have to shine. And burn.

7 The sun has long been set 

8 Christmas hath a darkness

9 The sun that brief December day

-These are the authors that originally wrote the lines

1 Mark Twain

2 Maggie Smith

3 Hadara Bar-Nadav

4 Alfred Kreymborg

5 Pádraig Ó Tuama

6 Steve Scafidi

7 William Wordsworth

8 Christina Rossetti

9 John Greenleaf Whittier

I chose this exercise because it sounded really interesting. One thing that I struggle with myself as a writer is the creative piece. So, not surprisingly, I found this quite enjoyable but still creative. The topic/subject that I decided to write about was sun and sunshine, as well as heat. Instead of just every line talking about the sun, I tried to follow a pattern of sun lines followed by one about the heat. For these phrases all being from completely different poems, I think they came together well and you honestly might not even know they weren’t created for the same writing. 

Think of this as a journal entry of somebody who is feeling down about themselves. Their life has not been going perfectly well lately, and others often put them down. You could say they have been feeling quite blue… or maybe black?

Roses are red

And violets are blue

Sunshine is yellow

And so are you

The other’s are so shiny and bright

And then there’s me and white

They say I’m scary 

And they say I’m formal

I remind them of death

And taking their last breath

I just want to be loved

And a bit less judged

My name is Black

And I’d like you to cut me some slack

This poem is based on the color black. Adding in some emotions and thought that they might have as a character. I used a few specific formatting styles. The first was that I wanted every second line to start with “and”. This just felt like it kept it flowing and the reader feeling like there is more coming. I started off with one of the most cliche poems ever “Roses are Red”. I felt this was really important and relevant because it expresses color, which is what the theme of the poem was. I originally thought of it as a starter and to use a similar style, but I really liked using it to generate ideas and it fit pretty well.

Possible Story Ideas

This is a reflection from Prof. D’Alessandro’s question:

Write down ten things that might serve as possible story ideas, drawing from things that happened to you over the past week: people, thoughts, emotions, situations. Nothing is too big or too small, cosmic or microscopic.

I chose my ideas from things I saw in my room, things that had happened to me, and just random things that I thought would make an interesting story.

1. Tomato Farm
2. My Kitchen
3. Championship Team
4. Zeta Theta Goodbye
5. Sitting Alone In Silence
   1. Pick apart every feeling, emotion, thought that comes to mind
   2. Sounds: the refrigerator running, the air conditioner, the keyboard tapping, breathing
   3. What plans do I have today
   4. What is my purpose
   5. Who am I
6. Feeling Like Quitting
7. From a Professor’s Perspective
8. A Long Weekend
9. Paying The Bills
10.  A Day In Her Shoes

If I were to write “Sitting Alone in Silence” into a fictional story, I would add characters. Silence itself could be a character, possibly the main character. Maybe even the antagonist, who is there hovering over and always a bother. The sounds could even have their own characters/personalities. Maybe the air conditioner is the nice one, always trying to calm the nerves and make you comfortable.

While this list may have taken me a while to come up with and pick a favorite, it shows that you can write about literally anything. Every topic has a different direction that it could take, and each writer could interpret it as their own.

Week 6

Write a letter to someone you know well. Not a short email, but a longish letter where you really talk about something.

Dear Molly,

You are a freshman in college already and I’m not quite sure how. It seems like just yesterday you were a toddler biting me, your first day of high school with me, and then your senior homecoming. While it is a bit unfortunate that you chose a yucky school (just kidding, Wilmington isn’t that bad) I hope you find it comforting. 

It’s already senior year for me, just like high school all over again with you being a little freshman. While I’m going to be here for two more years, it’s not the same. I won’t get to engage in all the activities the same. I have to grow up and prepare for the future, the real world, a job where I have to dress up. So, enjoy this next phase in your life and soak in as much of your childhood as you can before it’s gone.

That is your home for the next four years. So I urge you to make the most of it. Use all the resources possible that are available for you. Mom and dad told me not to get a job so I could focus on school, but don’t feel the same way. Get work experience, add to your resume. Join groups on campus, one, two, three even. You have time for whatever you want to make time for. A busy schedule isn’t always a bad thing, it keeps you more organized at times. It teaches you time management and discipline. If you ever need help, don’t be afraid to ask. Everyone on campus is there to help you succeed. 

Another tip that I have for you is to not get too far away from home. While campus is 2+ hours from home – and me – make sure that you stay in touch. Don’t let go of your high school friends. You don’t have to talk every day but reach out every so often to check-in. Those are connections that may not feel important now, but they were your first. Also, your friends at school are important. You may feel quiet and shy, but don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort. Talk more than you normally would, meet new people, and have conversations. These are the connections that you will take with you into the real world. They are your classmates and coworkers, so follow everyone on social media. 

One more thing, Kayla and I have gone through a lot of the experiences you are about to endure, so never be afraid to ask us questions about – anything. We are here for you, as well as the rest of the family. We all want to see you succeed. So, go do big things. You have all the ingredients you need. 

Love,

Your big twin sister,

Amy

“There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable” – Mark Twain. Your character is doing something someone else has forbidden. Someone else discovers. Will there be a confrontation? Or will the discoverer be so uncomfortable that (s)he will ignore or throw hints instead? 

This prompt reminds me of a recent movie I have watched, “Swing Kids”. We watch this in our communication major to discuss the theories of Cognitive Dissonance and Elaboration Likelihood Model. These two theories describe and explain the exact thought process behind the quote that says the forbidden is desirable. Anyways, the movie Swing Kids is about three friends living in Germany during the Hitler reign. In this case, the forbidden would be the Nazis and becoming one, or a member of Hitler’s Youth. Throughout the movie, one of the boys slowly becomes more acquainted with the idea of the Nazis and doesn’t think it’s so bad. He says hey look, if we join then we get lots of free stuff. They are forbidden to join, but that is just what makes him want to even more. 

Another example from that movie is when one of the boys is given the task of delivering boxes to houses. The commander says he is not to open them at any means. He goes to deliver two boxes to houses marked as Jewish and hands them to the mother and kids. As he goes to deliver the third he stops and sits down at a bench. The curiosity got the best of him, and he opens it up. Inside he finds the ashes, and the wedding ring left of these poor innocent men. And he had just been delivering them to their families. An absolutely awful example of forbidden charm, but one that caused many conflicts for him. In this case, the discoverer was so uncomfortable that they turned to rage.  

I would like to put my own spin on the character tension of this scene:

Peter sits down to open the box, unsure of what he had been delivering. Inside he finds ashes, they blow in the wind across his lap as he sits there crying, realizing the damage he has caused. Thomas comes from around the corner to find him sitting there with the open box. He whispers, “Peter what are you doing! They will kill you if they find out.” Peter slams the box shut and yells, “I don’t care anymore, they can kill me, just like they did these innocent people!” Thomas waves his finger in his face and says, “I’m tired of trying to cover for you, Peter. This is the last strike before I report you.” Peter punches Thomas in the face and runs away frantically. When he gets home he packs up his stuff and tells his brother and mother that he loves them and must leave. As he runs to the door, Thomas is standing there. “Please don’t go, I didn’t mean that. I won’t say anything, I promise.” Peter slams the door on him and his mother asks what is going on. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing”, says Peter. Thomas opens the door himself and steps inside….