Poetry Cycle Assignment

Poetry Cycle Assignment Rita Dove

Go over Mandolin section:

Reader Response to a Poem:
Select one of the poems in "Thomas and Beulah". How does the poem make you feel? In what ways can you relate to the poem? What has Rita Dove done with imagery, form, theme, rhythm, language, etc. to make this poem work? Any lines that particularly strike you as interesting or powerful? Think about poetic technique: enjambment, caesura, metaphor, simile, alliteration, assonance, consonance, linebreaking, stanzaic form, apostrophe, onomatopeaia, etc.

Post your response



Begin working on Poetry Cycle assignment:
Similar to Thomas and Beulah, consider some characters in your own life, imagined characters, or actual historical characters. Imagine the significant chronological dates in their lives--high points and low points. consider how to construct a series of 8-10 (preferably more) poems that tell a story (narrative poetry) and explore these key moments and occasions.

• a. Your poetry cycle should consist of 8-10 poems
• b. Your poetry cycle should be accompanied by a chronology to support the key dates and occasions you chose to write about.
• c. At least two of the poems should explore the same event from two different perspectives or viewpoints (like "Courtship" in Thomas and Beulah). These poems can have the same title.
• d. Place one poem per page, single-spaced, 12 point type in a clean font and be sure to title each poem. you may want to title the entire cycle as well. Use italics for dialogue, songs, memories, etc as you observe in Rita Dove's work. Experiment with different stanzaic forms and poetic styles.
• e. Poems can, of course, be narrative or lyric, but remember that the overall cycle is a narrative and must tell a story of a life or lives although we only see "fragments" or moments/snapsho

Flash fiction Due/ Thomas and Beulah

Flash fiction stories are due today
continue reading in class poems from Mandolin

Read some of "Queen of the Mist"

HMWK: Finish the poems in "Mandolin"

Rita Dove Thomas and Beulah

Begin reading aloud Thomas and Beulah
Check out link to her web site!
www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=6719 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/rita-dove
Critical article: personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~jpellegr/articles/dovearticle.html
www.suite101.com/article.cfm/african_american_lit_retired/62567

The poem cycle set to music:
www.amazon.com/Thomas-Beulah-Rita-Amnon-Wolman/dp/B000065CWO


Continue working on Flash Fiction!

FLASH...FLASH.. Flash Fiction stories

AGENDA:

Work on your Flash Fiction stories.

Please read the Flash Fiction stories from last class and post a response here if you didn't post a comment last class.

End of marking period/Flash Fiction

AGENDA:

Please complete and turn in any missing work!

FLASH FICTION: 3 EXEMPLARS (MODELS)

Read Margaret Atwood's "My Life as a Bat"
Ron Carlson's "Bigfoot Stole My Wife"
Bruce Holland Rogers "Murder, Mystery"

POST A COMMENT RESPONDING TO THESE STORIES:

EQ:  What qualities of plot, character, and structure make these stories strong examples of flash fiction?  How do writers achieve compression in  shirt, short story (aka flash fiction)?

Bloodsucking Fiends

AGENDA:

Top Vampire movies



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSpznQZA32o

THINK, PAIR, SHARE:

 Look over the following discussion questions.  Discuss with a partner.  Post a comment with your partner about your responses.

4. The book touches upon the idea of euthanasia — the practice of ending the life of a terminally ill person in a painless or minimally painful way in order to limit suffering — in that Elijah Ben Sapir, the vampire who creates Jody, only kills those who are about to die or whose lives are limited in some way. What are your feelings about "mercy killings"? Do vampires have an ethical standard?

5. When Simon threatens Jody after she refuses to turn him into a vampire, she ends up killing him in  the front of his truck. Jody then blames the killing on Elijah, however, and never confesses it to Tommy. Why not admit to it when Elijah has been restrained?

6. Why are Jody and Tommy "set up" as the culprits in the recent crimes? What would it mean if they were caught? Why do these crimes need to be pinned on anyone? Couldn't the criminals cover up the crimes in another way?

7. By the end of the novel, both detectives — Cavuto and Rivera — begin to believe in the supernatural and that vampires could exist. To what extent do you believe in the supernatural, either vampires, ghosts, or even just that some people may or may not have psychic ability?

8. Tommy uses Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat, which of course is fiction, as his "Owner's Manual" for learning about Jody and her new powers. Discuss the author's use of fiction within fiction in order to tell a story. Have any members of your group read The Vampire Lestat? How do the two books compare?  Intertextuality!

9. Once Jody becomes a vampire, she finds that she has many new and different abilities, including superstrength, heightened senses, and superspeed. Which do you think is her most needed new superability?

10. Though Jody finds herself immortal, she also retains many of her normal human characteristics and failings, including vanity, fear, anger, and disgust. Discuss how even though she has become immortal, and can protect herself from many of the regular dangers of everyday life, she is still unable to disassociate herself from normal human emotion.

11. At the end of the book, the reader is left with the impression that Jody is about to turn Tommy into a vampire. If she does change him into a vampire, how do you imagine their story continues? How would it continue if she does not?

Continue to work on your Flash fiction---300-1000 words
CREATIVE WRITING RETREAT   Sunday, Oct. 20, Mendon Ponds  1-5 pm

Bloodsucking Fiends Assignment

AGENDA:

1. Please read the previous post--a thank you regarding Wednesday

2. Let's play catch up on missing work before the end of the marking period:
        a. Turn in study guide #1(through Ch. 8)  for Bloodsucking Fiends if you have not already (extra copies available)
        b. If you have turned Study Guide #1  in, work on Study Guide #2 (up to Ch. 18)--Handouts available
        c. PEER EDITING:  Make sure you turn in your PEER EDITING sheet after you edit and discuss another student's story with him or her

3. If you have done all this, begin to think about (even write) your Final Assignment for Bloodsucking Fiends.

Here it is:
FLASH FICTION:

Write a Flash Fiction story (2-3 double-spaced pages) that PARODIES(makes fun of) an established genre (your choice--Science Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Western, etc.).   Choose this option if you want to try your hand at HUMOR and PARODY.
or

Write a Flash Fiction story hat follows the conventions and uses the familiar tropes of a HORROR STORY  (vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, etc.) or a LOVE STORY.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_fiction

and http://www.flash-fiction-world.com/

Finally, over the weekend, keep reading Bloodsucking Fiends!  Have a great weekend!

Thank you

I just wanted to post a "thank you" to all of you as a class. You probably did not know today that I gave you college level material as writers during this class.  Yet, tropes and memes are really something you understand. Writers know how to put in the "good stuff" for their genres.

You were "real" Creative Writing majors (that means the  pride of SOTA as a school), and I'm so proud of you.

Please, despite the "spoilers" in the post, continue to check out this blog post and bookmark tvtropes.com.  It's a great website for ideas about genres and will help you with what will be the "Bloodsucking Fiends" final assessment---see the next post (since you asked)! This website will be a great resource throughout the year. Remember, we're reading to pick up on conventions, tropes, cliches, and what readers love to read in our fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction this year.  How do the "pros" do it and how do just those of us who love to write make it part of our lives?

 Please realize that when you all stay on task, provide a learning environment for everyone (and in creative writing that means quiet time) and contribute to the discussions and activities in class you all grow as learners. I am grateful that you all are taking these self-monitoring measures to heart. No one in the class should make it difficult to write  for others.  We all have our challenges.  I, too, would love to have writing time with you to work on a poem or other project of my own--possibly something you can  edit for me!
Thank you for self-monitoring as high school students in a class. 
Everyone has good and bad days.  Let's hope the good outweigh the bad.

Many of you will not see this message if you don't check the blog.  I'm hoping Imani Gunner (please respond for some credit to let me know you're there) will see this message and RESPOND.  We are going to miss Imani for a short period of time, but she will be back and join us.  Just keep up with the blog posts.  Read the books and do the assignments. Posts your thoughts in the comments!  That's how I will
know you are keeping up with the work and grade you appropriately, Imani.

There is so much to learn CW juniors!  You thought you might have chosen the "easiest" major in 6th grade,but you actually chose one of the hardest.  Still, you have not let us down.  Keep striving.
We're behind you 100% . Make us proud on graduation day!

I keep learning and so should you., because I learn from you and you learn from me (I hope!). Keep teaching me.(And the hint for extra credit is how many of you check the blog and actually respond to this post).

Ms. Gamzon

PS.
Early in my college career, I was given the phrase "try to be a lifelong learner."  It stuck with me, and that is what I've tried to become as a teacher and student throughout my life.  I've lived so many more years than you have, but I'm still learning, pursuing my curiosity (the hallmark of a learner), and I hope you will do this, too, when you leave SOTA.

Tropes in the Trilogy

AGENDA:

1. Morning Reflection:  Ben


2. Mini-lesson       What is a trope?
A literary trope is the use of figurative language.^[1] For example, the sitting United States administration might be referred to as "Washington". Since the 1970s^{[citation needed]}, the word has also come to mean a commonly recurring literary device, motif, or cliché.^[2][3]
The term trope derives from the Greek τρόπος (tropos), "turn, direction, way", derived from the verb τρέπειν (trepein), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vampire_traits_in_folklore_and_fiction


 Tropes in the Trilogy:
A trilogy written by Christopher Moore about vampires and romance... And no, it's nothing like Twilight. Although they are described as love stories, romance actually plays a surprisingly small role in these books. For the most part the genre fluctuates among comedy, drama, supernatural and suspense, with Moore's typical emphasis on comedy.The first book, Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story, is about 26-year-old Jody, living in modern-day San Francisco with her shallow and weak-willed boyfriend. The last nail is driven into the coffin of her crumbling relationship when she wakes up under a city dumpster with a horrible burn on her hand and a huge wad of cash stuffed in her shirt. She finds out that she's been unwittingly turned into a vampire.Unable to do anything during the day, Jody enlists the help of Tommy, a 19-year-old who had just moved to San Francisco in hope of finding inspiration to help him kick-start his writing career. He works the night shift at a supermarket along with a crew of other young men aptly named "The Animals". The two move in together and start up a relationship. Jody's maker stalks her from place to place and leaves her "presents" (dead bodies) that make her into a prime suspect of an ongoing murder investigation.The first sequel, You Suck: A Love Story, is about Jody and Tommy for some reason staying in San Francisco, despite the fact that it defies all common sense. Jody ends up turning Tommy into a vampire. This means that she has to find a new day person and she ends up recruiting the teenage goth girl, Abby Normal.Bite Me: A Love Story, the third book, is about a wave of vampirism striking San Francisco. The main character of this book is Abby from You Suck.

---

These books provide examples of:

• And I Must Scream: In the books, the characters most often neutralize vampires by encasing them in bronze. This doesn't kill them. It just leaves them trapped inside unable to do anything until the bronze wears away and they can turn themselves into mist and escape.
• Attempted Rape: A gang tries to rape Jody when she's in a laundromat on the seedy side of town. It doesn't end well for them.
• Aura Vision: Vampires see the auras or "heat signatures" around people and can tell how healthy someone is and when the terminally ill are on their last legs.
• Batman-Gambit: Jody's gambit to get the old vampire to train her. It all hinges on the vampire wanting to take her in, in the first place.
• Bittersweet Ending: The third book (Bite Me) ends with the vampire hordes destroyed, Abby and Tommy saved from their eventual deaths as third-generation vampires, and the three vampire lords dead... but Tommy can't handle being a vampire, and Jody doesn't want to return to being human, and so Jody leaves him, presumably forever.
• Blood Lust: Surprisingly averted. Jody's greatest laments about being a vampire, other than not being able to function during the day and not being able to lose that last five pounds, are that she can't have coffee and french fries anymore.
• Boy Meets Ghoul
• Citizenship Marriage: Tommy is being courted by five illegal Chinese immigrants for this very reason.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Abby Normal, The Emperor and all the Animals to some degree.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: The, admittedly kooky, Emperor goes around the city warning the citizens about vampires, and absolutely no one believes him.
• Cool Boat: The old vampire's home.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Jody beats the everloving crap out of a gang that intended to rape her and shouts "Forty-fucking-Niners!" at them as she walks out the door, presumably in response to the Oakland Raiders paraphernalia the gang is wearing.
• Cursed with Awesome: Subverted. Jody loves being a vampire because it means that she can enjoy eternal life and feel completely safe walking down dark streets at night. Tommy, on the other hand, would rather be human because he is only 19 when he's turned and being male, doesn't have any issues with the latter.
• Dead Man's Chest: Jody and Tommy end up buying a big freezer to store the dead man left just outside their apartment.
• Dude, She's Like, in a Coma!: Tommy contemplates about whether or not he should have sex with Jody while she's passed out during the day. Later it turns out that he actually did.
• Easily Forgiven: Tommy, for all the things he's pulled on Jody while she was unconscious, which includes dressing her up as a cheerleader and having sex with her, rubbing her with garlic and putting her in the freezer.
• Emergency Transformation: Simon is dying of AIDS and threatens Jody at gunpoint to get her to turn him and save his life. The only problem is that at this point of story she doesn't know how.
• Face Heel Turn: Jody, in the first book. It's a ploy.
• Fake Defector: Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story has Jody pretending to switch sides to get the upper hand on the old vampire.
• Fingore: The old vampire slips two of his fingers inside Jody's mouth and she bites them off and eats them.
• Flaw Exploitation: By his very nature the old vampire is lonely and bored. Jody exploits that for all it's worth in order to learn more about vampires and their powers.
• Friendly Neighbourhood Vampires: Vampires don't need to drink blood in lethal amounts, and they can drink it from animals as well. Even the old vampire tends to feed off people who are near death... even though he kept them in a cage on his yacht.
• Genre Blindness: Despite reading a bunch of vampire lore, neither Tommy nor Jody figure out that to make a new vampire, a human must be bitten and then fed vampire blood.
  • Admittedly that's a common way, but it's hardly the only way in fiction. Some versions have anyone killed by a vampire come back, at least one vampire story has anyone a vampire even drinks from come back after death (and the longer they lived after the bite, the longer it takes), some versions require the vampire to sleep with the victim... and so on.
• Genre Savvy: Tommy. After he finds out that Jody is a newly-turned vampire unfamiliar with her powers, he gets a bunch of vampire books, studies them and uses trial and error to figure out specific vampire strengths, abilities and weaknesses. In particular he's rather stuck on Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: Due to the fact that vampires collapse wherever they happen to be and basically turn into corpses when the sun rises, being able to heal instantaneously is almost a necessity. Jody passes out in the shower and the hot water scalds her for the hours and hours she's in there. On top of that a good chunk of her hair gets sloughed off by the constant water pressure. Good Thing You Can Heal indeed.
• Healing Factor: A perk of vampirism.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Subverted with Rivera and Cavuto, as Cavuto actually is gay.
• Hooker Witha Heart Of Gold: Averted. Quite possibly the hooker is one of the most immoral characters.
• Horror Hunger: Generally averted. The only time vampires get really bloodthirsty is when they've just been grievously injured and need blood to heal.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Jody wakes up night under a dumpster with a badly-burned hand. It takes her a while to even realise she's become a vampire, and the rest of the book to figure out exactly what sorts of powers and limitations that comes with.
• I Do Not Drink Wine: If Vampires consume anything that is not blood, even water, they'll throw up. Subverted by the fact that this reaction can be thwarted by adding blood to the substance in question. Jody is overjoyed when she finds out she can still drink coffee.
• I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Inverted. Jody hates the bastard who turned her into a vampire, but generally enjoys being one. Her biggest qualms appear to be a) not being able to drink coffee and b) having it dawn on her that, thanks to immortality, she will never ever get to lose those last five pounds.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Abby. And in the first book, Tommy.
• I Love the Dead: The coroner. Jody coming back to life after being defrosted literally gives him a heart attack.
• Immortality Begins at Twenty: For Jody at least. Immortality begins at whatever age you are lucky/unlucky enough to be turned into a vampire.
• I Should Write a Book About This: Tommy, referring to the events of the trilogy.
• King Of The Homeless: The king of San Francisco.
• Kiss of the Vampire: Vampire bites aren't that painful and heal almost immediately. Being fed on repeatedly from a vampire can even make you stronger. If a vampire is careful, the person being bitten might not even notice that they're being bitten at all.
• Lemony Narrator
• Make Me Wanna Shout: Jody, already in a bad mood, gets hassled by a bum and screams at him in rage. Her scream makes the air vibrate and shatters the glass of a nearby window.
• Malignant Plot Tumor: The plot about The Animals going to Vegas and getting a blue hooker in You Suck.
• The Masquerade: A group of vampires actually comes for the old vampire of the first novel because his careless and destructive actions are threatening The Masquerade.
• The Men In Black: The group of vampires that show up at the end of You Suck to punish the old vampire for threatening The Masquerade.
• Mayfly December Romance: Tommy and Jody discuss this in the context of their relationship. Tommy in particular seemed to be looking forward to being a lecherous old man with a smoking hot girlfriend.
• Mistaken for Gay: See Citizenship Marriage above. Yes, those are related.
• Mistaken for Murderer: Jody, initially.
• Mugging the Monster: When three guys try to rape Jody in a laundromat, they don't really realise what they're getting into...
• Mundane Utility:
  • Upon concluding that Vampire saliva acts as a healing agent (primarily to keep those tell-tale neck wounds from being noticed), Tommy tries to convince Jody to fix his cuticles and get rid of a blister on his toe. Jody is not amused.
  • After reading about Dracula turning into mist, Tommy tries to get Jody to do it so she can unclog the hair trap in their bathroom drain. He ends up buying a bottle of Drain-o.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Jody's reaction after she throws a pot at her boyfriend's head and drains his blood. She initially believes he might even be dead.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Tommy. His first words after learning his girlfriend was a vampire? "That is the most awesome thing I've ever heard. Let's have sex with our socks off." The sequel gives us Abby Normal, a Perky Goth who didn't just jump at the call to be a vampire's minion but hunted it down and demanded the job.
• No Body Left Behind: People turn to dust when they're drained to death by a vampire. This becomes a minor plot point, as it turns out that the bodies the old vampire is leaving Jody are clearly intentional.
• Nobody Poops: Lampshaded in You Suck, where one (very short) chapter is dedicated to the effects of vampirism on one's intestinal tract. In its entirety:
  "So that was it?"
  "Yep."
  "Never again?"
  "Nope."
  "Not ever?"
  "Nope."
  "I feel like I should save them or something."
  "Would you just flush and come out of there?"
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: The Emperor is clearly supposed to be Emperor Norton, the self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States.
  • And Protector of Mexico!
• No Periods, Period: Justified, as being a vampire means that you no longer get one.
• Our Vampires Are Different: Close to the traditional Hollywood vampire, but with a few differences.
  • They're completely dead from sunrise to sunset. That is, they pass out wherever they happened to be when the sun rose and remain inert corpses until it sets, even if they were in the shower, in the sunlight or right next to a furnace.
  • Sunlight burns them badly. If a vampire has part of their body in the open when the sun rises, they will get burned and possibly burn up completely. In addition to the sun magically making vampires inert, ultraviolet light burns them regardless of source. Blacklights are weaponized.
  • When they get turned into vampires, all the wounds and scars they had from life get healed. This includes things like bent toes from wearing shoes, tattoos going away and pushing out and healing the wounds from breast implants.
  • Vampires can see heat and auras, which tells them how close a person is to death. Their saliva can instantly close wounds, and if a vampire drains a person completely, the victim turns into dust.
  • Anything that has ingested vampire blood and dies while it is in their system comes back as a vampire. Including animals. Since many animals instinctively fight by biting their enemies, this could be a problem.
  • The further a vampire is from the original vampire, the quicker they have a breakdown, either mental or physical. Elijah, the antagonist of the first book, is the oldest vampire encountered in the series. Some that he sired lived for centuries, but one fourth-generation vampire ( Blue the hooker) apparently died after about a month.
• Phantasy Spelling: Vampire is normally spelled with an "i" but when the narration switches to Abby she spells it "Vampyre".
• Raising the Steaks: Vampires can feed on animals, although they generally prefer humans. Anything that has ingested vampire blood and dies while it is in their system comes back as a vampire. Many animals instinctively fight by biting their enemies. At one point a vampire makes a vampire cat in a careless moment, and after a couple weeks there are packs (clouds) of vampire strays roaming the streets at night.
• Really 700 Years Old: Subverted. After discovering Jody is a vampire, Tommy immediately assumes that it means she's also hundreds of years old. Jody is then forced to spend the next ten minutes explaining that she's a newly-turned vampire. Twenty-six — physically and chronologically.
  • Abby comes to the same conclusion in You Suck. As he finds it amusing, Tommy doesn't tell her the truth for some time.
• The Renfield: Tommy accuses Jody of making him this. He cites things like the fact that he sleeps most of the day, and how she drinks his blood and gets him to run errands for her. In reality he just works at a supermarket during the graveyard shift so he has to sleep most of the day, he lets her drink his blood and Jody was going to pay him to run errands for her during the day anyway.
• Retail Therapy: Tommy has a bunch of friends over during the day and they do things like look in the freezer with the dead body and touch Jody while she's sleeping. When Jody finds out she's understandably upset and deals with this by going shopping and getting a makeover.
• Romantic Vampire Girl: Jody
• Undeath Always Ends: By the second book a scientist even invents a cure for vampirism.
• San Francisco: The setting of all three books. Even when it gets implausible and dangerous.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: The fate of the old vampire at the end of the first novel. It doesn't last, of course.
• Shout Out: The title of the third novel, Bite Me is a reference to Christopher Moore's other novel, Fluke where a whale has "Bite Me" tattooed to its fins.
• Sliding Scale of Gender Inequality: At the end of You Suck, Jody and Tommy find out that there's a cure for vampirism. Tommy is more than willing to take it, but Jody enjoys being a vampire. The only time she feels safe walking on the street at night is when she's a vampire.
• Sliding Scale of Silliness Versus Seriousness: Not to say that the book is entirely lacking in seriousness, but given the author, this book is quite far down on the Silly side of the scale.
• Straight Gay: Nick Cavuto.
• Super Senses: Another perk of vampirism.
• Super Smoke: One of the abilities of vampires.
• Stuffed Into The Freezer: How Tommy and Jody hide one of the corpses that the old vampire leaves behind. Later on Tommy literally does this to Jody while she's asleep.
• Super Strength: Yet another perk of being a vampire.
• Vampires Are Sex Gods
• The Verse: All of Christopher Moore's novels, including this one, take place in the same universe.
  • You Suck even takes place at the same time as the beginning of A Dirty Job. There's a Crossover scene in both books wrote from the point of view of it's respective protagonists. Their teenage goth sidekicks/employees/secret keepers also happen to be best friends.
• Waking Up At The Morgue: After being defrosted, Jody wakes up at the morgue with the coroner licking the inside of her thigh.
• Warm Bloodbags Are Everywhere: Jody and later, Tommy,usually keep themselves under control in public, but after an intense bout of healing they can get rather hungry.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Jody's reaction to Tommy putting her in the freezer.
• Wax Museum Morgue: Vampires are usually dealt with by electroplating them in bronze.
• Weakened By The Light: Almost to the point where it's Crippled By The Light. Vampires are completely unable to function in any way shape or form while the sun is up, and are therefore vulnerable to just about anything and everything during the daylight hours. The mere presence of the sun peeking over the horizon will cause a vampire anywhere (even completely locked away from the sunlight) to collapse in an immobile corpse-like state. Depending on the geographical location and time of year this means that vampires are useless sacks of meat just waiting to be killed for up to 24 consecutive hours a day. On top of that the sunlight also burns them, so tough luck if they get caught in an uncovered outdoor area at sunrise.
• What Are You in For?: When Tommy, is in jail he asks his cell mate what he's in for. The man replies 'copyright infringement', which he admits isn't really the sort of offense they put you in jail for. Ripping a lawyer's arms out of their sockets, however, is.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Played with. Tommy saturates himself with vampire literature and appears to be this initially when he asks Jody to turn into mist like Dracula, but it turns out that all she needed was a tutor. Other things he does get wrong, though. Jody can't fly or turn into a wolf, for instance. He also suspects himself of becoming The Renfield and lists a bunch of reasons attributable to other things. Abby also counts; she believes that vampires are all dark, brooding, serious and romantic, more along the lines of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles or Twilight than the vampires that show up in the book.

3. Activity:    What are some tropes of love stories?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SoYouWantTo/WriteALoveStory 

4. KEEP WRITING/Peer Editing

Bloodsucking Fiends Reading Group Discussion Questions

New book: Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

Reading Group Guide

Questions for Discussion

1. Everyone has been exposed to Vampire lore, either through books, movies, or television. How does Jody's transformation into a vampire differ from how you always thought someone became a vampire? In what ways is it similar?

2. Jody and Tommy's relationship moves at a rather alarming pace, and within a week of meeting each other, they are in love. Is love at first sight possible? Or in their case, at first bite? Why do they connect so instantly?

3. The book is filled with religious connotations, whether intentional or not — from the mention of "the pyramid" (The TransAmerica Tower), to the use of crosses to ward off vampires, to the Animals being referred to as "Crusaders." How intentional do you think this was on the part of the author? What do these add to the story?

4. The book touches upon the idea of euthanasia — the practice of ending the life of a terminally ill person in a painless or minimally painful way in order to limit suffering — in that Elijah Ben Sapir, the vampire who creates Jody, only kills those who are about to die or whose lives are limited in some way. What are your feelings about "mercy killings"? Do vampires have an ethical standard?

5. When Simon threatens Jody after she refuses to turn him into a vampire, she ends up killing him in  the front of his truck. Jody then blames the killing on Elijah, however, and never confesses it to Tommy. Why not admit to it when Elijah has been restrained?

6. Why are Jody and Tommy "set up" as the culprits in the recent crimes? What would it mean if they were caught? Why do these crimes need to be pinned on anyone? Couldn't the criminals cover up thecrimes in another way?

7. By the end of the novel, both detectives — Cavuto and Rivera — begin to believe in the supernatural and that vampires could exist. To what extent do you believe in the supernatural, either vampires, ghosts, or even just that some people may or may not have psychic ability?

8. Tommy uses Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat, which of course is fiction, as his "Owner's Manual" for learning about Jody and her new powers. Discuss the author's use of fiction within fiction in order to tell a story. Have any members of your group read The Vampire Lestat? How do the two books compare?

9. Once Jody becomes a vampire, she finds that she has many new and different abilities, including superstrength, heightened senses, and superspeed. Which do you think is her most needed new superability?

10. Though Jody finds herself immortal, she also retains many of her normal human characteristics and failings, including vanity, fear, anger, and disgust. Discuss how even though she has become immortal, and can protect herself from many of the regular dangers of everyday life, she is still unable to disassociate herself from normal human emotion.

11. At the end of the book, the reader is left with the impression that Jody is about to turn Tommy into a vampire. If she does change him into a vampire, how do you imagine their story continues? How would it continue if she does not?

Enhancing Your Reading

1. Would you be willing to give up your normal life — being able to go out in the daylight, not being immortal — in order to become a vampire? You'd be able to live forever, have superstrength and -speed, among many other different gifts. Would it be worth it? Why? Why not?

2. To read more about vampires, take a look at the following titles: The Society of S by Susan Hubbard, Vamped by David Sosnowski, The Book of Renfield: A Gospel of Dracula by Tim Lucas, and Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Costa.

3. Learn more about vampires: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampires.

Christopher Moore is the bestselling author of You Suck, A Dirty Job, The Stupidest Angel, Fluke, Lamb, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, Bloodsucking Fiends, and Practical Demonkeeping. Visit the

official Christopher Moore website at www.chrismoore.com.

Bloodsucking Fiends

AGENDA:

1. Review last class--some of you have not posted a comment!

2. What is parody--see earlier post

3. New questions for discussion

4. Choose a writing exercise from these two posts --setting, tone (rewrite Jody's experience with a different tone), or a "monster" attack

Bloodsucking Fiends

As the book begins, Moore effectively creates and develops the setting of his story. Setting the scene for an entire book can  be a difficult task, but by using descriptive language, and contrasting images, the setting is memorable.

1) 1. Moore uses the contrasting beauty of the San Francisco skyline and a homeless man to set the stage for his tale. How do these contrasting images work to create a feeling of mystery? Why does the image of the Emperor lead the reader to believe that things are not always what they seem in San Francisco?

2. Writing exercise: Using Moore's first chapter as an example, write an introduction to a short story in which you establish the setting. This exercise should be no more than one page in length.

3. Explain why setting the scene in a story such as Bloodsucking Friends is important. Would the book still be as interesting if the author did not take the time to establish the setting for his interesting characters?

After Jody wakes up in the dumpster, she is surprised to discover she feels completely changed. After traumatic experiences, we often must change to cope with what has happened to us. Everyone deals with it differently, and Jody is no exception. The change can be for the good or make one's life worse, but pushes us to accept change.

1) 1. Rewrite Jody's experience waking up in the dumpster. As you rewrite the passage, try a different tone than Moore's. What type of tone did you choose to address this passage? How does it differ from Moore's tone?

Vampires and Parody

The Inner Workings of Parody

par·o·dy

   ˈpærədi Spelled [par-uh-dee]  IPA noun, plural -dies, verb, -died, -dy·ing.

noun 

1.   a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing: his hilarious parody of Hamlet's soliloquy.

2.   the genre of literary composition represented by such imitations.

3.    a burlesque imitation of a musical composition.

4.   any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation, as of a person, event, etc.

5.    the use in the 16th century of borrowed material in a musical setting of the Mass (parody Mass).

verb (used with object)

6.   to imitate (a composition, author, etc.) for purposes of ridicule or satire.

7.   to imitate poorly or feebly; travesty.

Source: www.dictionary.com

GENRE: A type or category of literature or film marked by certain shared features or conventions. The three broadest categories of genre include poetry, drama, and fiction. These general genres are often subdivided into more specific genres and subgenres. For instance, precise examples of genres might include murder mysteries, westerns, sonnets, lyric poetry, epics, tragedies, etc. Many bookstores and video stores divide their books or films into genres for the convenience of shoppers seeking a specific category of literature.
CONVENTION: A common feature that has become traditional or expected within a specific genre (category) of literature or film. In Harlequin romances, it is conventional to focus on a male and female character who struggle through misunderstandings and difficulties until they fall in love. In western films of the early twentieth-century, for instance, it has been conventional for protagonists to wear white hats and antagonists to wear black hats. The wandering knight-errant who travels from place to place, seeking adventure while suffering from the effects of hunger and the elements, is a convention in medieval romances. It is a convention for an English sonnet to have fourteen lines with a specific rhyme scheme, abab, cdcd, efef, gg, and so on. The use of a chorus and the unities are dramatic conventions of Greek tragedy, while, the aside, and the soliloquy are conventions in Elizabethan tragedy. Conventions are often referred to as poetic, literary, or dramatic, depending upon whether the convention appears in a poem, short story or novel, or a play.

Source: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/index.html

Mini Writing Exercises

1.      Write a paragraph that describes a monster (whether it be a vampire or another magical being that you know well).  Make sure that this description fits with the conventions of the genre to which the being belongs (i.e.—a vampire might have fangs; a zombie might eat brains, etc.).  Use rich language and adjectives to create a vivid image for your reader.

2.     Parody a vampire attack (or a part of one) in a paragraph.  Use the Moore reading as well as the more serious, short readings from class for ideas of conventions you might want to twist. 

Peer Editing/Bloodsucking Fiends

AGENDA:

1. Share your story with peer editor.

2. Return Mudbound, go down to library for Bloodsucking Fiends

3.HMWK:  Read through Ch. 8 in Bloodsucking Fiends

Christopher Moore on Vampires and Writing

Read and respond with a comment to Christopher Moore interview.  What is your experience with contemporary vampire fiction?  Classical vampire fiction (Dracula)? Have you read Twilight or Anne Rice?
http://www.chrismoore.com/interviews/writing-the-vampire/


Videos:
http://www.watchmojo.com/video/id/8357/

Read first chapter online:
http://www.chrismoore.com/books/bloodsucking-fiends/


http://www.chrismoore.com/interviews/writing-the-vampire/



Watch the following videos and the videos on the video bar.
http://watchmojo.com/index.php?id=8330

http://watchmojo.com/index.php?id=8357 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bhb744dw18

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/22/the-new-vampires-9-possib_n_620202.html#s103541 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBsNmM3ADp0&feature=related

Peer Editing

Peer Editing for the Short Story

To the Editor(s): Please write your name in the table. Please consider what kind of feedback you would like to receive and try to offer the same quality of feedback to your classmates. Follow the steps carefully, providing attention to detail to help the writer. Don’t limit yourself to this box: feel free to write in the body of the paper! Read the work slowly, putting checks by the more effective parts of it and putting question marks by the parts that are unclear to you. Circle any spelling or capitalization errors, and note any other mechanical problems by underlining or circling.

COMPLIMENTS:	Editor Name
General Reaction – 1.Read your classmate's short story thoroughly to understand its ideas. Write comments that address your first impressions about it. 2a. Does the plot make sense? Is it well organized? 3. Has it fulfilled the assignment of using historical fiction with three voices?	1. 2 3.
After reading the story, what are you thinking about? In other words, what has the author forced you to contemplate? (What’s the message that you come away with?)
Is the main character believable ? *What can the author add to make this character more believable? What elements or parts don't work with your expectations of the character? Are all the secondary characters all necessary? Explain. Please indicate where you might be confused about what characters are doing or saying. The writer will need to clarify this in their revision.
Consider the PLOT. Describe the main conflict. Does the story’s plot lead to a climax, or a point of no return? How has the main character been presented with obstacles? (Please describe.) How can this be made more effective? What could be added to make it clearer?
Comment on the author’s: Dialogue. Does it flow? Is it believable? Does it move the story forward? Check for punctuation and mechanics. Sensory imagery & description writing. You should always be clear on setting and what characters are doing or experiencing. You should feel like you are there! Is there enough of either? Too much? Do you find yourself in their story’s world?
Which parts of the story detract from the story? What is unnecessary?
Suggestions: Offer the writer at least two specific suggestions that might help him or her to improve the story. Think of questions you had while reading: Did it make sense? Were you able to follow along? Was the story developed? Did the ending get confusing or feel rushed? Are all parts developed with balance? Did you understand what the author’s point was? This part of the peer editing process is super important. Please really think about your suggestions. “It was perfect” or “Great!” are not suggestions. “Fix your grammar” or “Fix your sentences” isn’t really helpful. Be specific.	1 2