6 Word Memoirs (examples coming soon)
Assignment: Write about a memory that shaped your life in some essential way. Ask yourself, how does this memory help me understand who I am (both then and now)? Next, play with different ways of expressing the idea until you can pare it down to six words exactly. The original memory should not be obvious in the final product -- the more mysterious the line, the better. It only has to make sense to you, but, when done well, it will make the reader want to know more.
Blackout Poem (examples coming soon)
Assignment: Use a random page torn from a book to create a poem by blacking out with Sharpie the unnecessary words on the page.
Tanka Poem (examples coming soon)
Assignment: Tanka are 31-syllable poems. In English, they are usually divided into the five syllabic units: 5-7-5-7-7. Each line usually consists of one image or idea. We will write a tanka about the ephemerality of childhood and of expectations going into high school (or, of anything else the student would rather express).
Fable (example coming soon)
Assignment: Write a fable that hints at a moral message important to your worldview.
Hero's Journey Short Story (example coming soon)
Assignment: Use the 12 stages of the hero's journey, as outlined by Joseph Campbell, to tell a short story of your own.