12 Ways To Write A Sentence With Sam

1. Madelyn Ross is the queen of her district. - The Simple Sentence. A simple sentence conveys one set of information and begins with the subject.
2. And now she's gone. - The Very Short Sentence. Must be 5 words or fewer, has more impact on the reader.
3. “You’ve always underestimated me.” - The Power Sentence. Must be 12 words or less, good for if you waffle a bit
4. I've seen it all. Murder, Magic, and Mystery. - The Red, White, And Blue. List three things with commas to show you have several ideas about a topic.
5. Slowly, she approached the door. - The Adverb Start. Begin your sentence with an adverb to interest your reader.
6. After her graduation, she never wanted to see the school again. - Begin with a proposition to determine a time or place.
7. Hoping to see her friends again, she wandered the empty hall. - The ING Start. Begin your sentence with a verb ending in -ING
8. Defeated, she left empty-handed. - The ED Start - Begin your sentence with a verb ending in ---ED for a "punchy" start.
9. She was very impulsive; her flaws were her ultimate demise. - The Semi-Colon. Remove the conjunction of a sentence to make it easier to read.
10. Magics--one of the hardest subjects--was the most popular topic at the school. - The Em Dash. Drop a phrase in the middle of a sentence that competes with the rest.
11. While she was smart, her friend wasn't the brightest. - The W-Start Sentence. Not much to explain here.
12. Saiton Prep, a school known to very few, was sister schools with Ruinross. - Explore The Subject. State the subject, say something interesting about it, and then finish the original sentence.

I'm A Writing Pro... Crastinator

Task: Write 50-100 words to describe a character, just writing about their appearance.

You’d often see Avery strutting down the halls with her crimson curls bouncing along behind her. The shine was so fake and the deep colour easily contrasted her pale skin. She’d wear some version of the 50s pinup dresses, once again in her iconic crimson hue. Deeper red embellishments line most of her dresses, matching whatever heels or flats she’d wear. She seemed confident in whatever deep makeup she’d cake on at 5 am that morning. (mood)

Task: Write 50-100 words to flesh out character descriptions from 2 different viewpoints

People noticed different things about Ellie. Her classmates would note her silence in classes, the way she hunched over her work. They would question her abstinence from others. She’d hide at the back of the room, never leaving her dorm. But ask the right person and you’ll hear about her… less quiet manner. They’d note her eye twitching, avoiding eye contact, when you say the wrong thing or the way she wrings her hands mid-conversation.

Task: Write 50-100 words using metaphor to describe a character

Madelyn is often described as the ticking time bomb of her friend group. One push over the edge, and she’ll explode. But leave her standing, stranded on the edge and she’ll fall on her own. She’s a double edged sword. Being her friend is impossible but being her enemy will leave you dead.

Task: Write 50-100 words to introduce a character with their mannerisms body language

Long strides paint Avery in grace. With her shoulders rolled back, she walks in confidence. With her head held high, she’ll stand her ground, stubborn until the very end. With her chest held out, her voice a siren in silence. The room falls quiet when she enters, both a blessing and a curse.

Task: Write 50-100 words to describe a character using their actions

It was easy to see why she loved Ellie so dearly. It was in the small things, like the small post-it notes you’d find on your pillow, knowing she’d left them. Or the strange collection of novelty mugs she owned. The small things she’d make you see, feel, or believe. How her eyes softened when she knows she’s losing an argument, the look going straight to your pride. 

Task: Write 50-100 words to show character through what they say (and don’t say) in their dialogue

“What? Am I the problem now?” She crosses her arms, shoulders roll back. If she can make herself as big as possible, maybe she can scare them.

“Madelyn, we both know that’s not what I said.” She fights not to scream they’re wrong, despite knowing how wrong she really is. “If you’d just listen-”

“I am listening!” She interrupts them, overlooking the overwhelming irony.

Task: Write 50-100 words to use comparison to highlight key differences between characters

Avery and Ellie are as similar as the night is to the day. They’re the definition of opposites attract. Even down to the colour of the clothes. Make them move in together and watch how quickly half the house falls apart while the other stays immaculate. Avery is the kind of person to have 5 separate versions of the exact same outfit, while Ellie will wear something until she physically no longer can.

Task: Write 50-100 words to show a particular setting through a particular character 

I hated my dorm room after becoming head girl. Seeing ‘Madelyn’ carved in gold plating every day after returning from classes did not help whatever superior complex I had going on at the time. Avery had a canopy before me, so it only felt necessary to hang my own, green version, above the bed. But it felt… wrong. To again compare myself to Avery, my room was surprisingly bare? I never put up pictures and wasn't interested in anything enough to have posters.

Task: Write 50-100 words to show a specific time (time of year and or time of day or night) for a setting

The halls are impossibly quiet during the night. With a lack of movement, you’d be able to hear isolated footsteps from the opposite end of the dorms. The chirping of cicadas died out hours ago and the rays of moonshine is the only light left. The beams seep through each window, the scattered stained glass benefiting the most.

Task: Write 50-100 words to use setting to reflect a character’s nature

Avery’s room is immaculate. The second she discards anything it’s sorted appropriately. Her floor is spotless, the carpet stainless. Her walls are colour in crimson and cream, covered in framed photos of her friends and family. They’re laid out in perfection, unwilling to let them askew. Here are four words.

Task: Write 50-100 words to use the senses to evoke a sense of place

The school looked so much like a standard castle, no wonder nobody could tell it was a school. It’s pale pink exterior was ancient and wearing away, the rough bricks feeling as though they could crumble under your fingertips. The inside is the complete opposite. The grounds were covered in fresh grass and freshmen. The fresh smell of cut grass wafts around the school. Numerous sounds of bustling students overthrow the faint smells of the aging walls. 

Task: Write 50-100 words to describe a setting to create a certain mood

The floorboards creak with each and every movement. The wind whistles outside the window, spinning and swirling through dead branches. Cracked paint is peeling off of the wall, a real sense of age seeping through the sight. Dust collects on the windowsills, almost entirely changing the pale creamy-white colour.

Task: Write 50-100 words to describe a setting to make readers ask ‘what happens next?’ 

The main courtyard was quiet. The passive wind swept past my ears, taking a hold on my hair. Concrete and cobblestone was cracked and scarred under my feet. But the grass seemed welcoming. I wasn’t afraid of my heels sinking into the soften dirt. A light… purple glow emits from around the corner. It’s screaming my name. It’s telling me I have to go.

Task: Write 50-100 words to describe a character, a goal for them, and 2-4 conflicts they may face.

All Maddie wanted was closure. That’s all she ever wanted. Her childhood was screwed over by someone she thought loved her and now she wants closure. Per her nature, she may not have the most moral way of doing that. The consequences wouldn’t be so black and white. Her new friend, on the other hand, is literally her moral compass… The same moral compass she tends to ignore.

Task: Write 50-100 words to create a character who has a goal and a character who opposes their goals.  

Nobody loves their pasts. Everyone has their regrets. Ellie is the epitome of that idea. She’s the embodiment of that feeling of anxiety that rushes through you when you remember your mistakes and downfalls. She spends every waking hour trying to demolish this past, but that’s kind of hard when you’re dating the living reminder that you messed up.

Task: Write 50-100 words to list 2-4 things that will raise the stakes for your character on their way to reach their goal.

Okay, so, Maddie’s dad is trying to kill her and her family. So. That’s pretty bad. But, at the same time, she’s trying to fit into her new school and overcome her almost crippling post-traumatic stress disorder. All the while, she’s also learning how to handle her newly found magic.

Task: Write 50-100 words to list 2-4 things that will make your character interesting and will make the reader ask questions about them

Throughout the original story, Madelyn tends to have a lot of very vague nightmares and memories. They get more and more detailed as cohesive as the story goes on. She’s very impulsive and you never really know how she’s going to react or how she’ll act in most given situations.

Task: Write 50-100 words to list 2-4 conflicts for your character 

In this weird sequel that I made, which is based around the same time as my creative writing story, Maddie kills someone one of her friends was close to. She took advantage of Ellie and dragged Avery down with her. So Ellie is stuck in this moral dilemma where she’s like, do I take the road I know is best or do I stick it out because where friends. One of my favourite lines from this is literally "I am not scared of you, Madelyn. I'm not scared of who you've become. But after all of these years, the nine long years that I've known you, I'm scared of hating you."

Task: Write 50-100 words to list 2-4 secondary sources of tension for your character

Well, Avery likes girls, and her family being her family doesn’t like that. So she’s forced into hiding, she’s stuck in her own moral dilemma, trying to please for family. All the while, she’s trying to maintain her good grades and be the year representative/head all at the same time.

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway...

...wrong song...

Okay, so I can't say this is our first performance but it's our first ever music assessment. Ever!

So I'm working with Kiera, Nadia and Stacey. We are doing James Bay's 'Let It Go.' From what I'm aware of, the song is about a relationship that is only staying together for the sake of being in a relationship. Bay suggests they break up and let bygones be bygones. 
For the sake of getting an excellence, we are doing harmonies during the chorus and bridge. Nadia sings the low, Stacey sings the tune, and Kiera and I are singing the high.
I believe our biggest challenge will be the cohesion and balance of our group because we all have very clashing personalities and stage presences.

What The Frick Is An Epistrophe

Step 1-
I am ready to learn because I have my laptop and am fully aware that we are
learning creative writing language features to effectively use in our creative writing.
Step 2-
My learning goals are to finish at least 14 slides and to learn new language features.
Step 3-
To engage in the connectivist learning process, I will need the
slides we've been sent and my laptop :)
Step 4- 
My learning went not as well as I hoped. Honestly? I got distracted and
wasn't as focused as I could have been.
Next time I will focus more carefully on the work set and not as much
on my friends

...So I got bored and did all of them. However, it's possible none of them make any sense :) I'm sorry in advanced

What is Your Why?

Barely two weeks in, we are hitting the ground running. Our main focus so far has been our 'Kaupapa' or our 'why.' Why have we made what we have made? What is the purpose, the concept? 

So, as level one students, we had to choose artists and themes from this matrix:

This year, I'd like to focus on...
From the first list - Shane Cotton & Lisa Reihana. 
From the second list - Roy Lichtenstein & Yoshitomo Nara
And from the last list, I'd like to focus on the sports design/photography line, inspired by artists like Rinko Kawauchi and the Photo Roman video I watched

These are my ideas!

    Sorry about my handwriting, but basically I'd like to use photography as the main medium but combine it with other mediums such as printing and painting.
     I'd like my subjects to be centred around people and dark figures, maybe combining them with other things to give more meaning. As a plan b, or something else, I'd like to incorporate things like cameras or very decade-base items.
     After some more thought, my kaupapa may be more around things such as equality, seeing things through others' perspectives, changes in point of views, changes in values etc. and I hope to use my medium and my subjects to present these ideas.

Actor Training

What is grit? Grit is almost like resilience, I meant this in the way you'd choose to stick to something, the perseverance and passion one has for any given task or job. 'Grit' has a direct link to success in life, more so than aspects of talent.

So what are we actually doing?
So far, we have been training ourselves in the world of viewpoints. With the strange movement, we're slowly learning to do "weird shit," thanks guys, without freaking out or feeling strange. Viewpoints follow things like Spatial Relationships, Architecture, Floor Pattern, Shape, Gesture, Kinaesthetic response, Repetition, Duration, and Tempo