AuthorRolePlay

Conversation #5 The process of getting to know your authors is often a slow one.  Like getting to know people in real life, it is a process of stripping away stereotypes, perceptions, and misconceptions you might have had, assuming you have heard of your author.  Since our authors come from different times and places, we are going to start the process of getting more inside of them and trying to take on their habits and personalities.  So, for this conversation, the focus is on starting to act like your character.  Make a short video - about 2- 5 minutes where your author gives his or her opinion about the his / her favorite author and the reasons for this choice.  Now, you may not be able to find out for certain and that is okay.  The key here is to match who this author is to what you think his/her favorite author might be by giving specifics and details that sound like they would fit your author.  For this video you do not have to dress ...

The State of the Short Story The following is from The Atlantic's "Why Does the Short Story Survive?"  in answering the question:  Has the short story has lost some of its currency as a popular form? For starters, entertainment changed: The short story, as people used to know it, was a popular entertainment in glossy magazines. Radio, movies and TV changed the landscape; narrative non-fiction has also filled some of the void. Then too, they're difficult: A short story, when it's good, doesn't draw you into a comforting world; it shakes you up. It's not,..., what you want to read before going to sleep: It's a different kind of intellectual and emotional commitment. On a basic level, I think people worry about finding a consistent collection, and even then, each story is going to be a new challenge. Rightly or wrongly, we live in a time that values escapism highly, and the short form provides something different. In your author's perspective,...

Conversation #3 This conversation will focus on your author's writing and stories.  Remember with the whole  exercise, you are aiming to get to know a particular writer by stepping in his/her shoes. So  you are you going have to balance research and fact and interpretation and speculation.   The goal here is to step into the writer's personality, not just the facts of the writer but  adapting the writer's speaker mannerisms, personality, attitudes, and values.   Please read the guidelines for this conversation carefully. For this conversation, do the following: 1.)   Review the prompts below and choose at least 3 to respond to. 2.)   Make sure you provide specifics from your author's writing and the short story collection that you read as you respond. 3.)   In your response you are welcome to add pictures, videos, links, etc. 4.)   Make sure you are speaking in first person in your author's point...

Greetings! For this conversation we are going to talk influences, writing, and books. Now that we have done introductions, hopefully we will have more back and forth conversations and you feel more comfortable with the personas you are stepping into. Please read the guidelines for this conversation carefully: 1.)  Review the prompts below and choose at least 3 to respond to. 2.)   Make sure you provide specifics from your author's life and writing as you respond. 3.)   In your response you are welcome to add pictures, videos, links, etc. 4.)   Make sure you are speaking in first person in your author's point of view. 5.)  Please respond to at least 3 other authors in this conversation, Conversation Prompts: a.)  What authors did you dislike at first but grew into? b.)  What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer? c.)  Does a big ego help or hurt writers? ...

Author Happy Hour This blog is where you will make all the author role-play discussion postings.  There will be 10 conversation prompts during the rest of the semester and you are required to participate in at least 8 of them. Make sure you are speaking in your author's voice and from your author's perspective and time period. We are going  to assume that all the authors (no matter the time period) all now know about the internet and the advantages its gives us.  So, have fun with your posts! As your author, feel free to share links about a conversation topic or add images or videos. Our first conversation is a getting to know you one.  We all  are going to just mingle and see who is here before getting too far into talking about stories.  So, come on in, grab an appetizer and introduce yourself to your fellow writers.  Please give the other writers some of the basic facts about you... a.) name b.) when you were ...