Neewspaper Inspired Writing

I found a headline and a small piece of an article about Michael Brown. The headline said "Witness: Brown was shot 'like an animal". The article went on to describe what the officers version of events was, and then what a witness had described. This story really intrigued me because I think it is so important for us as Americans to recognize the racial problems that still occur everyday. I thought it was so interesting that one incident like this could cause such a huge uproar in Ferguson. What the officer did was very wrong, whether his side of the story was true or not, he still shot an unarmed man six times. It has never been and will never be necessary to shoot at someone six times in a row to subdue them.


I also found a horoscope for Leo's that said "Struggle. Without it, you would never fully realize your potential." and it made me think about how our struggles shape who we are.

Six Word Memoirs

Grew up bored, ready for adventure.

Harris Burdick Inspired Story

The Map


"We have to go!"


"No."


"Don’t you wanna find out?"


"Well yeah but...”


"But nothing! We're going!"


Sam turned away from John and started rummaging through his room for "supplies".


 


"So... you guys think this is a good idea too?" John stuttered.


Of course we do! Think of the stories we'd get to tell!" Tim yelled over the now blaring stereo on the dresser.


"Fine... I guess we're going..."


 


After what seemed like hours of packing, Sam was finally done. He had two backpacks filled with spare clothes, matches, a pocket knife, an expired twinkie, and a partly squished bottle of water. The three boys got up from the bed, looking dizzy from all of their daydreaming, and joined Sam at the window. One by one, they all climbed out the old wooden frame and onto the cold mildewy lawn.


John looked worried. “What if the old man was lying?”


“Why would he lie to us?” Ben mumbled.


“You aren’t supposed to trust strangers, that’s why!”

 “John, you worry too much.”

Sam unfolded the small piece of notebook paper. “Go to the edge of James Park and follow the trail until you get to the old shed by Mr. Samson’s house.”

“That’ll take at least an hour!” Ben argued

“Then we’d better get started.” Tim said, obviously annoyed.

 

They talked excitedly for the first thirty minutes of the walk. But as it got later, they fell silent. Sam thought about the old man. Why did he choose such an odd group of boys to trust with such a big task? What if John was right and this was all a lie? Sam decided it was best to not think like that, because if there was an answer, he’d find it there.

                When they made it to the shed, it smelled like mold and was so rotted it could fall any second. Ben stepped inside first and noticed what seemed like just a random pile of wood.

 “Tim go in and help Ben” Sam said. Tim moved uneasily into the shed and helped remove the large pile of rot.

“There’s wheels too!” Ben yelled over the loud thump from the wood hitting the dirt.

“Let’s try to make something, he said we’re gonna need this”

They worked together struggling to piece together the mess, until they stepped back and admired their work. It was a cart, for a railroad. With a large sail hanging at the top.

Sam looked excitedly over to the tracks by the water. “Let’s go.”

Writers as Readers

1. To be comfortable when I'm reading, I need a small, warm and dark place.  There has to be some sort of other sound going on to cancel out the white noise, like the roar of a fire or the whirl of a fan.  I like to have a drink and some little snack like crackers to munch on while I read.




5. I read a book last year called "Bitter End" about a girl who gets in a relationship with a seemingly nice guy but the longer they date, the more abusive he becomes. I read it in less than two days because it was so suspenseful I couldn't put it down. I had to Trudge through the book "The Compound" because the first half of the book was so long and boring but by the end of the book it became one of my favorites.


10. I believe people aren't just moved into action by some fantasy novel series, they were people who already had these sort of tendencies.  They would do bad things whether they read "occult glorifying" books or not.


8. A few years ago I read over 60 hours for a summer book program at my library and as a prize I got to pick out a book out of this box.  I grabbed this brand new book called "Nightshade" with the authors signature on the inside cover. I was embarrassed that it was a fantasy book all about wolves and scary creatures but I loved how the author created strong female characters instead of some sappy love story about a young girl who's sad and some boy comes and makes all her problems go away.


4. When I was a little kid, my siblings and I would tape blankets over our beds to create big forts that we could crawl into. We would take snacks, drinks, blankets, and little flashlights into the bed-forts and have "reading clubs". I loved reading all snuggled up and warm with the dim lights of the flashlights.

I Am the Caged Bird

 The caged bird sings
with sorrow in his voice
and pain in his heart

I sing for freedom
longing to be let go
I am the caged bird

The caged bird watches
behind his bars
the world he cannot touch

I dream of leaving
being part of the world
I am the caged bird

Dream Threads

One second I saw black, and the next I was running.  I don't even know what I was running from, but I didn't stop.  All I could see was a blur of fire and smoke stinging my eyes and making me cough.  I finally stopped when I came to a dead end but I soon realzied the walls were shrinking and closing in on me.  My only way out was to run back the way I came.  I sprinted back down the hall, the brick walls getting closer and closer.  They started hitting my skin, scraping and cutting deeper and deeper as the walls came closer.  Finally, a hole pops up in the ground, and I jump inside.

Maya Angelou Questions

9.  Angelou plays solitaire with a deck of cards to occupy her "small mind" when she is trying to get focused to write.  What things do you do to occupy your small mind in a positive way?  What are your biggest distractions when you need to get something done?

When I need to occupy my "small mind", I always play music and sometimes i even have to turn the tv on at the same time so my mind can focus.  I often get distracted when I have to get something done, I think about exercising or making food or what I'm gonna wear tomorrow; anything but what i'm supposed to be doing.


3.  Angelou says she doesn't even like to talk about her bad dreams because talking about them "gives them too much power."  Do you think talking about bad dreams or bad news or other bad things (or feeding into the "drama" at school or in life) gives those bad things more power?  When have you known this to happen?

I think discussing bad dreams or bad experiences helps to get rid of the strong feellings you have towards them.  The more I tell a bad story, the easier it gets to say.  But, it's better to try and focus on happy feelings and good dreams so that you can stay positive.  The only way you can give those bad things power is by submitting to those feelings instead of digesting them and moving on.

5. After going through a major trauma at age seven, Angelou didn't talk for almost five years.  Could you live this way?  Do you talk too much or too little? What could you learn if you listened more and spoke less? How could you grow as a person by speaking more?

I definitely wouldn't be able to live as a "mute".  When i was in seventh grade, we would play a game where everyone would go silent and the last person to speak is the winner. I always lost within minutes.  Talking is the main  way people express their feelings and opinions and I don't think I could survive without being able to speak my mind.  I do talk a little too much, sometimes I ramble on and on to people.  If i spoke less and actually listened to other people's opinions i would learn a lot more and become more instightful.  I definitely would grow as a person if i spoke more. I am very shy and quiet, I'm barely able to talk to the cashier at the store. 

10.  Angelou quotes Nathaniel West as saying, "Easy reading is damned hard writing" and says writing is "just hard work, you know?"  Do you agree with this?  What is easiest and hardest to you about writing?  Is writing hard work?

Writing is very hard work. Writing down sentence after sentence is easy, but "to write well, to write so that a reader thinks she's making up the book as she goes along, that's hard".  I think creating an idea in your head is easy, but actually trying to get it down on paper the way you imagined it is extremely difficult.

Paint Chip Poem

Flaming roasted peppers lay on the small plate
garnished with spicy paprika and oregano
Flamingo lily's sit in a bouquet on top of the dinner table
A sweet grapefruit drink waiting for her to drink
Coral cape primroses sit atop the balcony in little pots
Looking over you see the south sea shimmering in the sunset

Warm Caramel

Warm fireplace

Awful weather but we dont care

Rewatching the same christmas movies

Making snowmen in the cold

Cookies and hot cocoa

Apple cider with christmas dinner

Rolos and kisses in the candy jar

Apple pie and icecream for dessert

Melting candles smelling like cinnamon

Everything decorated red and green

Life during christmas time

Frozen Vanilla in the Garden

melting vanilla

in the summer garden

hot sun in the sky