Thirty+Day+Writing+Challenge

__ What: __
The Thirty Day Writing Challenge is a grade-wide activity designed to exercise and extended eighth graders' creative writing skills. Students are required to participate. Writing entries will be spot-checked, but will be graded largely for completion. Each entry can be on a topic of your choice, but sample prompts will be posted here each day to inspire you. You may write about anything you choose. Write about all of the prompts, none of the prompts, or only a few of the prompts. Write about each prompt in order, or mix them up! The choice is up to you!

__ Where: __
Writing should be completed each day, but entries will not be checked on a daily basis. Please write in a manner that is comfortable for you. Some students have decided to type their writing each day, others prefer to hand write. There are very few requirements governing how or where you write, just write! However, please make sure that you can submit your writing to Mrs. Bandeian on a regular basis either electronically or in hard copy. On school days when we have designated time for free writing during class, you may use our in-class writing time to compose that day's entry.

__ When: __
The Writing Challenge officially began on Wednesday, February 12th and will extend until Friday, March 14th. Since February only has twenty-eight days, we'll need to write daily until March 14th to make sure that we have completed a full thirty days.

__ Why: __
When you free write you improve your faculty with words and strengthen your voice as a writer. You also allow yourself to explore your opinion on an issue without the burden of self-censoring your thoughts before they are fully formed. Finally, you become more adept at using writing as a tool to enhance your critical thinking skills. Ideally, by the end of this challenge you will develop the habit of expressing your thoughts and opinions in writing. Even if you don't use this valuable tool each and every day of your life, your ability to write fluidly and freely will become a skill that you can rely on in high school, college, and beyond.

__ How: __
//Each entry for the Thirty Day Writing Challenge should be:// - Your own creative writing composed on or after Wednesday, February 12th, 2014. - Roughly 250 - 500 words long (or longer, if you wish). // __**A NOTE ABOUT LENGTH:**__ Mrs. Bandeian will not be counting each and every word in each and every journal entry. Make a good faith effort to reach the 250 - 500 word mark. Two sentences will not be sufficient for a daily entry. A page to a page and a half of average handwriting per day is perfectly fine. Most people typically write 250 - 500 words in about ten minutes of continuous free writing. Set a timer for ten minutes, write without stopping until the timer stops, then call it quits for the day. //

//** Optional Daily Writing Prompts: **//
Day 1: Re-write a classic fairy tale swapping the genders of the main characters. Day 2: Write a piece of fan-fiction. Day 3: Write a story that takes place before 1950. Day 4: Write a poem using the words blue, mistrust, half, and twang. Day 5: Write a story revolving around an object in your room. Day 6: Start a story with: “S/He glanced at his/her watch impatiently…” Day 7: Create a superhero. Have him/her save the day. Day 8: Write a prequel to a Superhero story. Write about the individual’s life before he or she became a superhero. Day 9: Write a story about your favorite city. Day 10: Start a story with: “S/He touched the key in his/her pocket and smiled…” Day 11: Write a story in which the main characters go without power for a day. Day 12: Find ten random words and create your own definitions for each one of them. Day 13: Begin with “I thought I saw…” Day 14: Randomly find someone in your yearbook. Create a story about his or her life today. Day 15: Write about a stranger you see. Write either his or her back-story or what s/he is thinking in the moment you see him/her. Day 16: Go to iTunes, put your music on random. Write a story about the first song that comes up. Day 17: Use time travel in a story. Day 18: Write a story set in a ghost town. Day 19: Write an obituary for a historical figure. Day 20: Use these words in a story: grandfather, photo album, post office, and folder. Day 21: He or she sees his/her crush in a library. Describe the incident. Day 22: Write a story based on a dream you had. Day 23: Describe/fictionalize a childhood memory. Day 24: Write a story that takes place 100 years in the future. Day 25: Write a story about a mythical creature. Day 26: Write about the 30th picture on your phone or computer. Describe or make up the story behind it. Day 27: Write a story that takes place during a sporting event (any sport). Day 28: Write a story that takes place on a ship. Past, present, or future. == Day 29: Write a story about space. == Day 30: Write a story or a poem about ice. //BONUS - Day 31: Write a story or a poem about a fight between two colors.//