Reality is Overrated. Write.

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Two Sentence Horror Stories

Trending today is a challenge to write two sentence horror stories.

Search for the term "Two Sentence Scary Stories", read some examples, and give it a shot.

https://www.boredpanda.com/short-scary-two-sentence-horror-stories/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

http://justsomething.co/20-terrifying-two-sentence-horror-stories-that-make-you-hold-your-breath/

https://www.indiatimes.com/lifestyle/self/27-twosentence-horror-stories-thatll-keep-you-awake-all-night-long-233026.html

New York Times 2018-19 Student Contest Calendar

https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/learning-contests

Attendance Question: Where should a Transgender Student use the bathroom at our school?

From The New York Times:

'Transgender' Could Be Defined Out of Existence Under Trump Administration

The Trump administration is considering a legal definition of gender as immutable and fixed at birth, the most drastic in a series of moves against transgender people.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/21/us/politics/transgender-trump-administration-sex-definition.html


From Time Magazine:

http://time.com/5432091/gender-identity-transgender-hhs-memo/

On Cracking White City

On Cracking White City

The following oral history, recounted by James Farmer Jr., explains how the

Committee of Racial Equality (which later became the Congress of Racial Equality)

successfully integrated the Jack Spratt Coffeehouse in Chicago in 1941.

We went in with a group of about 20 — this was a small place that seats 30 or 35

comfortably at the counter and in the booths — and occupied just about all of the

available seats and waited for service. The woman was in charge again. She ordered

the waitress to serve the whites who were seated in one booth, and she served them.

She ordered the waitress to serve two whites who were seated at the counter, and

she served them. Then she told the blacks, “I’m sorry, we can’t serve you, you’ll have

to leave.” And they, of course, declined to leave and continued to sit there. By this

time the other customers who were in there were aware of what was going on and

were watching, and most of these were university people, University of Chicago, who

were more or less sympathetic with us. And they stopped eating and the two people

at the counter she had served and those whites in the booth she had served were not

eating. There was no turnover. People were coming in and standing around for a few

minutes and walking out. There were no seats available.

So she walked over to two of the whites at the counter and said, “We served you.

Why don’t you eat and get out?” They said, “Well, madam, we don’t think it would be

polite for us to begin eating our food before our friends here have also been served.”

So a couple of minutes went by and she announced that she would serve the blacks,

the Negroes, which was the term used then, in the basement. We, of course, declined

and told her we were quite comfortable. She then said, “If all of the Negroes will

occupy those two booths in the back we will serve you there.” We declined again. She

said, “I’ll call the police.”

The Gandhian Motif

Then I said to her, “Fine, I think that might be the appropriate step.” By the

way, we, still following the Gandhian motif, had called the police in advance, being

completely open and above board, everything, in notifying the authorities. We called

the police department and told them what we were going to do. In fact, we read the

state civil rights law to them. They weren’t familiar with that. [Laughs] They assured

us that if we followed the pattern which we outlined to them over the phone, there

was nothing they could do to arrest us. They’d have no grounds for making an arrest

because we were within our rights to insist upon service. And we asked them if they

would see that we were served as they were obligated to do by law, but this they

would not do. No, they wouldn’t do that, but they wouldn’t arrest us.

Police Arrive

So we said, “Perhaps you should call the police.” She did. Two cops came a few

minutes later, looked the situation over, said, “Why, lady, what did you call us for?

I don’t see anybody here disturbing the peace. Everything seems to be peaceful.”

She said, “Won’t you throw these people out on the grounds that we reserve the

right to seat our patrons and would serve some of them in the basement?” The cop

didn’t know. He went to a telephone booth and made a call. I guess he was calling

headquarters to see if they could do that. He came out and said, “Nope, sorry, lady,

there’s nothing in the law that allows us to do that. You must either serve them or

solve the problem yourself.” And the cops then walked out. On the way out they

turned around and winked at us. [Laughs]

We stayed there until closing time and then got up and left and went back the

next day, a little bit earlier, and stayed until closing time. And so on. They then tried

again to negotiate — without success. We went back in, oh, several more times and

tied up the whole afternoon, tied up all the seats. They were doing no business at all.

Finally they cracked. The next time we went in, they served everybody. And

accepted money. Did not overcharge us. We then sent an interracial group, a smaller

group, in the next day. Everyone was served. We then sent an all-black group in and

they were served. We waited a week and sent another black group in, and they were

all served. We sent individual blacks in and they were all served without any problem.

So we then wrote them a letter thanking them for their change in policy.

“Prelude,” from My Soul Is Rested by Howell Raines, copyright © 1977 Howell Raines.

Reading Conference Ideas

Some Suggestions for conference topics:

Why did you choose this book?

What does the cover of the book tell you about what you may find inside it?

Find at least one song that the main character of your book would listen to. Explain how the lyrics and music relate to the character. Be as detailed as possible in your connection.

Discuss how the following terms apply to your novel.
Exposition
Dialect
Topic
Rising Action/Conflict
Narration
Tone
Climax
Protagonist
Theme
Falling Action
Antagonist
Static
Resolution
Dynamic

Consider how doubles and repetitions are used in these novels. Where do events and characters mirror each other? What is the effect of this symmetry and its variations?

Discuss the way the author poses the male-female relationships in the novels? Do you find the gender roles and relationships believable?

Think about the Literature you have read throughout your school years. Identify similarities between those literary pieces and the novel you read for this assignment. How are the characters similar? Are there similar themes or plot styles?

Can you identify any connections between the time periods in which they were written?

Choose a person/character in your book. Tell whether you would want her/him for a sibling, parent, friend, partner.

Identify the book’s intended audience. Explain why the book is geared to this particular type of person.

I really don't understand the part where . . .

I really like/dislike this idea because . . .

This character reminds me of somebody I know because . . .

This character reminds me of myself because . . .

I think this setting is important because . . .

This scene reminds me of a similar scene in (title of book/movie/T.V. show) because . . .

I like/dislike this writing because . . .

This part is very realistic/unrealistic because . . .

I think the relationship between ______and ______ is interesting because . . .

This section makes me think about . . .

I like/dislike (name of character) because . . .

This situation reminds me of a similar situation in My own life. What happened was . . .

If I were (name of character) at this point, I would…

What is the reading level of this book for you?

How long do you think it will take you to complete the book?

Has anything like this ever happened to you?

What does this text/story remind you of?

What questions do you have about the text?

Compare characters:

– from this story, or

– from this story and another story by the same author.

How is this story like/different from another story that you have read?

Predict what will happen next.

Describe a favorite scene from the story.

What did you like/not like about this story?

If you could change one part of the story, what would it be?

If you were one of the characters, how would you have acted differently?

Describe the setting of your story.

Tell about the author’s writing style.

What was the best part of the story?

Do you know someone who acts like one of the characters in your book? How they are alike.

Draw A Wolf - Two Wolves Parable