Out topic last class was the much-discussed topic of showing versus telling. After you did the “he is late again and drunk” exercise (written first by simply telling it and then rewriting it in “show” mode), I read to you from a couple of wonderful books on writing.
We, of course, then discussed the writing style of the writing manuals. The first book is a much-loved classic called Writing Down the Bones:Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. This was the Zen-philosophical approach to writing with a heavy dose of New Age thrown in. Interestingly, although she had some interesting points and talked about the importance of experience you pointed out that she told rather showed (even as she was talking about the importance of showing, telling isn’t it J ).
Many of you seemed to respond to the descriptive way that Betsy Lerner wrote in her book The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers. This was the excerpt I read:
The only place you’re likely to find more alcoholics than an AA meeting is a writing program. While I was in graduate school, a group of so-called cowboy poets were famous for going out every night and getting drunk, which invariably led to brawling or other crazy behavior, which they would then boast about in the writing lounge the next day, swigging down the tarlike coffee that must certainly be a staple of every writing department lounge. They would carouse and cheat on their girlfriends back home wherever that was. They cavalierly rolled their spiral notebooks (no fabric-covered journals for these cowboys) into the back pockets of their jeans as they swaggered into class, always late and always needing to borrow something: a pen, a lighter, an aspirin. They were young guys, getting off on their youth, their muscular poems, their own sense of reverie, as if they had personally discovered language. They took leaks wherever they like, marking the city and their haunts like a pack of dogs. (113-114)
The excerpt I finished the class on deepening and completing your work was from Louise deSalvo’s Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives.
I will post the details of the children’s books you looked at later in the week.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Editing your Personal Piece
Some of you may be finished your Personal Piece, others may be finishing it as we speak. I thought that this would be the perfect time to publish some of the ideas I talked to you about rewriting and the personal editing process during last class.
We have discussed how you all have very different ways of writing but not very many of you edit your work.
Here is one way of writing that is comprised of 4 different stages (3 of which are editing stages). The first stage is when you write your piece. Stage 1 is very simple: words on paper. During this stage you are in the "creative"/brainstorming/inspiration mindset. This is where you should just try to write as quickly as possible. Some of you may have planned everything out beforehand, others prefer to write spontaneously. Regardless of your preference, the idea here is to try not to censor your ideas or edit what you are writing.
That comes in the next stage. Yup. Welcome to Stage 2: reading what you have written. During this stage you are reading what you have written critically (but not actually editing yet). So, when you come across something that needs to be changed or does not make sense you mark it and then keep reading. That is the important part. Do not start engaging in the editing process yet. Finish reading your entire piece. Write all over it (I like to print out whatever I have written for Stage 2 and then mark it up with purple pen) but finish reading it, then you are finished with Stage 2.
Which means you are then in Stage 3 which is the brutal phase. This is the full-on editing phase when you have to cut and paste and get rid of the things you love most of all but are not important to the story and everyone else who reads your piece is bored by. Sigh. Stage 3 needs to be engaged in for short periods. This is the time when you may want to "map" your story out. This is also the time when you:
We have discussed how you all have very different ways of writing but not very many of you edit your work.
Here is one way of writing that is comprised of 4 different stages (3 of which are editing stages). The first stage is when you write your piece. Stage 1 is very simple: words on paper. During this stage you are in the "creative"/brainstorming/inspiration mindset. This is where you should just try to write as quickly as possible. Some of you may have planned everything out beforehand, others prefer to write spontaneously. Regardless of your preference, the idea here is to try not to censor your ideas or edit what you are writing.
That comes in the next stage. Yup. Welcome to Stage 2: reading what you have written. During this stage you are reading what you have written critically (but not actually editing yet). So, when you come across something that needs to be changed or does not make sense you mark it and then keep reading. That is the important part. Do not start engaging in the editing process yet. Finish reading your entire piece. Write all over it (I like to print out whatever I have written for Stage 2 and then mark it up with purple pen) but finish reading it, then you are finished with Stage 2.
Which means you are then in Stage 3 which is the brutal phase. This is the full-on editing phase when you have to cut and paste and get rid of the things you love most of all but are not important to the story and everyone else who reads your piece is bored by. Sigh. Stage 3 needs to be engaged in for short periods. This is the time when you may want to "map" your story out. This is also the time when you:
- should be saving your drafts as new documents
- all those beautiful bits you are cutting out, paste them into another document because 2 days later you may find another scene to stick them in so you will want a place where you can reach them easily. Failing that, you will want a sort of graveyard document where you can go and visit them
- spellcheck and grammar check your document (I do not want any unchecked documents handed in)
That is enough about Stage 3. I think you understand what I mean about this phase. Strangely enough, I am always loathe to start it but I love it once I am there.
Stage 4 is the final polishing stage when you make everything look pretty. Make sure that it is formatted properly. Make sure that there are no continuity problems (for example the same character is always the one who says "Yee haw" while the other one has the big sword).
So, those are the 4 stages. I look forward to hearing about your experience of the editing process over the next couple of weeks.
Partner Feedback
Lat week you all received detailed feedback from me on your Personal Piece Idea Forms and general writing style (loosely based upon the informal submissions you have handed in so far).
Next class, I will ask you to write your own form/list of questions to direct your Partner's feedback. Think back to the feedback sessions you have gone through in class, my feedback, your own writing process, how you feel about the Personal Piece you have written. What do you want your partner to read for?
Remember that when people read your work, unless you ask them very specific questions, you will probably get well-meant feedback that is not very useful ("Yah, I liked it" or simply a couple of grammar corrections which are good but is there something else you would have liked?) .
First, think about what you can realistically expect from feedback. Then, prioritze what is most important for you. Your partner's time is limited so it is only really acceptable to them to do 3-5 major things when they are reading your work.
For example your questions might look like this:
1. How would you have written the Greenguts' death scene on page 5 differently? (Then write some specific questions, no "yes" or "no" answers)
2. Did you notice any words or phrases I use repeatedly?
3. Were there any parts or paragraphs that you found confusing? Particular sentences that made no sense?
4. Which were your favorite three sentences (different sections)? Favorite scene?
5. I have been having a hard time writing the transition into the dream sequence. When you read it did it flow smoothly and was it obviously shifting in time and reality? Can you please pay attention to that bit on pages 9-10 and give me any suggestions?
I will ask all Partner's to write what they think your greatest strength was and one concrete suggestion for improvement so please do not include these as questions.
Next class, I will ask you to write your own form/list of questions to direct your Partner's feedback. Think back to the feedback sessions you have gone through in class, my feedback, your own writing process, how you feel about the Personal Piece you have written. What do you want your partner to read for?
Remember that when people read your work, unless you ask them very specific questions, you will probably get well-meant feedback that is not very useful ("Yah, I liked it" or simply a couple of grammar corrections which are good but is there something else you would have liked?) .
First, think about what you can realistically expect from feedback. Then, prioritze what is most important for you. Your partner's time is limited so it is only really acceptable to them to do 3-5 major things when they are reading your work.
For example your questions might look like this:
1. How would you have written the Greenguts' death scene on page 5 differently? (Then write some specific questions, no "yes" or "no" answers)
2. Did you notice any words or phrases I use repeatedly?
3. Were there any parts or paragraphs that you found confusing? Particular sentences that made no sense?
4. Which were your favorite three sentences (different sections)? Favorite scene?
5. I have been having a hard time writing the transition into the dream sequence. When you read it did it flow smoothly and was it obviously shifting in time and reality? Can you please pay attention to that bit on pages 9-10 and give me any suggestions?
I will ask all Partner's to write what they think your greatest strength was and one concrete suggestion for improvement so please do not include these as questions.
Final dates of the course
Just a reminder of the final dates of the course:
Your Personal Piece is due: May 31 (in class and via email)
Your Partner Feedback is due (via email sent to them and me): June 7 (no class)
You Portfolio is due: June 14 (this must include: 1 flash fiction, the 3 haikus, 1 memoir piece, your edited Personal Piece)
Participation Forms due (via email): June 20 (no class)
Last Class: June 28 (Schein signed please bring your forms)
Your Personal Piece is due: May 31 (in class and via email)
Your Partner Feedback is due (via email sent to them and me): June 7 (no class)
You Portfolio is due: June 14 (this must include: 1 flash fiction, the 3 haikus, 1 memoir piece, your edited Personal Piece)
Participation Forms due (via email): June 20 (no class)
Last Class: June 28 (Schein signed please bring your forms)
Thursday, May 3, 2007
New Posts: Rewriting Keroauc
Jack Keraouc, famous Beat writer from the 60s wrote haikus of a sort.
Like this:
Early morning yellow flowers,
thinking about
the drunkards of Mexico.
And this:
Nightfall,
boy smashing dandelions
with a stick.
And this:
Drunk as a hoot owl,
writing letters
by thunderstorm.
And, of course, this one:
Holding up my
purring cat to the moon
I sighed.
In class, we rewrote this poem so that it fit the traditional haiku 5-7-5 form. Here is the version I wrote alongside you in class (in the 2 or so minutes I gave you):
by Nadine Wills
Grandiose holding
purring cat up to the moon
stumbling I sighed.
Dear (brilliant) students, please send me your rewrites so that I can post them here as well.
24.04.2007
Benjamin Heidtmann
so courageous and brilliant
sent his rewrites first.
He wrote a number of rewrites, don't worry if you only have the cat purring one we did in class. The "more the merrier" as those of us like to say who are happy to use tired cliches :-) Thank you.
Rewriting Kerouac by Benjamin Heidtmann
Early morn sweet bloom
thoughts of Mexican drunkards
haunt these yellow fields
Stick in hand, smashing
dandelions. Without care,
the boy moves onwards
Thunderstorm outside,
intoxication rises
as I pour these words
Cat exposed, purring
held up to the wretched moon
my sigh goes unheard
By Raphael Awasty
Holding up my own
purring pussycat to the moon
I sighed grief-stricken
By Shilan Anderson
Moonlit purring cat
my arms outstreched i hold you
and sigh and sigh. Why?
By Rieke Jordan
As the purring cat
encountered the white moonlight
I tumbled and sighed.
By Helen Krueger
Holding up straight my
lonely old cat to the moon
I sigh in despair.
Isn't it interesting how many variations there are on these 3 simple lines that I gave you only a couple of minutes to rewrite? Notice that each subtle difference in word choice changes the tone and meaning of the poem quite dramatically.
Here are some more rewrites:
By Susi Hauner
Midnight sacrifice -
Held up, my cat purrs at the
moon's cold face. I sigh.
By Marsha Grant
Holding cat up to
the shining facade, the moon
I sighed too loudly
Like this:
Early morning yellow flowers,
thinking about
the drunkards of Mexico.
And this:
Nightfall,
boy smashing dandelions
with a stick.
And this:
Drunk as a hoot owl,
writing letters
by thunderstorm.
And, of course, this one:
Holding up my
purring cat to the moon
I sighed.
In class, we rewrote this poem so that it fit the traditional haiku 5-7-5 form. Here is the version I wrote alongside you in class (in the 2 or so minutes I gave you):
by Nadine Wills
Grandiose holding
purring cat up to the moon
stumbling I sighed.
Dear (brilliant) students, please send me your rewrites so that I can post them here as well.
24.04.2007
Benjamin Heidtmann
so courageous and brilliant
sent his rewrites first.
He wrote a number of rewrites, don't worry if you only have the cat purring one we did in class. The "more the merrier" as those of us like to say who are happy to use tired cliches :-) Thank you.
Rewriting Kerouac by Benjamin Heidtmann
Early morn sweet bloom
thoughts of Mexican drunkards
haunt these yellow fields
Stick in hand, smashing
dandelions. Without care,
the boy moves onwards
Thunderstorm outside,
intoxication rises
as I pour these words
Cat exposed, purring
held up to the wretched moon
my sigh goes unheard
By Raphael Awasty
Holding up my own
purring pussycat to the moon
I sighed grief-stricken
By Shilan Anderson
Moonlit purring cat
my arms outstreched i hold you
and sigh and sigh. Why?
By Rieke Jordan
As the purring cat
encountered the white moonlight
I tumbled and sighed.
By Helen Krueger
Holding up straight my
lonely old cat to the moon
I sigh in despair.
Isn't it interesting how many variations there are on these 3 simple lines that I gave you only a couple of minutes to rewrite? Notice that each subtle difference in word choice changes the tone and meaning of the poem quite dramatically.
Here are some more rewrites:
By Susi Hauner
Midnight sacrifice -
Held up, my cat purrs at the
moon's cold face. I sigh.
By Marsha Grant
Holding cat up to
the shining facade, the moon
I sighed too loudly
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Memoir Book Links
Here are links to the memoir excerpts that we read in class.
Dorothy Allison's writing was the one that seem to strike most of you, so here it is in full:
"Where I was born - Greenville, South Carolina - smelled like nowhere else I've ever been. Cut wet grass, split green apples, baby shit, cheap makeup and motor oil. Everything was ripe, everything was rotting. Hound dogs butted my calves. People shouted in the distance; crickets boomed in my ears. That country was beautiful, I swear to you, the most beautiful place I've ever been. Beuatiful and terrible. It is the country of my dreams and the country of my nightmares: a pure pink and blue sky, red dirt, white clay, and all that endless green - willows and dogwoods and firs going on for miles."
from her book Two or Three Things I Know for Sure.
The graphic novel/memoir was Blankets by Craig Thompson.
The book that I read a number of excerpts from and which was about memoir writing (an excellent resource), very well written with a number a great quotes and exercises is called Writing the Memoir: A practical guide to the craft, the personal challenges, and the ethical dilemmas of writing your true stories by Judith Barrington. Her memoir, which some of you read in class (she was looking at photos and remembering her time in Spain and eating tortillas with some male friends there) is called Lifesaving: A Memoir.
The excerpt that some of you read about the exchange student in Thailand who wrote very poetically about escaping her homestay family to go for a swim"in water so deep it's almost cold" in journal-like entries was by Karen Connelly called Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal. She wrote it when she was only 17 years old. I'm not sure if she rewrote it or if this is simply a reprint but there is a similar sounding book by her under another title called The Dream of a Thousand Lives.
The book which described a woman sitting tiredly on a wall watching some students and then turkeys walk by was by Kathryn Harrison about her journey on the Santiago de Compostela and is called The Road to Santiago.
Finally, the humorous excerpt about the brother's voice was by David Sedaris (one of the most well-known "funny" memoirists) from his book Me Talk Pretty One Day.
All of these writers are fabulous and it is well worth reading any of their work you come across.
Dorothy Allison's writing was the one that seem to strike most of you, so here it is in full:
"Where I was born - Greenville, South Carolina - smelled like nowhere else I've ever been. Cut wet grass, split green apples, baby shit, cheap makeup and motor oil. Everything was ripe, everything was rotting. Hound dogs butted my calves. People shouted in the distance; crickets boomed in my ears. That country was beautiful, I swear to you, the most beautiful place I've ever been. Beuatiful and terrible. It is the country of my dreams and the country of my nightmares: a pure pink and blue sky, red dirt, white clay, and all that endless green - willows and dogwoods and firs going on for miles."
from her book Two or Three Things I Know for Sure.
The graphic novel/memoir was Blankets by Craig Thompson.
The book that I read a number of excerpts from and which was about memoir writing (an excellent resource), very well written with a number a great quotes and exercises is called Writing the Memoir: A practical guide to the craft, the personal challenges, and the ethical dilemmas of writing your true stories by Judith Barrington. Her memoir, which some of you read in class (she was looking at photos and remembering her time in Spain and eating tortillas with some male friends there) is called Lifesaving: A Memoir.
The excerpt that some of you read about the exchange student in Thailand who wrote very poetically about escaping her homestay family to go for a swim"in water so deep it's almost cold" in journal-like entries was by Karen Connelly called Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal. She wrote it when she was only 17 years old. I'm not sure if she rewrote it or if this is simply a reprint but there is a similar sounding book by her under another title called The Dream of a Thousand Lives.
The book which described a woman sitting tiredly on a wall watching some students and then turkeys walk by was by Kathryn Harrison about her journey on the Santiago de Compostela and is called The Road to Santiago.
Finally, the humorous excerpt about the brother's voice was by David Sedaris (one of the most well-known "funny" memoirists) from his book Me Talk Pretty One Day.
All of these writers are fabulous and it is well worth reading any of their work you come across.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Due Week 4, May 10th - Memoir Piece and Personal Piece Form
So in our next class you have 2 things due. The first is you 250 word memoir piece. In it you should:
- explore a memory
- reflect on its broader meaning in your life (present self narrator looks back on past self)
- use of detail
- convey this detail through more than adjectives or long, fancy words
You personal piece form is also due (see the entry below). You don't have to write a lot, just choose a genre, estimate your length, start thinking about a partner, and your idea. Remember the actual personal piece is due May 31. Then you will spend the rest of the semester rewriting it, you don't have to worry about aiming for perfection in your first draft which is what you will hand in on May 31: "don't get it 'right' get it written."
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