Modern Library Writer's Workshop

The Modern Library Writer's Workshop was one of the most helpful books I have read on writing. It addressed so many different aspects of writing, like getting started, characters, style, and producing a finished piece. The very first aspect of this book I noticed was the commentary from different authors. This was one of my favorite parts of the book. My favorite author, Ray Bradbury, was utilized numerous times throughout the book. For example, on page 8, Bradbury describes how he gets his writing ideas from free association. I think it is really interesting to see the process that famous authors use to write.

Chapter one proved to be a very helpful chapter for me. The biggest problem that I have with creative writing is getting started. I can never come up with an idea or topic that I want to write about. Chapter one gave some great advice about getting started with writing, for instance, find a story in your childhood. The author, Stephen Koch, says that if you have a good imagination you will move past the chosen event in your childhood and create something unique. This is a piece of advice I am definitely considering for my upcoming writing. I have so many vivid memories from childhood and I think that any one of them would make a great story.

There were two other sections of the book that I found to be really interesting and helpful. The first part was on page 159 when Koch talked about authors that were single drafters. I can not even imagine how an author can write an entire novel and have it ready to be printed without editing and producing numerous drafts. Kurt Vonnegut and John Updike were two of the single drafters mentioned. It's pretty remarkable that they are able to complete their work in one draft. I know I could never do that!

The final section I found really interesting was on page 174, "The 10-Percent Solution." Simply stated, this solution requires the writer to eliminate 10-percent of his or her work. It seems like a pretty easy solution, but for me, I think it would be difficult going back through my work and eliminating aspects of it. Luckily, Elmore Leonard created a check list that I find helpful. He says to go back through your work and cut out anything that makes your eyes glaze over or does not hold your interest.

Overall, this entire book provided valuable writing information. Whether you are a novice at writing fiction or an expert, I think that the book had something for everyone.

On another note, I read the link that Professor Kist sent to us this morning about the teacher in Australia using facebook. I found the article to be fascinating. I can honestly say that I was surprised that his current students had contacted former ones and asked them for help on an upcoming exam! I guess this is just something else that we as teachers need to keep in mind when we are using social networking in the classroom! I also read and commented on another blog entry that the teacher in Australia wrote about helpful iPhone applications for teachers. I never considered using a cell phone as a tool to help me manage things like my lectures (using a voice recording software).

Hungry Minds: Tales from a Chelsea soup kitchen

I really enjoyed this article. I found it fascinating that a writer's workshop was taking place in a soup kitchen. I think that this shows that writing happens everywhere, not just in a classroom. Another interesting part to this article was the fact that everyone who participated produced such beautiful pieces of literature. It was amazing to see that a lot of this writing was also published in various writing mediums. For example, Donald had an opinion piece published in the "Op-Ed page of the Times" (page 3). I also liked that at the end of the last session of the writer's workshop each year a public reading is held. I think that this public reading makes everyone who participated feel like they have accomplished something. Their work is even printed and bound into an anthology.

Something else that I noticed in this article was the fact that the homeless who participated in the workshop had so much to say. Each and every person had a unique story. Donald wrote his entire memoirs of being homeless, William wrote about an intergalactic battle among God, and Norm who wrote a poem entitled "On Achieving Section 8 Housing." Everyone had lived through different experiences and these experiences helped to shape them as writers. Again, this article showed me how successful writers workshops are. I would love to incorporate a unit on writers workshops into my classroom. This article showed how successful that they can be.

Aside from this article, I have been reading a lot of Edgar Allan Poe. For my unit I am teaching "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat." I recently bought a large anthology of his works and have been really getting into his stories! I especially like "Murders in the Rue Morgue," which is also considered one of the first modern detective stories. And just today, I bought a comic book/graphic novel that is based off of his stories "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Fall of the House of Usher." If I ever teach either of these stories I think it would be fun to bring in the comics and show my students how artists portray the two stories.

Ms. Pyles and the Freedom Writers

On Friday, September 16th, our class had Ms. Pyles come in and speak. Ms. Pyles has taught at the Portage-Geauga County Juvenile Detention Center. She really told some fascinating stories about her experiences there. Ms. Pyles appeared to have had an amazing time there. She talked about really connecting with the kids and caring for them. At the same time, her job seems very tough. There are kids constantly coming in and out of her class and there are fights. Although her job seemed tough, she was still able to gain her students respect. One way she did this was through journaling. She provided her students with journals in which they could write down their thoughts and feelings. She kept these journals private. No other teacher, administrator, or parent was allowed to read them. This helped her students to really feel like they could be honest and truly write about how they felt. I think that journaling is a great concept that should be incorporated into classrooms. If a student is having a particularly good day, they can write about it. If a student is having a bad day, they can vent about it.

Aside from journaling, Ms. Pyles provided useful teaching tips on her PowerPoint that can be used in any surrounding, whether it be a detention center or a typical school setting. For instance, I really liked the Peanut Game! I think that this game could be used in so many situations. She used it to teach about respecting others, but I think that I would use it with creative writing. In order to write creatively, it helps to use as many details as possible. This activity could help by providing students with lists of adjectives that they could use in their writing.

I also enjoyed her discussion about her experience at the Freedom Writers Institute. She provided some interesting information about the Institute. For example, there are only 150 original Freedom Writer teachers because that was the number of students that Erin Gruwell had. Ms. Pyles also read a few excerpts from the book, Teaching Hope. I thought that some of the excerpts were really good, but by the third one I was ready to move on! Overall, I thought the presentation was put together really well. She not only discussed the Freedom Writers Organization, she also included her real life classroom into the presentation.