The writing workshops are going well. Again, I am impressed with the level of smarts and respect and cleverness. The Sister sat in on the one for teens today and after, when we were sharing our observations, I mentioned to her that I've been in college workshops that weren't as insightful. Many moons ago, as a fresh-faced 13-year old babysitter I was told by a three-year old client, who must have thought a statement of mine carried facetious-intent, "Smarty had a party and nobody came." For the record: I would go to parties held by these smarties. They are going places, and it makes me feel proud that our lives intersected in this way. That is what keeps teachers teaching.
Teaching the workshop is interesting because I'm keenly aware of the different backgrounds and philosophies that come with homeschooling. To that end, I've structured the class very loose. It's rather refreshing that I'm being asked if they can turn in extra, rather than being asked to articulate the exact bare-mimum that is required. There's something to this whole: let them choose to learn/follow their passions business. It's inspiring to see it in action.
Again, this is a loosey-goosey, very casual thing, but here's most of the "syllabus":
Welcome to our creative writing workshop. Learning how to
workshop is a skill that will help you across many disciplines, as we focus on:
careful reading/listening, analyzing material (word choice, placement,
effectiveness of details, etc.), communicating ideas/observations/suggestions
in a specific/effective manner, and learning the importance of REVISION. Of
course, we will also talk about the craft of creative writing.
Schedule:
2/4: Bring your creative introduction/learn the wily ways of
workshopping
2/11: Assignment
#1 -- Group A will bring 6 copies; Group B will bring 1 copy
NOTE: No class on 2/18
2/25: Assignment #2 -- Group A will bring 1 copy; Group B will
bring 6 copies
3/4: Assignment
#3 -- Group A will bring 6 copies; Group B will bring 1 copy
3/11: Assignment #4 -- Group A will bring 1 copy; Group B will
bring 6 copies
3/18: Assignment #5 -- choice of bringing copies to workshop, or
turn in copy to me for feedback (I will mail it back to you)
The assignments:
At the beginning of each workshop we will have a mini-lesson
regarding the craft of writing. We will then workshop the pieces that are
scheduled for the day and have spontaneous mini-lessons throughout the
discussion. At the end of each workshop I will give an "assignment
suggestion." You are welcome to accept that suggestion, or not. What is important is that you bring a
new piece of writing to every workshop (five total).
Assignments should be typed. Your pieces being workshopped should be no longer than two pages, but there is no page limit to the pieces that you turn into me (within
reason – no novels, please).
Please remember to bring ____ copies on the day that you workshop.
After you receive feedback from the workshop, or from me, you
are welcome to revise the piece and turn it in to me again for additional
feedback (this just depends on how much you/your family want to get out of the
class... there is no expectation on my end). Please bring hardcopies
(i.e. printed on paper) for the five assignments. If you are getting additional feedback from me on a revised
piece you can either bring a printed copy or email me.
The portfolio:
This is for you, so you can do with it what you like. Here’s my
suggestion for what you should have in it/how you should organize it: for each
assignment have a) the assignment (either the one that I give you, or an
explanation of what your goal was before you began writing) b) your rough draft
that you do at home c) the draft that you turn in to me/bring to the workshop –
NOTICE that this is different than the one that you first push out – see
“Revision Process” below d) a draft with the suggestions that you were given
from me/the workshop/yourself as you were reading e) your “final” draft – what
you revise the piece into AFTER getting feedback from me/the workshop f) any
additional drafts that you decide to do. NOTE: I won’t see draft e or f unless
you choose to pass it along to me.
Revision Process:
How should the revision process work for anything that you
write? Here’s a very general
prescription:
1. Pre-writing:
clusters, lists, sitting at the computer and typing whatever comes to mind,
diagrams, jogging in the park and thinking, whatever.
2. Draft #1: this
is giving it your best shot without being too, too concerned. Some people refer
to this as the “cruddy draft” – there is no expectation here except to get some
ideas on the paper. Don’t be
overly concerned with being awesome, or being right, or even making sense.
3. Draft #2: take
your cruddy draft and do your very best to mold it into something awesome –
without TOO much stress. Look for
threads/themes that might have appeared magically that you can now do more
with, ask yourself what the most important idea is and if it’s there, read it aloud to
yourself and see if it works, reorganize lines/paragraphs to see if the
weight/placement works better, etc.
Edit – look for grammar issues (use a handbook or online if you have
questions with commas, vocabulary, etc.).
4. Get
feedback. This can be a
workshop/comments from an instructor or writing center/a friend or family
member
5. Consider all the
feedback and look at the draft again.
Often folks get lazy here and just incorporate a few of the
suggestions. That isn’t what’s
really supposed to happen. The
suggestions are supposed to spark new/better/more unique ideas within you. You should revise at this point with
great intent to change things up.
Remember this: don’t be afraid to revise. The “extra work” will always pay
off. Learning to
consider/analyze/rework your writing (the process) is as important
as the product. In other words,
even if you end up having four drafts of something, and at the end of the day
you think that the second draft was actually closest to “the best,” drafts
three and four were not a waste of time because you inevitably grew as a
writer. As writers you always get
to keep those earlier drafts, so since nothing is ever lost feel free to
experiment and stretch.
The first assignment suggestion:
Creative writing is
largely about zeroing in on small details that represent something universal.
It is about taking real life and creating something “fake” to better understand
real life. Kind of cool, kind of
kooky, but there it is.
Find a place to hang out
and observe somebody that you don’t know.
Observe closely and take note of small, unique details. Pretend that you’re Sherlock Holmes and
make inferences out of those details.
For example, if the man that you’re watching wears his watch on his
right wrist you can infer that he’s left-handed. Is he left-handed naturally, or as a kid did he think that
it would be cool to be left-handed, so he taught himself to be a lefty? Once you have a pile of inferences
write a fictitious biography. Consider
tone: do you want it to be funny? mysterious? journalistic (just the [fake]
facts, ma’am)? After you decide on your tone think about what words best
support that tone.
A final thought: after
you do that first “cruddy draft” look it over and ask yourself: what does
(or could) this description say about mankind in general?
Pondering that will help you as you write that next draft that you’ll
bring for workshop (see “Revision Process” on your syllabus).
Their second assignment suggestion:
Similes are like petals that float in April – they are
subtle and represent a shift from harsh forces to gentle movement.
Metaphors are oxygen tanks, allowing us to diver deeper, stay
submerged longer, see more.
Similes and metaphors
help us describe something in a way that is unique, and so hopefully closer to
your reality that you're trying to share with the reader than tired words/descriptions that have lost meaning from
over-use.
Your assignment is to
write a poem about New York City.
A city that has been written about over and over and over and over again, and yet, when we meet again, you will have
written something entirely new.
You will do that by creating original similes and metaphors.
Here’s a suggested
format:
A metaphor about what the
city looks like (four lines).
A simile about what the
city smells like (three lines).
A metaphor about what the
city sounds like (four lines).
A simile about what the
city feels like (three lines).
In a very general way, by the time you’ve finished you will have
created a sonnet. We will talk
more about sonnets in the next class (just for kicks – not to bore the crud out
of you… I’ll do that some other way…).
