Week 2377

Please complete THIS form by the end of the week. It's your final item on this blog.

Thanks!

Ok, I lied ... here's a link to the 6-word memoir site. Be careful: you can waste a lot of time here. Also, here's a copy of some of my own from recent years.

When you hand in your list of 50 (yes, 50!), please put your absolute favorite at the top, in bold.

Week 13 & 14: Thanksgiving meals

Let's hear about your most memorable Thanksgiving moment. It need not be wild or wacky, but something that has stayed with you over the years.

For me, it's simple: when my mother asked my uncle to pass the mashed potatoes he just put a huge scoop of potatoes in her hand. My mom then put the potatoes on her plate and the conversation picked up where it left off.

Week 12: little lies

Briefly, with some pizazz, and with just enough detail to intrigue the reader, tell us all about a lie you told.

Here goes ...

I hate phones. Jamie hates phones. But about three years ago I was traveling back east quite often and was struggling to manage some travel plans because Jamie and I shared a cell phone. We had a landline, but when we both traveled it was hard to keep in touch. So, with some reluctance, we went to two cell phones and no landline. However, my mother-in-law was adamant about us having a landline. She used the old -- if there's an emergency cell phones won't work, and when you dial 9-1-1 it won't go directly to dispatch. So, we lied to her. We told her our new cell phone number was our home phone (we just switched carriers). We promised never to turn that number off, so if she called in the middle of the night or whenever, it would ring like a normal phone. Fast forward a year ... I answered the phone (the home phone) in the airport. Not good. There's that annoying lady announcing the white zone and the blue zone and the TSA laws and my mother-in-law heard it all. "Oh, did I dial your cell phone?" she asked. "Um." I couldn't think of anything to say. Jamie took over the call, explained the entire thing, and after only a wee bit of arguing and some back-and-forth, we were finally able to come clean. Funny thing is, now she's moving and she's not getting a landline. No need, I guess.

Let's get in shape

Writing exercises galore!

Week 11: Pattern watching

You have been reading your writer/essay/column for quite some time. You should know the writer's tendencies and voice quite well. What patterns have emerged? Does your writer love the colon? Secretly or not-so-secretly over-use the simple sentence? Think about what stands out most, what pattern is present only to the seasoned professional reader like you. Share, comment, keep up the great work!

Maybe even, if you dare, comment on what patterns emerge in your own work. Personally, I can overuse the dash. I also love the long sentence linked to a short, crisp sentence via the semi-colon. Classic. How about you?

Week 10: Vocabulary

Let's get back to vocabulary! I was reading a piece in Newsweek and a fabulous word popped out of an article: shoal. Shoal is a shallow patch of water or a large number of people/fish, and a favorite word of mine that Macbeth uses in one of this great soliloquies. It's an older word, one used less often these days, but its presence in the article made me keep reading. So, look for some awesome vocabulary, a word or two or three that really zing from the page.

And for some fun reading ... Andrew, I know you'll enjoy this.

Genius Rubric!

Here it is, folks. The best rubric I've ever had the privilege of being a part of. Now, here's the assignment:

You have to grade your own review using this rubric. This graded review must include comments and critiques of the work. This graded review with the rubric is due at the start of Thursday's class (I will collect this at the start of COD; I will be stationed outside of the theater).

For our following class (Monday), please read the following articles.

Week 9: Not-so-good stuff

Try to find a moment or a phrase or something that didn't work. I know this is quite subjective, but that just means you need to argue your point well. Being a good writer means knowing when something doesn't flow or fit with the rest of the piece. Good writing also comes from good editing. So, what piece would you edit out of this week's reading?

Week 8: The Closer

Not just a show on the USA network, the closer in an essay is key to an essay's success ... or its failure. So, look for awesome closing (or near the end) lines. How does the author tie everything together? share an a-ha moment? conclude? make a call to action? Does the author come back to something mentioned at the start? Or maybe the author ends with a completely new idea? Share what works and what does not.

Week 7: opening lines

We've looked at crafty words and high powered sentences, now let's focus on opening lines. Post the opening line to your selection and comment on its success or failure.

I love reading these posts. I hope you are enjoying what you're reading as much as I am enjoying what you're writing.

Keep up the good work!

College Essays + You = Fun

Where to begin? How about here.

Connecticut College

Johns Hopkins

What did college presidents write about?

Tips from Carleton College

Some other hot tips from the Stanford magazine

Week 5 & 6: Getting involved

Excellent posts last week. Loved the words you found in your pieces.

This week try to focus on how the writer involves the reader. Good narrative pieces (this is not to say all of your readings are narrative pieces) engage the reader on some level. How do your writers do it?

Week 4: Words

Ok, we looked at some sentences, now find some something in the diction that stands out. Maybe it's a word combination, the use of simple words, a word bomb that makes you reach for the dictionary.

Keep sharing your great ideas. LOVE the posts so far. Excellent work.

ps: a reminder — post by Sunday at 11:59.59 (please don't stay up that late, but that is technically the end of Sunday and the end of the week and the deadline for a timely post.).

pps: a sentence I just had to share. From the NYT and Mark Bittman: The food processor replaces the whisk; the pastry cutter; the standing mixer (for which there are still some uses, but only if you’re a dedicated baker); the mandoline (which, to me, remains a fine alternative to the food processor for small quantities); the mortar and pestle, which, no matter how lovely, quaint and authentic, is perhaps the most labor-intensive, primitive and damnable set of tools in the kitchen; and, perhaps most importantly, the grater.

Why I Write ...

Some favorite lines from your work. My goal is to post a great line (maybe its greatness comes from content or form) from each of your essays this semester. Typos are pretty much guaranteed, so my apologies.

1. Unlike many other areas, I enjoy writing because I feel it is an arena in which I can showcase my abilities, a competition in which I can shout "Look at me, look at me!"
2. I don't think I really write for other people or myself, because for me writing isn't a matter of ego or acceptance, it's simply a form of communication.
3. The pleasure in writing, for me, derives from the process of planning, crafting, and revising a cohesive slice of thought.
4. It is the meandering of the pencil that allows my mind to work out exactly what it thinks and how to proceed with a situation, although moments like this do not occur frequently in my life.
5. But because I am rarely in a situation where I feel as though I need to express my full opinion or feelings on something, I rarely write.
6. Sometimes it's cathartic, sometimes I'm feeling lonely, sometimes I'm just so enamored with what's going on in my brain that I want to remember it forever.
7. I love the idea of that little notebook as my own secret archive of subconscious thought and emotion.
8. It might be for lack of an audience, it might be because I have lost all semblance of a love for writing, but all the writing I do anymore is within the realm of academia.
9. The primary reasons why I avoided writing for fun was because I lacked confidence in my own writings, and because I feared public disapproval.
10. I am constantly thinking about, agonizing over, and marinating in my own thoughts.
11. My hope is that when I am asked about how or why I write in my freshman year of college, I will respond that I read and write because it reflects a side of my voice I cannot express in other places.
12. But otherwise, I write chiefly out of obligation.
13. The way my handwriting is, what paper I use, how I seal the letter, and what I write about all make my grandparents happy.
14. I guess that in this sense, writing has the potential of being therapeutic.
15. I also enjoy being in control of my own world, enjoying limitless creation.
16. I love to be able to look back on things I have done, thoughts I have had, or moments that stood out to me in some way.
17. I distinctly remember the small, square journal, the fuzzy green cover, getting it from my friend after she found it in her room and gave it to me because my favorite color was bright green, and now it is in a cabinet under my bathroom sink.
18. I think to myself that if someone really wanted to get to know me, know truly who I am, all they would have to do is read that folder.

Week 3

You all posted some awesome lines and some great comments on why those lines stood out. Now, I want you to focus on sentence structure. Look for a sentence that moves beyond, way beyond, the subject-verb creation and dazzles you with either a fun piece of punctuation or an interesting structure. Then again, maybe your writer has a case of subject-verb-itis and repeats the same pattern so many times it makes you want to scream. Share and amaze .... and remember to post by Sunday.

In other news -- here's a good read about the precision of words. Maybe you're a little obsessed with the English language, too, and would like to learn more. After Deadline, a NYTimes blog, is a great place to start.

Another great read: Facts Alone Are Feeble Fair

Week 2: Fall 2011

What amazing sentence, phrase, moment would you like to share from your writer/blog? Wow us with your selection and tell us why you think your selection is wow inducing. And, wow inducing can be good, bad or ugly.

Since it's Labor Day weekend, you can post up until Monday night.

You and your writer

Who are you going to follow? What does your writer write about and how often?

Day 1

Welcome!

1. The blog (your lifeline to this class: syllabus, postings, and more), the course, the teacher, the students (one word to describe yourself as writer; one word to describe your writing)
2. Goal setting: in terms of writing, set three effort goals. Effort goals are 100% measurable and 100% under your control.
3. Read George Orwell's Why I Write.
1. How would you describe Orwell's style? tone? overall impression?

Homework

1. Check the blog for the syllabus