Teaching Writing

So I have taught twice now. Tomorrow is the third day and there are twenty days total. As much as I am NOT a mathematical person I am starting to visual teaching writing in mathematical diagrams, patterns, and terms. I blame it on my mother who home schooled me and had a very mathematical sense of all things life.

On Tuesday one of my students asked me how do they find a topic or idea for an 8-18 page story (The major requirement of my class-they see ALL things in requirements and grades). And how long should they set aside to write such a daunting thing.

I told my student to look at it like a soduko puzzle. They laughed. Which is good, I want them to laugh. Then I explained that I am going to require a lot of short exercises on given topics (1-3 pages in length). Exercises are going to be like looking through a picture frame and writing what you see. (I like metaphors when teaching and I hope they understand my connections).

When the time comes to write that 18 pager I want them to take all of their exercises and spread them out in a grid on the floor. Next they need to tackle those exercises with a highlighter or multiple colors...and highlight what stands out, what sentences can be part of a larger story, what setting seems right, what is the action and conflict that seems the most tense, and most importantly what character is the most mysterious and interesting. Move your papers around in your "imaginary" grid and form a sequence with your pieces. This will become your story.

Then I listed these writing tips on the board:
1. Start looking around and you will start noticing things (the goal is to make readers notice things about life)
2. Learn to be engrossed by something outside of yourself. (Just like I noticed the robber)
3. Writing is making real or imagined events come alive
4. Writing is about learning to pay attention and to communicate what is going on
5. Don’t worry about doing it right or correctly- just write it down. (Even if it is hard to start writing. Anne Lamott said Starting to write is like having to tell someone some bad news-you are at a loss of words, you sit there staring at a blank screen. Don’t get caught up on this.)
6. Sometimes you have to write three pages to get to a beginning of a story or to that one paragraph that jumps out at you and sparks something bigger. (This is why I am a big fan of exercises-the more you write the more you story you will see)
7. Becoming a better writer is going to help you become a better reader. (Think about why we read? This is important because books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave.)
8. Pay attention to your favorite moments in published short stories (how is an author handling grief on the page? How is the author using dialogue?)

After that it didn't seem so daunting to them. I think they like me. I hope they like me. Tomorrow is day three and I am becoming less nervous and more excited.