I am writing at a different time today. I rearranged my schedule, which had already been rearranged because of incoming winter weather. I decided to go to the grocery store to try to get my quadruple fuel points. I wanted to go early, to avoid the madness.
I needn't have worried. There were about 5 people there besides me and the people who work there. Of course, there wasn't as much food as there usually is--not an egg in the store. But there was plenty of milk of all varieties, and a good supply of bread. I was surprised to see most of the chicken gone, but not surprised that all of the types of meat that can make a good pot roast were gone.
The weather reports have been uncertain about when the wintry weather would arrive. I decided that it made sense to walk before the roads got slippery, so I did that too. I was hoping it would start snowing while I was walking, but that didn't happen.
I did want to write about the Nonfiction Writing class that I'm teaching. I want to write down my various approaches, so that I remember them later. I decided to start with personal essays and memoir type writings. I wanted to spend a day or two doing pre-writing activities before we decided exactly which direction to go. I drove to work thinking I would do the pre-writing experiment that I did with my English Composition students in the Fall (for more, see this blog post).
But then I decided that I really wanted to save that activity for Tuesday. I thought it might make more sense to do some more general pre-writing. I sketched out some ideas and headed off to class.
Let me first note how diverse my students are in how they are writing: 2 were writing on phones, one by hand with pen and paper, and one using a stylus on an iPad. We did list making and free writing. When I have students do free writing, I tell them that we'll start with a prompt, but they should feel free to go where their minds want to go. The main rule is to keep writing: don't go back, don't correct, don't stop.
We began by making lists of people and experiences that shaped us. I had them make a list of the following: your 3 most important friends, your 3 most important family members, the 3 classes you took in school, people you admire but didn't know, your 3 least favorite people, 3 least favorite family members, and people in the public eye who you didn't admire. Then I had them choose 1 and write for 5 minutes.
Then we made similar lists to try to get at events that were important or life shaping: events from school, events from work, events within the family, events in third spaces (like church, sports teams), and I also had them consider the arts and pop culture (a song that changed them or a movie that became a touchstone). Once again, I had them choose one and write for 5 minutes.
I then shifted to having them write descriptions, using as many sensory details as possible. First we began with a childhood home, which could be a grandparent's house or some other home, even if they didn't live in it. I had them describe a place where they had stayed that wasn't their home, even if it wasn't vacation. And then I had them describe the travel itself, even if it was simply the trip they take from the place where they sleep to the classroom.
Then we did a last pair of writing assignments that has often generated interesting material for me. I had them write a letter to themselves from their pre-puberty self, the person they were when they were 7, 8, or 9 years old. They wrote for 5 minutes. And then they wrote a letter from their 80 year old self to the person they are right now, writing for 5 minutes.
We had a brief conversation about which pre-writing exercises seemed most fruitful, and then I encouraged them not to be too committed to any one approach or experience. And now, we'll use the objects on Tuesday to see if they dredge up something new and unexpected. And then, we'll figure out how to write a unified and interesting essay--at least, that's the goal.
So far, they have been delightful--involved and interested in doing the writing, which is not something I always experience in first year writing classes. It should be this way: I'm teaching an upper-level writing class, after all. But I also know that not everyone takes these classes for the same reason.
And then I went to teach The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to my American Lit class. I didn't have them read it in advance: it's much too long and difficult, and it's more important to know about it than it is to have read it. I think it went well. Students seemed engaged, even though they hadn't read the novel.
How interesting it is that so few students (2-3) have read the book. Once upon a time, not too long ago, most students would have read it, either in middle or high school. Now I suspect that very few people are reading books.
And now the snow has started, but it hasn't been as fast to make roads treacherous as I was expecting. I'm still really glad that Spartanburg Methodist College cancelled classes.
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