Wednesday, May 31, 2006
2nd Day of Class
We're beginning to get acquainted with each other. Two of the other women have children who will require adult care while we're in Oaxaca. I'd never have managed that. My roommate Giselle will be taking extra time but spending less money by traveling to Oaxaca by bus while the rest of us fly. Her observations of the trip should provide an interesting comparison.
We "invited" the members of our class to join our group via our college e-mail accounts. We also descended to the fourth floor audio-visual center secreted in the library to be photographed for our international student identification cards.
Our other professor, Karen Marcotte, arrived jet-lagged after returning from China. I'm eager to hear of her experience.
We discussed our reading assignments. From "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg we learn to be specific, e.g., say geranium instead of flower. Learn the names of everything. Beware of writing "about" something. Depict the scene to evoke the feeling. Goldberg suggests staying in direct connection with the senses as Peter Hessler so successfully depicted in "A Rat in My Soup". Denise drew representations of the five senses on the board as author Sandra Cisneros had suggested as an aid in checking the inclusion of the senses in your writing.
The "Craft of Writing Great Stories" is chockful of the characteristics of a successful story. The chapter recaps the steps one must follow to produce good writing. I wasn't surprised that conceiving a story is as important as revision. That seems a crucial step. How much work must be involved in verifying the accuracy of facts! Using quotes selectively can vivify an account. There has to be a focus to your story. Don't cling to your clever words if they don't advance the story. As Donald Murray put it, "brevity comes from selection, not compression." It's been suggested that the less time you have, the more you need a moment to plan.
Multiple mentions of the "St. Petersburg Times" of Florida struck me because when I lived there, I was told "all the bright young people try to get a job there." I was interviewed, but didn't get the job. Floridians are wary of hiring "snowbirds".
Remember to place strong subjects and verbs at the beginning of a sentence.
Denise illustrated the concept of "webbing" or "clustering".
Don't forget William Strunk's admonition: "Omit needless words!"
Our goal is to reveal to readers how the world works.
Add "gold coins" or "chocolate chips" such as anecdotes to the story to intensify the reader's experience. Information can enrich stories too.
Clarity can make even humdrum stories engaging. We should ask if the reader can gain the information we want to pass on. Sometimes it helps to imagine writing to an individual. Always keep the audience in mind. Graphics can provide reinforcement. Write of individual people to enliven a broader issue to attract readers. Specificity again. The reader will ask, "So what?"
READ IT ALOUD. Less information can lead to better understanding. Find different ways of emphasizing a key idea. Avoid using abstract numbers and technical jargon without explanation.
Finally we spent about an hour completing a Beliefs, Events, Values Inventory (BEVI), required for acceptance of a grant.
We're beginning to get acquainted with each other. Two of the other women have children who will require adult care while we're in Oaxaca. I'd never have managed that. My roommate Giselle will be taking extra time but spending less money by traveling to Oaxaca by bus while the rest of us fly. Her observations of the trip should provide an interesting comparison.
We "invited" the members of our class to join our group via our college e-mail accounts. We also descended to the fourth floor audio-visual center secreted in the library to be photographed for our international student identification cards.
Our other professor, Karen Marcotte, arrived jet-lagged after returning from China. I'm eager to hear of her experience.
We discussed our reading assignments. From "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg we learn to be specific, e.g., say geranium instead of flower. Learn the names of everything. Beware of writing "about" something. Depict the scene to evoke the feeling. Goldberg suggests staying in direct connection with the senses as Peter Hessler so successfully depicted in "A Rat in My Soup". Denise drew representations of the five senses on the board as author Sandra Cisneros had suggested as an aid in checking the inclusion of the senses in your writing.
The "Craft of Writing Great Stories" is chockful of the characteristics of a successful story. The chapter recaps the steps one must follow to produce good writing. I wasn't surprised that conceiving a story is as important as revision. That seems a crucial step. How much work must be involved in verifying the accuracy of facts! Using quotes selectively can vivify an account. There has to be a focus to your story. Don't cling to your clever words if they don't advance the story. As Donald Murray put it, "brevity comes from selection, not compression." It's been suggested that the less time you have, the more you need a moment to plan.
Multiple mentions of the "St. Petersburg Times" of Florida struck me because when I lived there, I was told "all the bright young people try to get a job there." I was interviewed, but didn't get the job. Floridians are wary of hiring "snowbirds".
Remember to place strong subjects and verbs at the beginning of a sentence.
Denise illustrated the concept of "webbing" or "clustering".
Don't forget William Strunk's admonition: "Omit needless words!"
Our goal is to reveal to readers how the world works.
Add "gold coins" or "chocolate chips" such as anecdotes to the story to intensify the reader's experience. Information can enrich stories too.
Clarity can make even humdrum stories engaging. We should ask if the reader can gain the information we want to pass on. Sometimes it helps to imagine writing to an individual. Always keep the audience in mind. Graphics can provide reinforcement. Write of individual people to enliven a broader issue to attract readers. Specificity again. The reader will ask, "So what?"
READ IT ALOUD. Less information can lead to better understanding. Find different ways of emphasizing a key idea. Avoid using abstract numbers and technical jargon without explanation.
Finally we spent about an hour completing a Beliefs, Events, Values Inventory (BEVI), required for acceptance of a grant.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Where is the classroom? Moody Room 736 on the San Antonio College campus is a dark computer lab. I'm looking for a Communications/World Cultures class. Finally other students in the Oaxaca Service-Learning Program straggle in. Hooray! Brightly smiling Palo Alto professor Dr. Denise Richter strides down the hallway carrying a large cardboard box.
We meet and greet, two guys and 8 gals.
I'm dubious about my ability to produce publishable articles. We laugh and learn from Peter Hessler's New Yorker article, " A Rat in My Soup!", a postcard from China. His narrative is humerous and informative, evoking our senses of taste, smell, and sight.
Write accurately! Don't you dare misspell a name! Be concise. Nineteen or twenty words comprise the best sentence. Will I be able to select a story of interest to readers? I know I have an inquiring mind. I'm honest, loyal, get along with people, and can be objective. Those are five of the ten essentials of a good reporter as printed in the "National Publisher". Do I have the ability to communicate? Am I determined and patient enough? Can I acquire enough knowledge? Will I recognize a job well done? Vamos a ver. We shall see.
We meet and greet, two guys and 8 gals.
I'm dubious about my ability to produce publishable articles. We laugh and learn from Peter Hessler's New Yorker article, " A Rat in My Soup!", a postcard from China. His narrative is humerous and informative, evoking our senses of taste, smell, and sight.
Write accurately! Don't you dare misspell a name! Be concise. Nineteen or twenty words comprise the best sentence. Will I be able to select a story of interest to readers? I know I have an inquiring mind. I'm honest, loyal, get along with people, and can be objective. Those are five of the ten essentials of a good reporter as printed in the "National Publisher". Do I have the ability to communicate? Am I determined and patient enough? Can I acquire enough knowledge? Will I recognize a job well done? Vamos a ver. We shall see.
