Big Boy

Big Boy, originally uploaded by dogwelder.

NOBODY TELLS ME NOT TO POST!

Oh, so the last post doesn't have to be posted, eh? Well, we'll see about that!

I love the idea of using the blog format with kids. If I were to use it in my classroom, I'd set up secure blogs on a private server. Other people would be able to read what the kids wrote, but only my class would be able to comment - there is free software called Movable Type that would be perfect for this. I would encourage my students to write freely on their pages, but remind them that anything they write will be visible to the world, so no identifying personal information would be allowed. Students would probably feel blogging was a way to sneak notes in class, without realizing that they were building their writing and communication skills. Education by trickery- my favorite method!

And with that post, English 495 is complete. All papers turned in, all posts posted, all presentations presentationated. Two classes down, three to go until I am A MAN WITH A DEGREE.

VIDEO

If Nick's going to add a video, so am I. (double-click it to make it start)

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This is a True Story: Writing fiction vs. writing about fiction vs. writing around fiction vs. writing about friction

I like writing fiction. A heap. A ton. A lot. I've been trying to be a little more organized about how I write - try to write a little every day, that sort of thing - but there's nothing better than the random moment in the canned veggies aisle at the supermarket or at the car wash when an idea suddenly appears - like a winning lottery ticket, unexpected but highly desired - and demands to be explored. Sometimes I enjoy being told what to write, and sometimes I find it constricting, but no matter how I feel about a story, once I really get started I always - ALWAYS - find myself writing things I didn't expect. There is nothing quite as wonderful or scary as telling a story and not knowing what will happen next, of knowing that I will be the first person in the world to discover where this story leads.
I'm not as big of a fan of writing about fiction. I find it gets more difficult as the piece gets longer. I love a good two page story, really enjoy work that's around thirty pages long, and struggle with anything longer. With short works, the author is forced to leave a lot of breathing room, a lot of space for analysis and interpretation. As a work gets longer it becomes more refined, more defined. The space for interpretation shrinks. The only way I can find significant subjects for discussion in longer works is by fracturing them into smaller segments, sifting through the broken bits to find subtext. It's not that I can't read a novel- I like reading novels - but I almost always lose the sense of the novel as a single cohesive unit. Instead, it becomes a series of interrelated vignettes, sort of like taking a long movie and converting it to a mini-series. The trick is finding a book that can be fractured and have each section stand on its own as interesting/valuable while still connecting to the other sections of the story.

Writing around fiction: Yeah, there's usually some around.
Writing about friction: Don't most stories contain friction?

Final Exit

At this time tomorrow, I'll be giving my exit interview.

Roshni Didn't Want to Have Her Picture Taken

Roshni Didn't Want to Have Her Picture Taken, originally uploaded by dogwelder.

I took it anyway.

From my recent trip to Tatooine

From my recent trip to Tatooine
Originally uploaded by dogwelder

A gift from Mo!