The Northern Nevada Writing Project

Hey NNWP peeps- it’s Caroline!  So, I have a hunch that many of you have heard of both the author and this book, but for me, it was a first, and a great hands-on book that I can implement in the classroom daily.  Goldberg went on a spiritual journey to “unleash the writer within,” practicing Zen and what she calls, “writing as a spiritual practice.:  It’s almost like a cleansing of all the words inside of her, but she breaks down this vast idea into small chapters of advice for the struggling writer.  What I most enjoyed about this book is that throughout, she takes a rather humble tone and doesn’t dare to write a how-to book, but rather puts herself out there as a vulnerable writer who doesn’t have all the answers- she’s real, not lofty, and I liked that- her witty sense of humor is worth it as well.

  So, I decided immediately to write down specific chapters, which seriously are most of them, and use them immediately in my newly developed “Sacred Writing Time” in the classroom.  I found myself writing down all kinds of ideas and quotes, but the main one I want to instill is that we need to listen first, and then write- meaning, “the deeper you can listen, the better you can write.”  Ain’t that the truth?  Not only do I think this will help us become better writers, but also find our inner peace (clearly the Zen factor is working with this woman- probably why I was drawn to her book).

Another favorite chapter called “Syntax” involves taking a “boring” piece of writing, pulling out 3-4 sentences, arbitrarily adding punctuation (E.E. Cummings) and not trying to make sense of it, but reading it aloud as though it were saying something.  She writes that we think in sentences and the way we think is the way we see; therefore, releasing the syntax order, we release energy and are able to see the world from a new perspective- the poem examples in the chapter rock, especially the story behind the authors!

    Seriously, an easy, but very in-depth and fulfilling read.  I plan to use all of the book in my sacred writing time, but of course, time constraints are a big concern.  If I only see students 50 minutes a day, plus 30 minutes once a week, how can I build consistent quality writing time into my lessons?  I am struggling.  The books we read this summer often talked about a need for at least 20-30 minutes daily, or else it wasn’t worth it- what do you think and what are your experiences?

     I sign off with a favorite Goldberg (my new BFF) quote: “Though death is howling at our backs and life is roaring at our faces, we can just begin to write, simply begin to write what we have to say.”

Hi.  Amy here and I am starting a new discussion on Educating Everybody’s Children: What Research and Practice Say about Improving Achievement. This book was put of by ASCD-Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and edited by Robert W. Cole. I can’t lie and say that reading this book cover to cover is a good idea. However, it is formatted in a way that allows you to skip around and learn instructional strategies that are directed related to your area of concern.  The book addresses many topics but really focuses on diverse teaching strategies for diverse learners with focuses in the areas of reading, writing, math and oral communication. I will outline some of the basic points discussed in the book to enlighten you as to the tone of my summer reading.

Writing strategies that promote achievement according to ASCD:

Provide opportunities to write, Use writing in all subject areas, Encourage reading, Use authentic writing tasks/writing topics, Use numerous examples of good writing, Model writing process, Using conferencing and peer view, Provide criteria for evaluation, Include contextual instruction in grammar, Use writing portfolios

This book pretty much summarized our Summer Fellows’ presentationsJ However; the thing that kept me reading this book was that before it discussed each strategy it provided me with a little background about how writing instruction used to take place in classrooms and then was followed by what these wonderful strategies look like in classrooms today. So I pose the question that I have been thinking about, what new writing strategies do you plan to incorporate into your classroom this year? How will it look?

Hi there, it’s Kristina and I am starting my discussion on Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott. This was a great book to read and I highly recommend it. One reason you might like to read this book is because of the author’s voice. I just love how you can “hear” her in her writing. The book is easy to read, humorous, and sincere giving you a glimpse at what a writer’s world might look and feel like. Having just gone through many of the issues she discusses with the summer institute, I was able to identify with many of the topics she discussed. Lamott shares of her personal experiences as a writer. Her audience is that of classroom writing from the writing teacher’s perspective. You may want to use this in your classes as a read aloud, sharing a book from a published author’s viewpoint. Then, the kids aren’t just relying on what you tell them, hey it’s written in a book, it must be good right? Lamott really walks you through the writing process word by word, or as she says, bird by bird. She offers practical advice about getting involved in a writer’s group and how to seek and find those individuals.

One thing you may not like (personally I rather enjoyed them) are the religious, Catholic undertones. Her spirituality is evident in many parts throughout, but don’t be fooled she uses some foul language too (and I love that also). One example Lamott wrote was, “The best way to get quiet, other than the combination of extensive therapy, Prozac, and a lobotomy, is first to notice that the station is on.” I won’t tell you what the station is, but it involves a bad, bad word.

I think she wants us to realize a few things that are a good reminder from this past summer. First, write daily. Secondly, this is a process, we are never done. Third, if we are writing simply to get published, well then, we are doing it for the wrong reasons.

One of my favorite lines from the book is this, “Watch her carefully right now, because she’s teaching you how to live.” This was about one of life’s great lessons when we least expect them. Remember, when in doubt write about it. This book moved me to tears, literally, with a little bit of sadness in the middle, and with her hilarious tales throughout the entire book. I wonder a few things after reading this book.

Could this book be used as one of the “required” books for this class? If so, what might the writing assignment(s) be? Are there others who have read this book? What are your thoughts on a writer’s group?

Hi, Rebekah here, and I chose a fascinating book by Joyce Carol Oates, The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art.  She collected a variety of her essays about writing that she had written and put them together. I loved it. Each “chapter” provided much inspiration, mostly because she constantly discussed how other writers write. She referred to some of my all-time favourite writers (William Faulkner, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, etc.) and thoroughly demonstrated how writing truly is a process. Much of what she wrote about furthered my belief that writing has much to do with faith—faith in ourselves as writers, faith in what we do with our craft is not only valuable but effective, faith in our readers. She covered topics of inspiration from our first memories of school and writing to our first loves of literature. She wrote how inspiration comes in such a variety of forms and places, and that failure isn’t quite failure at all: “Is the artist secretly in love with failure?” (60). And her dissertation on the pitfalls and joys of failure was eye-opening and heartening at the same time.

So, my major questions that have sprung from the reading…..first, if inspiration comes in so many different forms and from so many places which are specific to the individual writer, how can we as teachers create lessons and plans that spark inspiration? What if there is someone we don’t reach? What is a writing teacher to do? And tied in with that, how do we feel about failure? What does it truly mean? Oates repeats that writing is a solitary act and that what we perceive as failure might actually be our best works and what we consider our best often isn’t. She mentions several authors who feel this way as well as authors who even tried other writing niches that didn’t work (for instance William Faulkner considered himself a failed poet and Henry James was a failed playwright). What does that all mean for us as writers and as teachers? If I (or my students) feel that we are “failures” at writing, are it that we just haven’t found our niche or is it something more? Overall, after reading this book, I have come away with much more faith (so to speak) in my own writing but am wondering even more how this translates into the classroom…..any thoughts?