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Recently, a student sent me a piece meant to outline the thesis of a book. But whoa, Nelly! Essays and nonfiction chapters must have a shape. Writing Tip for Today: Can your essay or nonfiction stand up to the shape challenge? Journalism Rules One of the basic rules of journalism is the three-point rule […]
Today I’m a guest on a blog called Daily Signs of Hope, which has more than 15,000 followers. It’s mostly for hope against depression, but has strong ties to the addiction/recovery community. You can access my essay at http://dailysignsofhope.com/?p=5878 . Please leave a comment–it’s a great site for encouragement, run by Doug Bolton.Writing Tip for Today: […]
Fall term, which begins on Tuesday, I teach a course on novel writing and one on essay writing. For the third consecutive term, my novel writing class is packed, while my essay class is much smaller. If you live near Lane Community College, you might consider my class. You’ll be sure to receive lots of […]
Continuing with essay writing, let’s talk a bit more about the Turn, or the place in your essay where the writer shares universals and gives the reader something to take away.Writing Tip for Today: Here are some things to think about as you write the Turn of an essay: The Turn almost always occurs near […]
One of my early writing mentors looked at me after reading a draft of my essay. “It’s all here,” she said. “It’s just not in the right order.” The WAY a story unfolds is critical. The balance between scene and narration or exposition, and tension created through delayed information are only two reasons to get […]
Yesterday, I was invited to interview with Mutual of Omaha’s national “aha moment” tour, making a stop where I live. Since I’ve been a teacher almost all of my adult life, mine was when I discovered that although the adage says, “Those who can, do and those who can’t teach,” I can do both. I […]
Every summer, when I take off teaching for a few weeks, I vow to get a lot of writing done. Somehow, though, I seem to get more words to the page during times when I am the busiest. I only remedy my lack of word count if I’m either forced, on deadline, to produce, or […]
A four-week writing workshop I facilitated has ended, and I love seeing the members organizing for an ongoing critique group. “Training wheels” critique workshops are meant to help new writers learn how to give and receive useful feedback and now this year’s participants are riding on their own. They are planning where, when and how […]
Those who have taken classes from me at Lane Community College know I’ve been trying to teach three courses two nights per week. That is, I offer novel writing every term, but I’ve alternated Memoir and Essay writing, and it’s been complicated. First I tried asking the schedulers to alternate the courses. The offerings were […]