Welcome to CWS 4!
CWS 4 will begin Saturday, September 30, 2006. Workshops will be held at
the Station Training Building, 2nd floor, from 0900-1130. We will meet
four Saturdays: Sep. 30, Oct. 14, Oct. 21, and Oct. 28. During the first
part of each meeting, I will give a writing craft talk. Writers will spend the remainder of
each meeting in workshop reading each otherÕs work and offering responses.
Writers observe life, measure life, and attempt to relate through words what
they have learned about life. Attempts to make known the unknown have
been called essays since the French writer MontaigneÕs (1533-1592) collection
of such attempts was published in 1582 under the title Essais. The Essais was published as two books, with expansion to three
books in the fifth edition that was issued during MontaigneÕs lifetime.
He had a hand in the revision of each edition, and each changed in the
same way Walt WhitmanÕs Leaves of Grass changed with each new edition published during WhitmanÕs lifetime. What I write today might not be the
same understanding of a thing, a person, or event that I recall tomorrow. A nonfiction essay can be defined as an
attempt to capture the truth of a moment, a truth that shifts with each
stirring of memory. To write is to make meaning of life, to record the
culture of the times, to record what might be gone forever tomorrow, and to
write is to risk being known.
Narrative nonfiction writing tells a true story. That story might be
ordered chronologically, logically, or thematically. Beginning writers
often find using chronological order provides the structure they need. Narrative nonfiction is also
descriptive. Descriptive writing evokes dominant impressions Š the writer
attempts to capture sensory details of a moment Š the sights, sounds, scents,
tastes, and sensations of a happening.
Some kinds of sensory language are adjectives, adverbs, and figures of speech.
The most familiar figures of speech are metaphors and similes, both of
which compare unlike things to create a stronger image in the readerÕs mind.
Similes compare two unlike things using like, as, or than: Rain fell on
my skin like a silk kimono. The
quality of comparison in metaphor (which does not use like, as, or than
statements to make comparisons) makes one thing seem to be another: Before the
storm began, clouds roiled and boiled in the cauldron sky. In this
example, clouds are compared to the contents of a cooking pot Š the metaphor is
implied since the cooking pot and its contents are terms the reader infers.
Metaphor can be explicit, too, with both terms of comparison
obvious. Personification,
attaching human characteristics to nonhuman things, is another figure of
speech: Lightning struck and the clouds wept. Hyperbole, or exaggeration,
is yet another: The storm seemed to last a thousand years. Only when we begin to think about
constructing figures of speech do they seem elusive Š in speech, we use them
all time. Most clichˇs are figurative, metaphors or similes, as are many
proverbs. Experiment with creating and using figures of speech, but avoid
using clichˇs. Try to create comparisons that create vivid meanings by
using your unique perspective to construct similes and metaphors.
Descriptive narrative nonfiction resembles fiction because the writer attempts
to recreate scenes using vivid descriptions of characters, settings, and
action. During CWS, I would like you to focus on writing about a specific
event from the past that evokes particularly strong meaning for you. This type of writing is called memoir.
The difference between memoir and memoirs is that memoir focuses on a
specific period of time, whereas memoirs generally cover a lifetime or at least
an extended period of time. In
memoir, chronology, characters, and action linked to a specific time and place
are dominant subjects of the writing. This doesnÕt mean that you canÕt
dip into childhood memories to expand upon a scene in the memoir you write
during CWS, nor does it mean that you cannot dip into the future when relating
an event or time from your past.
Descriptive prose requires use of concrete nouns and active verbs.
Concrete nouns are simply words that name a person place or thing exactly
as it is. Box of Oreo cookies
produces a vivid image; box of cookies is less productive. Always
use a noun if using a pronoun clouds meaning. Try restructuring sentences
with too many thatÕs, whichÕs, somewhereÕs, or sometimeÕs; and try to
restructure those sentences that begin with ŅI.Ó Although the narrator of memoir is almost always ŅI,Ó the
eye must consider the subject in sight and translate that vision onto the page
for a reader. For instance: I once owned a dog that I loved, can be
restructured through revision. Munchkin, my chocolate-brown Shar-Pei,
rolled herself into a blur of furry wrinkles, wobbling and flopping on my
living room carpet until she resembled a spilled pudding more than a dog.
Okay, so the sentence is wordier and longer Š that means IÕll have to
work out the wrinkles during my next revision. Writing is a process of
revision!
Writing is a process. CWS will help you learn your own process. The basic phases of the writing process
are: Prewriting, Drafting, Revision, Polishing/Editing, and Publishing.
In prewriting for your first draft, create a list of topics you might want to
write about. Review your list and narrow it down to one topic. Create a list of everything you know
about that time Š use short blurbs or single words. Then make a timeline
of events. If your story takes place during a single day, write down a
chronological sequence of events for that day. If a longer period of time
is covered, create a timeline of events that spans the period. Then make
a chronology of what was going on in the world outside this event during your
storyÕs time frame. Then organize. Go through your lists and decide
which things you will use for this piece of writing. Is there any
research you might need to do? Arrange your list of events
chronologically by using your timelines.
Now create an outline. Once youÕve created an outline, make a list
of descriptive language you might use while writing. Keep all your lists
and notes throughout the process, just in case you need to refer to them later.
Allow yourself to write a crappy first draft. Expecting to write perfect prose in a first draft is pure
fiction. No one does it!
Remember, writing is revision. Write your first draft following
your outline. DonÕt worry about
grammar, punctuation, spelling, or descriptive language Š donÕt worry about
getting it all right, just write! After youÕve finished getting the story
down, print your work, take a break, then read your work with a critical eye a
day or two later. Have a pen in your hand while you read. Mark the
page up. Use arrows, lines, dashes, write in sensory words, add figures
of speech, check the order information is revealed, circle those pronouns that
should be nouns, replace some of those wasÕs with action verbs, get out the
thesaurus and find new words to use instead of the one that has become a tic in
every sentence. Then, return to the computer and make your changes.
This is the draft (and the first revision of your first draft) that you
will bring to our second workshop.
Email your first revision to me on October 10. Please attach your draft
as a Microsoft Word document. Your draft should be typed using 12-point
Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and your first and last names should
appear on each page. Number your pages. Format your pages with
1-inch margins all around. Indent the first line of each paragraph five
spaces. I will forward your draft document to the members of your
workshop group. Each group member will read your work, write a short
response to your work, and bring that response to our second workshop on 14
October. This is when the polishing phase of the writing process will
begin.
IÕve attached a couple of handouts that might be helpful during the writing
process. WeÕll go over most of this information during our first workshop
meeting. WeÕll also talk about a few books, handbooks, and websites that
might be helpful as you develop your writing skills. Writing is a craft,
and like any other skill, it takes practice to be a skilled writer. If you have questions before we meet on
Saturday, please email me. If you will not be able to participate, please
let me know by Monday, 25 September.
Sincerely, Sally