In August, Brevity's blog published "What Makes for Good Creative Nonfiction Writing," my craft piece on how I organize, and assess the traits of, creative nonfiction writing. And today, Hippocampus published "Shape Is the Thing," my craft piece on shape in writing, and how it differs from form and structure. The pieces are related, so…
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Months ago, partly in response to reports on how many of our recyclables don't actually get recycled, I started a creative bin. It's an old basket into which I chuck clean cardboard, paper, and plastic. When the bin gets full, and when the weather is bad or the boys are under it, I pull out…
Each semester at this time, I read drafts of personal narratives by education students. The assignment asks them to dig into formative educational experiences that may have led to their decision to become a teacher. Aside from all the hallmarks of good writing—clarity, coherence, organization, detail, and more—I want them to consider what it felt…
This summer, I consider my professional companion to be Donald Graves, one of the most influential thinkers in the history of writing instruction. As I prep for fall teaching, consider how writing and literacy instruction overlap, and research new pieces on the writing process and life, I'm reading, eagerly but deliberately, Graves's 1983 book, Writing: Teachers & Children at…
When writer Laurie Easter told me that she'd started a weekly highlight-and-review series featuring writers she knows, that she focuses on a particular essay each time, and that she'd like me and my list essay to stand under her spotlight for an upcoming Sunday, I thought: Yes. By highlighting fellow writers' lives, processes, and finished work, Laurie…
