The Freshman Follies: Chipping Away at the Old (Writing) Block
by Kathy Jones, DHS Teacher/Parent

I want my students to love writing. Or at least like it. Okay, make that not dread it.

I tell them that research has shown that successful student writers spend more time in the planning and revising stages than their peers do. That goes over big.

Then I tell them that we will work with some simple strategies for saving time and eliminating stress when they write. We talk about how each of us is unique and that what works for one person might not work for another. The key is to experiment with different strategies. I beg them to give each strategy a try - maybe several tries - before rejecting it.

1. Experiment with time. At the end of a long day/ you need to recuperate before you try to do something that requires thought and concentration. Consider taking a power nap - between 20 and 30 minutes at most - and then get up and get something to eat or drink and start the assignment. Once you are refreshed, work for maybe 20 or 30 minutes and then give yourself a break. Sing, dance, breathe in fresh air, run around the block two times. Then come back to the writing task with an alert mind and hopefully some fresh ideas. On the weekends, try writing at different times of day or night to find out when you are the most productive.
2. Write without interruption. Set aside blocks of time for writing. It takes a while to build a head of steam, and it can totally evaporate within seconds if you are interrupted. You can accomplish more in a straight half hour of writing than you can in fifteen-minute segments.
3. Experiment with place. You need to find your own Special Place to write. That might mean lying on the floor or lounging in bed or sitting in front of your computer. Your Place should put you into a productive frame of mind. Eliminate distractions and annoying interruptions (telephone calls, brothers, sisters). TV is designed to draw your attention. Turn it off while you write. You'll get more done in much less time.
4. Experiment with writing tools. Some people prefer to compose on paper with a special pen or pencil. See if the neogel or the Vball grip adds some fun to the process. Others love to use the computer but may never have actually composed a rough draft on the computer. Try this, but save different drafts - you never know when something from a rejected first draft will come in handy when you're working on your final draft.
5. In the early stages of the writing process, you need to strangle the critic inside your head. I think of the writing mind as having two sides: the creative side and the critical side. The creative side is playful, random and energetic. The critical side is negative, bossy, and too worried about saying something that sounds intelligent rather than just getting the ideas down. In the early stages of writing, you need to rely on your creative side. Let those creative juices flow. Don't let the critic intrude during this crucial part of the process.
6. Prewrite/plan on paper. There are lots of ways to do this:
- If you are naturally quiet, just think about the topic for a while and when you start getting ideas, jot them down on a piece of paper.
- If you're more verbal, talk aloud about the topic to yourself or to a friend. As you talk, jot down ideas.
- Try using a tape recorder because you can speak much more quickly than you can write. Recording will help you to trap those great ideas before they vanish into thin air.
Other ways to prewrite include mind-mapping or webbing. The key is to jot ideas - not full sentences - so that what's on the paper will trigger your thoughts.
7. Don't sweat the beginning. Sure, if the Muse strikes and a beautiful first sentence presents itself, start there. But many people experience Writer's Block when they try to write an introduction before they really know what they want to say. I tell my students to just start writing anything, and eventually the piece of writing will begin to take shape. Since the beginning is the most important part, you may want to work on it last, when you are perfectly clear about where you will be taking your reader.
8. Try the non-stop-just-get-some-thing-down-on-paper approach. This often helps you to clarify ideas and discover some that you didn't even know were there until they floated out of your subconscious. Resist the urge to edit, correct, or censor your-self at this stage. Let what's inside you express itself freely.

The Freshman Follies: Chipping Away at the Old (Writing) Block II
by Kathy Jones, DHS Teacher/Parent

Last month, I focused on strategies designed to help students overcome the anxiety of producing the first draft of a writing assignment. I suggested that they turn off the knit-picking, negative part of their brains that keeps them from writing quickly to churn out a first draft.

This month I’m going to focus on the revising stage, when they need to reawaken the critic and draw on the part of the brain that cares about whether a thought is unfinished or a point is unsupported.

1. First of all, don’t try to produce a polished piece of writing in one sitting. After you finish a draft, let it sit. Allow time for you to clear your mind before you try to revise it. You’ll be much more efficient if you can distance yourself and approach the piece of writing as if you are a reader.
2. If you have been given a specific topic, reread the directions sheet and make sure that you are doing what the teacher expects you to do. If the teacher is going to grade your work, you need to fulfill her expectations. If you have been given a list of criteria, use it to evaluate your own writing before she gets a chance to rear her ugly green pen.
3. Find a writing buddy. Students benefit from having someone , preferably a peer, respond honestly to the writing. If you have never tried using a partner, here’s how it works. Make two identical copies of what you have written. Give one to your partner and use the other yourself. Sit facing your partner and read your writing out loud. As you read, your partner should make marks (on his copy) next to anything he would like to bring to your attention. You should mark your own copy as you read it. You may be surprised by how many errors you notice when you read aloud.
4. After this first reading, you and your partner should discuss content and organization. At this point, most of your sentences will probably be changing, so it’s a waste of time to worry about spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Use questions like these to help you evaluate your work: Can your partner follow your thoughts? Have you proven your points with specific examples and/or explanations? If this is an essay, is there a clear thesis? Do your body paragraphs support that thesis? Does each paragraph develop one point in depth? Does your partner have any questions that you have not answered in the writing? Is your partner confused by any parts of the writing?
5. Remember that meeting your reader’s needs is the top priority. Decide what parts you should keep, move, change or delete and what needs to be added to improve the writing. Don’t be afraid to change focus completely. At this stage, if the first draft is not working, you need to make major changes. WARNING: Don’t delete your first draft. You may find that after you make a few changes, you’ll want to go back to some parts of that draft. Instead save it as a new file and work from that copy as you . . .
6. Revise. You are not just "fixing" errors. You should be REWORKING. If you’re using a computer, it’s easy to cut and paste. Delete the dead wood and build onto the strongest aspects of the first draft. When you are finished, meet with your partner again, this time with identical copies of your new draft. As you read it aloud, listen to the sound of the sentences. Mark awkward passages, fragments, run-ons. Your partner should mark every sentence that is not immediately clear to him. If he has to reread a sentence in order to understand it, then there is something wrong with the sentence (or your partner, but let’s not go there . . .)
7. Edit. Get picky. Make sure that you have included clear transitions between ideas and that sentences are punctuated correctly. Correct all spelling errors. Spell-check doesn’t find every error. If you cannot spot spelling errors, get someone who spells well to read your final draft and correct the spelling errors before you turn in your final draft.

REMINDER: THE BEST WRITERS REVISE MANY TIMES BEFORE THEY ARE SATISFIED WITH A PIECE OF WRITING.