Session 13 (Personal Narrative)

Taking Charge of the Writing Process

Deciding Where to Begin and How to Revise from the Get-Go

Connection:

 What do you know about the writing process?

What will you do in todays writing workshop?

What will happen next?

Today I want to teach you that when writers are in charge of their own writing process, they think back over everything they know how to do, they eye their personalized writing goals, and they gather all their tools.  Then they make a work plan, and they start working really hard at it.

Teaching:

  Some of you are certain you want to start by collecting one or two more powerful personal narrative drafts, and you are already flipping through your mental files of generating strategies.  You are even looking at our "How to Write Powerful Personal Narratives" chart.  Some of you are clipping between several drafts in you notebook, thinking you may already have your seed idea. It is possible that you may, it is up to you. Some of you are looking at your goal page in your journal so you know what you want to focus on in this personal narrative. Some of you are looking at the copy of 'Everything Will Be Okay' so that you can remind yourselves of what you learned from another persons craft.  You will apply all of the lessons you have learned in the writing process.  You will continue to write fast and furiously, but you will also use those revising muscles that are so nicely toned from all of your notebook practice.  

Now you will get to use all your writer tricks as you go.  

You will be able to write for a long period of time and during that time you will be able to ask yourself:

• What have I done here?
• What would make this writing more powerful?

You will be able to do IMMEDIATE REVISION work you think is needed, and then continuing on.

No matter where you decide to start your work, you MUST continue to draw on all you have already learned about writing powerfully.

Active Engagement

Flip through the pages of your writer's notebooks. Figure out if you already have a story idea you really want to tell on one of those pages or if flipping through those pages reminds you of another powerful story idea you have been meaning to write.  

While they are flipping...This is a good time to ask yourself the kinds of questions you know lead to stronger storytelling:

• Is this story idea as powerful as it can be?
• What is this story really about?

When you take charge of your writing, you take charge of bringing out all of you trick right away.  You don't wait until you have a draft that needs a lot of revising.

Link

You may go and start your 2nd draft.

Writers, you are taking charge of your writing today, but really, you are taking charge of your writing of the rest of you life!

Keep in mind that when you come to class tomorrow, you will have chosen 1 personal narrative as the seed idea for your 2nd personal narrative.  you only have today and tonight's writing time, so really draw on all of your resources and be in charge of doing your strongest writing yet. 

Homework:

Tonight you have one last chance to generate one more personal narrative draft in you notebook.  You will definitely want to use all of your important tools:

• Everything Will Be Okay
• Your Narrative Writing Checklist
• Your Personal Narrative you have been working on

After you write those powerful 2 pages, you will commit to a seed idea to take through the writing process.  Remember to read over all you entries when you set out to choose your seed idea-even the ones you collected right at the start of the unit.