Tim Fredrick's ELA Teaching Blog

The Messy Writing Process

I've always felt that the writing process as it is usually taught (brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) does not truly reflect the actual process  of writing.  We treat writing like a list of steps to be checked off when done.  As I was writing pieces and papers about the writing process and how important it was, I realized that I wasn't using the writing process as it is traditionally taught.

So, I've revamped it to make it less linear and more messy.  I may have  more revisions on this piece (see how messy writing is!), but here are my thoughts in the most final form I can muster as this point.

Topic and Idea Development
Topic Selection
Idea Development
Organization

In this first stage, the writer needs to first figure out what he is writing about.  This is selecting a topic.  As he starts to form his topic, he is also developing the ideas that may or may not be including in the writing piece.  This concurrent process - selecting topics and developing ideas - help in selecting the best topic.  After all, he would not select a topic for which he could not come up with any ideas for.  In this way, the writer may go back and forth between selecting a topic and develping ideas until a final topic is selected.  When the final topic is selected (and this is not to say that a writer couldn't - at any stage in the whole process - change his mind and begin a new topic), he then begins to develp ideas and organize them into what may make a decent structure considering the form and content of the writing piece.  The writer moves onto the next stage of the Messy Writing Process when he feels that he has the ideas and organization that allow him to begin drafting.  This stage may or may not involve writing any of these thoughts down.  Personally, this stage usually occurs mentally and only when I feel that I have my ideas develped and organized enough to draft do I start to write my thoughts down.  Students must be taught different methods for topic selection, idea development, and organization -- and be allowed to use the methods that work best for them.  Our jobs as writing teachers is to simply give them a tool box - this may mean having them practice different techniques, but the choice is up to them which ones they use for their writing process.

Writing and Revising
Continued Idea Development and (Re)Organization
Drafting
Soliciting Feedback
Revising
Proofreading and Adding Style

This stage is the most non-linear and messy of them all.  ALL of these steps occur in all different order - depending on the writer, the task, and the context of the task.  By no means, should the above list be considered 'steps'.  These occur in the most messy of fashions.  All through the process, the writer continues to develop ideas and organize his thoughts.  He may develop more ideas as (1) part of the natural writing process - as he writes, something else comes to mind - and (2) as a deliberate brainstorming when he reaches a wall or feels he needs to push his thoughts.  Just like the Topic and Idea Develpment stage, this continued idea develpment may occur mentally or physically (on paper).  Drafting is simply the act of putting thoughts down on paper in sentence and paragraph form.  Again, continued idea development may occur as a natural part of this process (too often, students shut off the voice in their head that gives them new ideas because it is not in their prescribed outline).  Writers may also (Re)Organize their thoughts as they draft.  (Re)Organizing means that writers change their original organization or a new organization develops organically as part of the drafting process.  Soliciting feedback could mean two things: (1) bouncing ideas off other people or discussing a topic (this is, in reality, an idea development technique), and (2) giving someone else a draft for their opinions.  These opinions may or may not be used in revising, which is changing words already written down in the drafting stage.  A writer may, after getting feedback, go back to the drawing board completely rip up a draft and recommence idea development.  All during this process, the writer is constantly evaluating and re-evaluating word choices and use of language.  In this stage, the ideas are of the utmost concern and should be the first priority, but it is 'okay' (and completely natural) for a writer to be drafting/revising and proofreading and adding style to the writing. The latter is particularly important.

As teachers, we have made the biggest mistake in making this stage of the process linear.  In writing conferences with students, I've commented on a particular paragraph that needs to have more depth and development and I suggest some brainstorming.  They look at me like I'm crazy and say, "But I already brainstormed!"  This stage is a constant barrage of develping ideas, getting feedback, evaluating what's been written, writing, re-writing, and scratching out.  In an attempt to teach students that writing is a process (certainly, a valuable lesson), we've completely screwed the process up.  We've tried to make it clean and 'teachable', but we've come up with a process that probably hinders students more than it helps.  Writing is messy.  That's okay.  Good writers are messy writers.

Finalizing
Proofreading and Adding Style

In this stage, the writer is nearing completion of the piece.  He has stopped the revising and soliciting of feedback.  He is now just putting the finishing touches on the piece, making sure that the i's are dotted and the t's crossed.  He may add some style changes here and there, but he is probably not going to revise whole chunks of text. This is a step that writing students often skip entirely.  When they are finished revising based on feedback, they rarely go back and read it as a reader, not as the writer of the piece.  They don't stop and take the time to see if the piece is 'clean' and 'enjoyable'.  This is an important step, and we need to give students the tools to complete this step.  The work done during this step could make the difference between and 'okay' piece of writing and a fantastic one.

YA Lit Review: 'Born Confused' by Tanuja Desai Hidier

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier

available here at bn.com

I don't think it is often that a YA Lit book is written so well - so well, in fact, that I think it could be easily mistaken for contemporary adult literature.  The writing is phenomenal and the story is told brilliantly.  If you love Amy Tan, then you are going to love this book.  Tan's stories have genuine voice and focus on her family.  Hidier's book has a genuine voice, but focuses more on the 17 year old main character's friendship and romantic life.

The main character, Dimple, narrates the story in a truly authentic voice, making up words and phrases like most teenagers.  Dimple is a U.S. born girl of Indian immigrants and, as such, is caught between two worlds.  She feels neither completely Indian nor completely American.  The book tells the story of her trying to find her identity and carve a place for herself in the world.  It is  a story that will be very relevant to first generation Americans of any descent, but also to all teenagers.  Dimple's struggle to figure out who she is the story of every teenager, not just sons and daughters of immigrants.

The main plot revolves around Dimple's parents setting her up with the son of an old friend.  She is to be a suitable girl for a suitable boy.  Dimple, upon hearing this plan, immediately dismisses the meeting.  She agrees to attend but is hell bent on not liking the guy, Karsh.  They meet and it is a disaster.  She tells her best (and beautiful) friend Gwen that the meeting was "like Titanic but without the romance".  Later at a club frequented by Indians, Dimple runs into Karsh and after spending some time with him begins to feel differently.  She beautifully describes the feelings you have when you are almost touching someone you like.  Her friend Gwen interrupts the re-meeting and (unaware of Dimple's changing feelings) blabs to Karsh about how horrible Dimple said the meeting was.  (This scene is one of the most hilarious scenes I've ever read - with Dimple desperately trying to get Gwen to shut up while Gwen unabashedly tells Karsh everything Dimple said about him.)  Afterward Gwen tells Dimple how much she liked Karsh and was planning on courting him -- and, of course, Dimple the best friend was going to have to help her get Karsh.  What ensues could destroy Gwen and Dimple's relationship and make Dimple lose any chance with the completely suitable Karsh.

There are several sub-plots, each contributing to the theme of the book.  Dimple goes through a transformation and at the end of the book sees herself and the world through a different light.  The theme will speak to most teenagers and the book has some valuable lessons to help a teenager through the dark times of adolescence.

This book is not for everyone, though.  The language becomes quite sophisticated in parts and Dimple's voice is extremely unique (and her sentences quite complex).  The fact that she makes up words or reinvents them can make the reading difficult.  She also uses a lot of references in her narration that a struggling (or even average) reader may not understand.  The length of the book - at 500 pages - could be overwhelming as well.  But, this is a perfect book for the confident reader who is very close to making the transition into adult literature.

Back from Blogging Break

After a three week break from blogging, I'm excited to get back.  I don't handle school vacations well since I'm sort of a workaholic.  I'm happy that we are back to work next week.

This year is going to be a big year of changes for me in terms of the way I work.  I'm transferring do a different school.  This one is a new high school program in Brooklyn,  which is an expansion of a middle school.  This year is the second year, so we will have 9th and 10th grade.  This school has some very progressive values and I really think I'm going to be able to push my teaching in the direction I want it to go.  The other ELA teacher and I get along well and have many similarities philosophically.  Working with him has been a real pleasure and has helped in my preparation.  Just sitting down and talking with him about ideas and coming to conclusions has been helpful.  Part of my hesitation is that I don't know the students all that well and he knows them better.  But, I also think the act of talking and collaborating is very useful.  Putting ideas out there and tossing them around.  Other people see things in a different light and it is so useful to have different lights on an idea.  I'm really looking forward to meeting and planning with him.

Collaboration is definitely going to be a theme for me this year: not only do I have a new partner in my full-time high school teaching position, but I also have a new partner for my night-time methods and student teaching class at the local university.  She's been a great help in bouncing ideas off and moving the course in a direction that I wanted it to go in, but couldn't figure out how to take it there (or was scared to do it, actually).  I wanted to model this basic methods class after some ideas from the National Writing Project, namely having students share what they have done in their classes.  The student teachers so much want the supervisors and professors around them what to do or give feedback that they don't realize that they are each other's best resource.  I also feel this method - sharing and discussing what has worked best - will help them acquire skills that will benefit them when they are teaching full-time.  My partner and I are also working with a doctoral student at the university to incorporate a blog into our classes.  I'm sure I will be writing about this more in the future once we get it up and running.

In the past years, I really haven't had much opportunity to collaborate or work with others.  I'm very excited that both my jobs this year will be pushing me in that direction.