For many years, I’ve started graduate classes by reading Terry Tempest Williams’ essay “Why I Write.”

Her essay reminds me of a prose poem. She begins each sentence with “I write.”

Time to Write

Don’t think too much before writing. Do your thinking in writing.

I can see two ways you can go about doing this writing.

Option 1: Do a 5 minute freewrite before reading Terry’s essay. Follow that by reading Terry’s essay. Freewrite some more.

Option 2: Read her essay first. Then write.

Either way will work.

I'll be writing my own response this week, too. I'd love to compare notes. Leave a comment and tell me how it went.

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Oddly, the first thing I thought of was “Wal-mart greeter.” Weird, right? Have you ever heard a teacher in the Ozarks say they wanted to be, or would rather be, a Wal-mart greeter? I asked someone sitting by me who had been teaching at Emory University in Atlanta and Nick in Queens if they had ever heard of that expression.

They had not. LOL

I didn’t intend to write a concrete poem. It just came out that way inspired by CAConrad’s shape. When I did though, you’ll notice I started writing from bottom to top. I started at the top and ended at the top.

It was just pure fun. You can start with a shape or start from the line

“in a past life I was . . . “

Share how it went, or if you are brave, share what you wrote. Until the next article . . .

All the Best,

Keri

Write with me. I’ve recreated my presentation from the Assembly for Expanded Learning Perspectives at University of California-Santa Barbara. You joined Everyone Can Write. Let’s do it.

How long will this take?

You can break this up over a day or four days. Give yourself ~15-20 minutes for each part. I’ll have this as a podcast as well, so you can listen as well as read along.

Share what you wrote or share how the process went for you.

Everyone can write is my motto. This is a great starting place, and I’ll guide you along. Let’s go.

Part I

We are going to do several pieces of writing.

After each writing, I’ll ask you to rate that writing on a scale.

How easy or challenging was the writing? Rate it on a scale. 1 is so easy and 10 is so challenging

Rate your own level of fluency. How fluent were you? 1=blocked and 10=poured out.

I’ll ask you what resources you employed in writing it. What resources did you use that were outside of you? Not “in you” materials, but outside of you.

Part II—Here and Now Report

Write about what’s happening now.

Set your timer for 5-10-15 minutes.

The timer is stopped. Now think about yourself for a minute.

How did you know what to say?

How easy or hard was the task? 1=easy, 10=very challenging

Rate how fluent you were. 1=blocked, 10=poured out

What did you use to know what to say? What did you use inside yourself? What did you use outside of yourself?

Part III

Remember a favorite place where you used to play when you were a child. What was it like? Where was it? Who was there? Who was with you? Who was with you? What did you do there? What did it feel like?

Set the timer for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. What you feel comfortable with.

Rate your joy on a scale of how much fun it was to write.

1=deadly boring and 10=ecstatic, thrilled

How fluent did you feel? 1 being block and 10 being poured out

What were your feelings in anticipation of doing the task?

Part III

Write a well-informed account of one of the features of childhood play spaces.

You’ll need some research for this, and we will do this by interviewing people. If we were together in a room, I would have you interview each other. This writing has to be more than about you. You could call a friend and ask them. You could share your writing in the comments. I’ll share mine so that is one person at least.

Now, listen or read three to four other people share what they wrote and take notes of features that describe. A quick phone call might do. Just ask around a bit.

After you’ve talked and made some notes from a few people, what questions does your discussion of this raise for you? [For example, did you wonder, do kids still do this? Does this happen in other cultures?]

Now it is time to write your well-informed piece using the “interviews” you did. These are primary sources outside of yourself.

Write a well-informed piece of what makes a really good childhood play space.

Set the timer and go.

The timer is stopped and now it is time to think about you.

What was your anticipation of the task?

How easy or difficult was the actual task of what you just wrote? Rate yourself.

How fluent was it? Rate yourself.

How did you know what to say? What faculties did you use to write it?

Part IV

Now it is time to write a theory of childhood play.

You may be wondering: what is a theory?

--it’s an educated guess

--it’s an assumption

--it’s drawing a conclusion, but not certain

--it’s a belief proven to be true that is tested over time. If you are the first person who has articulated the theory then it hasn’t been tested.

An example are Vygotskyu’s theory of the zone of proximal development and how learning occurs in this “ZPD.” It explains how people learn.

Another example is that Galileo said the earth moved around the sun. It was a theory that at first was not proven.

With a theory you don’t have to give evidence. If it seems plausible, you have to test and disprove it.

A theory can be a proposed answer to a question

A theory is a generalization that lacks specific details.

If you feel unsure about writing a theory, imagine in your neighborhood a group of people are about to build a playground for children. As a group, you will decide what kind of playground should be built. What’s your argument for doing it a particular way? What’s your evidence?

Set the timer and go.

What are your feelings about having to write this?

What external resources outside and internal/inner resources did you use? What faculty did you exercise in order to write this?

Rate the formality of the discourse. Martin Joos in The Five Clocks described intimate levels of discourse (children, lovers, and pets), conversational (friends, consultative), and frozen (ceremonies, thee/thou, religious services, inauguration). Rate your formality from 1 (not formal) to 10 (inauguration).

How academic was your language? How technical is the language? colloquial? everyday?

When you theorized, what resources did you use?

Now, here’s a rough theory of discourse:

The kinds of writing we did recapitulate the kinds of writing in school. What kind of theory of discourse accounts for why what you did was harder or easier?

What level of discourse did we engage in? What was our first writing, second, third, and fourth?

The last piece was our theory—our “high theory” piece. One theory might be as follows:

Kids need open spaces and opportunities to make decisions.

• No grownup allowed—kids need autonomy to make their own decisions.

• Kids are influenced by adults as authority figures and therefore and wait to do until they are asked and told. When there are only kids there, they are the ones in charge. Opportunities for imaginations. The play space should inspire imagination. So, therefore, … [Steve]

All of this writing we did is grounded in several language theorists. SI Hayakawa was a language theorist and US Senator who theorized that language affects how we think about things.

Your writing moved up and down the ladder of abstraction and across different kinds of discourses. Writing is a spectrum or continuum, not a hierarchy. It’s a range of experiences, AND an integration of experiences described using different discourses. In 2015, Steve, at an AEPL conference said, “You can’t think highly and abstractly if you can’t report.” So, those early reporting and notation stages were important.

Part V

What are you going to take back with you? Jeff Wilhelm calls this procedural feedback. I called it thinking about your thinking.

All of you are trying to write different things. You started writing concretely and then moved through different levels of abstractions.

You used your memory. You took notes. You listened to people and synthesized what you heard.

We just tested a theory of language and writing.

What happened as you wrote? What were the changes? How did your scales change? Why do you think that was?

A lot of the time—and we have been taught this—we feel that formal language is the goal. But language is about communicating. Different levels of discourse demand different types of language.

We all can do sensory writing—the here and now writing.

Memory takes a little bit more mature capacity.

Then, we have generalization—it takes even more maturity to generalize and categorize features.

Sheridan Blau, a reknowned educator and language educator, Milton scholar, and inspiration for this said “Reason is discursive and intuitive.” Intuition is the kind of reasoning and thinking we know immediately. “When we teach writing we move from animal states to angelic states, and we are helping writers align themselves with angelic thinking. But since it is intuitive, it is often forgotten about. The kinds and levels of difficulty—the fears, anxieties, the pleasure—some is fun, some is not, and the kinds of terror is perfectly natural.”

As writers, we have to be moving around from concrete to angelic, from intuition to resasoning.

How did it go for you? Leave a comment. It keeps me going.

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Let’s set the stage

This article focuses on how talking about writing helps to develop writers. The purpose is to learn how to set up an interaction between a reader and a writer to develop writing. The non-purpose is to evaluate or edit writing.

Start by asking the author what kind of feedback they would like. Is this a first draft and they are “writing down the bones,” as Natalie Goldberg writes? Is this a muscles draft that needs the ideas developed more? Or is it ready for the skin to be cleaned up and ready for a final polish? In any of these cases, it is important to establish where they are in their thinking.

That’s not what most of us were taught. The tone of peer conferences, peer feedback, and writing workshops tend to lean heavily toward editing or evaluation. “Isn’t that what they should be doing?” you might ask. Well, I think there’s more to it.

I want to offer you three frames for giving feedback. In our Writers’ Room, we lean on Bless, Press, and Address, but I’ll walk you through all three because they share the same spirit. These can all be helpful to frame a conversation to help you and a friend to develop your writing.

Praise–Question–Wish

I learned this through my work as Director of a National Writing Project site. I looked for the original article but couldn’t track it down; there’s a helpful video from the Naval Postgraduate School site that describes it. Here’s how it works.

Look for something in the writing you can praise. Honestly, so many of us are so practiced at spotting what’s wrong that it can be genuinely hard to choose something that’s right!

Next, ask a question. A few to get you started:

• How did you come up with this idea?

• What do you think this character did next?

• If you were me, what would you have done? (my personal favorite)

Finally, offer the author a wish:

• I wish I had read more about X.

• I wish I could learn more about Y.

Praise–Question–Polish

This version ends with a suggestion for something to polish rather than a wish. At times you’ll want to address editing but let the author guide that decision, but the “polish” suggestion should really focus on something more substantive like content, organization, or structure.

These comments can sound a lot like a “wish.” I like “wish” because it feels less evaluative. Most people love picking out what to “fix,” but I’m more concerned with helping writers have conversations that leave them satisfied by which I mean they felt heard, the writing still feels like theirs, and they walk away with some ideas about how to move forward.

Bless–Press–Address

I learned this one from the Ozarks Writing Project Summer Institute. The author asks the reader to Bless, Press, or Address.

Ask for a Bless when:

• you’re not ready for a full-blown critique

• the writing is highly personal

• you don’t plan to share it with a wider audience

• you’re sharing a first draft

• you care deeply about the writing and this is the first time sharing it

Ask for a Press when:

• you’ve written more than one draft

• you have questions about organization (you might ask the responder, “Can you tell me where it starts to stop making sense?”)

• you have questions about structure

• you want to know the best part of the writing—what resonates, what brings a vivid picture to the reader’s mind

Ask for an Address when:

• you feel close to finishing or sharing with a larger audience

• you’re no longer so emotionally connected that feedback will feel like pain

• you’re reading for editing

• you want the reader to tell you what might be missing or where there’s confusion

Sentence starters to help you out

You’ll see from these sentence starters that I used these when teaching faculty at a major comprehensive university to provide feedback on general education assessment reports.

Bless / Praise

• “This report gave me an idea …”

• “Nice job collecting evidence.”

• “Good job getting a team of faculty together to look at the evidence.”

• “I loved seeing the action you took after you looked at the evidence.”

• “I see you …”

Press / Question

• “As a reader, is there anything that hangs you up?”

• “Is there anything that needs further explanation?”

• “I was wondering …”

• “I’ve seen …”

• “I’m wondering if …”

• “I challenge you to consider your strengths as well.”

• “What kind of help or feedback do you need?”

• “I noticed …”

Address / Polish

• “I’m curious about …”

• “One idea might be to …”

• “Consider reviewing …”

• “You’ve put so much work into this. I’d love to see you put as much time into thinking about the next step. Is there one next step you see?”

I’m looking at the long game here. I want everyone to write for the rest of their lives. In my experience, without taking the time to develop some rapport, talk about some guidelines or norms when you talk about writing, and make sure the author is in the driver’s seat, responding to writing is pretty fruitless.

So what do you think? Which do you prefer and which will you try in the future? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

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Not genre.

Not mode.

Memory.

Let’s tap into memory. So many great ways to do this. I’ll share one today. These foray’s can be done separately or together. You could do this in 10 minute increments or for a total of 30 minutes.

CYou’ll want blank paper, something to write with, and a timer, if you want to time it.

Franklin's Writing Forays

Set your timer for 10 minutes and try this

Foray #1

Draw your timeline and mark five or ten year increments. Give yourself plenty of room.

Make some notes on your timeline. Here are some questions to help.

• Note where you lived between 0 and 5. 5 and 10 etc.

• What were the memories that stick out for you between 0 and 5, 5 and 10, 10 and 15, 15 and 20. Try to jot down one memory. If five years is too hard, try for one memory a decade.

• Note the people you remember.

• Note the places you remember

Foray #2

Take a look at your memory notes. Set your timer for 10 more minutes and try this.

Write about someone you are related to.

Write about an incident in your childhood that struck you hard.

Foray #3

Set your timer for 10 more minutes and try this.

Write about another person you are related to or more about the first one you wrote about.

Write about another incident in your childhood.

Foray #3

Take a moment to make a note to yourself about how the writing went. Describe what the process was like. And answer the questions, “If I had more time, I would . . . “

Leave a comment and let me know how the writing went for you.

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The way we do this is through collage. Most of us are familiar with collage as an art form in which objects are pasted on a canvas. A written collage consists of separate, disconnected bits of writing rather than one continuous piece.

Our goal is to bring together disparate, yet related, pieces of writing without draining ourselves through the pressure of creating a perfectly coherent final product.

It’s a Quick and Dirty essay. There doesn’t have to be a smooth and easy flow from one idea to the next.

Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff write about collages:

A collage allows you simply to skip what are the hardest parts of the writing process: revising weak passages; getting the whole piece unified (all of the bits are related, but there may not be an exact center; figuring out the best order; and making transitions between sections (there are none). 

I’ll walk you through the steps . . .

1. Look through your writing (freewrites, notes, scratches). Other experiences may come to mind. Write some more bits about memories or incidents. There may be a memory of a scene that works as an opener or a closer. You don’t need a traditional introduction or conclusion. Don’t do it.

2. Print them out OR put them all together in one file. You need to print them out to get that tactile experience of moving the words (your images) into different configurations. Spread them out so you can see all of it and start arranging in your best order.

   1. If you were handwriting, this is a great time to have a large-language model transcribe a photo of your writing into a Word doc. It’s important to play with this. You could even print and paste the words. I think you’ll need a bigger page than 8 1/2 by 11 though. Give yourself room.

   2. Cut your print-outs into separate paragraphs and randomly select the order. See what you think and re-arrange as necessary.

   3. Put them together in whatever order strikes you as best or most interesting for giving a picture. From the workshop I did yesterday, the passages should give a picture on how you write.

   4. Revise negatively by leaving out sentences or passages that don’t work.

   5. Leave spaces, asterisks, or some kind of divider to mark a transition to a new idea. It is important to have something between those ideas. If you don’t, it begins to look like a normal essay with no transitions!

3. Have an ally or peer read it. Ask them to respond with no criticism or evaluation.

   1. Ask them to give you movies or their mind.

      1. What are they thinking as they read it?

      2. Where is the center?

      3. What’s a part that surprises or moves them?

      4. Where can they most relate?

      5. What do they wonder about?

4. Copyedit

5. Write an artist’s statement that tells the story of how you wrote it. How did you go about it? How did it feel?

Leave a comment and share the story of how you wrote it or share your collage.

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If you are unfamiliar with freewriting, here’s how to do it: set a timer for ten minutes and write without stopping. Don’t judge. Don’t correct. Keep your pen or fingers moving. If you don’t know what to write, write “I don’t know what to write until you write something else.”

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This post is for educators grades 7-University thinking about teaching literature or for writers looking for ideas to write from different perspectives. These were designed for ENG 200: Great Books & Instant Classics

In my literature classes, I have all kinds of majors.

In this post, I’m sharing what I’m assigning this semester in an ENG 200: Great Books and Instant Classics course. I was re-reading Art Young and John Bean (links below), and it made me recall R.A.F.T.: role, audience, format, and task. This acronym is used to help faculty create assignments. The goal is to create an assignment that gives students a role, an audience, a format, and a task. I decided to attempt this, and here are the assignments I came up with.

Disclaimer: As I re-read them, I see some do a better job of RAFT, than others.

Option 1: Starting Your Own Book Club

This one was inspired by Percival Everett saying that the most radical thing you can do is read and talk about books.

You’ve been out of college for ten years now, and one thing you miss is reading and talking about books. It has been a long time, and you have fond memories of discussing literature as an undergraduate. If only you could go back. Some friends have decided to start a book group, and you’ll be meeting monthly. It is your job to choose the books the group will read.

Write a summary, in your own words, of four of the books you selected. You’ve decided to choose from the books you read in ENG 200 all those years ago. As the book club host for the summer and early fall, you’ll be emailing or posting the summaries on Facebook. Your goal is to excite readers without giving away any spoilers.

Then, you’ll need to develop questions to guide the discussion. You will begin with an ice‑breaker or community‑building question connected to a concept from the book, followed by a series of discussion questions. Because you are hosting, you will also write your own answers to the questions. Finally, you will write a paragraph that helps the book club connect to the book’s big ideas.

Option 2: Your Reading Journey

This reminded me of a sort of literary autobiography.

Write an 8–10-page exploratory research essay that traces your reading journey chronologically, beginning with what happened before you joined this class. The paper should open with a reflection on where your reading journey began and follow your reading and thinking through the books you studied in class. Then, write a first‑person narrative describing your thinking process as you explore this journey by researching literature, talking with classmates, rereading the novels, and drawing on your own experiences, memories, and observations.

Your narrative should include a summary of three novels, followed by an explanation of how your ideas evolved during the process of research and reflection. You will be evaluated on the quality of your exploration and thinking. Your goal is not to take a firm stance on an issue but to report honestly on your process of wrestling with it.

Option 3: Music Supervisor

We had read Project Hail Mary and had seen the movie. We ended up talking about the music. This was also inspired by an interview I heard with Christa Miller, an actor on Shrinking, who is also the Music Supervisor for the show and other shows you’ve seen.

Music has been your life and now you have the break of a lifetime. If your selections are approved, you will serve as the music coordinator for Ryan Gosling’s new movie! You’ve been asked to propose a soundtrack for a new movie based on a novel you read in college. You will need to write a Professional Creative Proposal to the director. In addition to the typical creative proposal, you’ll need to include the songwriter, singer, and lyrics. Highlight the lyrics that strongly connect with the novel and write three to four paragraphs to the director explaining why the songs you chose should be included.

Overview/Vision Statement

• Your understanding of the film’s tone, themes, and emotional arc

• How the music will enhance the director’s vision

Musical Approach

• Genre/style recommendations

• Specific examples of composers, artists, or reference tracks. You’ll highlight the lyrics that strongly connect with the novel

Budget & Resources

• Estimated music budget breakdown

• Licensing considerations

• Composer/artist availability

Timeline

• Key milestones (temp music, spotting session, recording, final mix)

• Delivery dates aligned with post-production schedule

Your Qualifications

• Relevant experience, past projects

• Industry relationships that could benefit the project

Format Considerations:

• Usually, 2-4 pages for initial pitch but you will be adding narrative and specific lyrics to support your thinking.

• You have even considered adding mood boards, Spotify playlists, or reference links

• Professional but creative tone—you’re selling a vision

• If you aren’t able to present in person, you can also record your pitch and supporting materials

Option 4: Creative Director at a Publishing Company

You’ve secured a job with a publishing company that is redesigning covers for several important novels. These books are excellent—some even considered instant classics. Your task is to redesign and provide a new vision for the hard copies, e‑books, and audiobooks. Fortunately, you have colleagues working with you, and you only need to choose four books to redesign. They have graciously given you first choice. Your task is to design new covers and for each redesign and write a one to two page narrative, or artist statement, explaining your artistic vision for each cover and how the design connects to the novel.

Option 5: Prosecuting Attorney

You’re the new prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office. As the DA, it is your responsibility to file criminal charges after reviewing law enforcement investigative reports, evidence, and witness statements to determine whether probable cause exists. Prosecutors initiate cases by filing a formal document—either a complaint, information, or indictment—with the court.

Choose a crime from one of the novels which needs to be prosecuted. Your first step will be to write the Case Evaluation. Prosecutors examine police reports, physical or digital evidence, witness testimony, and the suspect’s criminal history to determine whether charges are supported. You’ll write a 2-page memo to the District Attorney explaining the case.

The DA agrees with you, and now you’ll draft 2–3-page complaint outlining the charges filed to initiate proceedings which will include the following:

• the name of the suspect,

• a statement of the facts constituting the crime (who, what, when, where),

• a showing of probable cause (evidence supporting the claim), and

• the complainant’s signature, often under oath or penalty of perjury.

Filing: The prosecutor officially files these documents with the court, initiating the formal criminal process. Prosecutors—not police—decide the specific charges (e.g., felony or misdemeanor) based on legal requirements and evidence.

Option 6: Cognitive Psychologist

As a cognitive psychologist consulting for a high school English department, write an 6–10-page Psychological Case Brief that uses accessible psychological frameworks to illuminate how character psychology shapes story interpretation.

Write a psychology case analysis for a non-technical audience of teachers. Choose one character from two to three characters from the novels and do the following:

1. Diagnose cognition & motivation using key concepts (e.g., cognitive dissonance, confirmation bias, attachment theory, schemas, identity development, moral reasoning, learned helplessness).

2. Analyze the impact on the plot/conflicts—how the character’s psychological profile drives pivotal events.

3. Explain reader effects through empathy/perspective‑taking, attribution errors, emotional contagion, and narrative transportation.

   Recommend discussion questions for the teachers on how to apply psychological insight to literary analysis.

   

   ---

Option 7: Literary Critic

You are an emerging literary critic for The Contemporary Literary Review, an online journal publishing the series Fresh Perspectives: Contemporary Novels Through Critical Lenses. The journal reaches educated general readers, students, book club members, and literary enthusiasts. Each month, you choose a book and write a 4,000–6,000‑word critical analysis essay. Your standard process is to apply one critical lens to a novel of your choice, using the list of critical approaches from a great books and instant classics course you enjoyed in college. You love introducing readers to new books and conducting close readings to uncover new perspectives.

Eight Critical Lens Options:

• Formalist

• Historical/Biographical

• Psychological/Psychoanalytic

• Mythic/Archetypal

• Feminist/Gender Studies

• Marxist/Sociological

• Reader‑Response

• Structuralism/Post‑structuralism

Option 8: Poet

You are a poet and didn’t know it. Until now.

Choose four novels from class and write four original poems. You may choose any poetic form:

• Free verse

• Narrative poem

• Found poem

• Persona poem (from the POV of a character)

• Ekphrastic poem based on a scene or symbolic object

• Sonnet, haiku, or other structured form

Each poem should:

• Be at least 12–20 lines (unless writing a tightly structured form like a haiku)

• Demonstrate intentional language choices (imagery, sound, metaphor, tone)

• Show a clear connection to the novel

• Write an Artist’s Statement for Each Poem (150–200 words) that explains

• What part of the novel inspired the poem

• How your poem reflects a theme, conflict, or character

• Why you chose your particular poetic form or style

• Include Two Textual Touchpoints. For each poem, integrate at least:

• One direct quotation from the novel or

• One specific reference to a moment, image, symbol, or character choice. These can be woven into the poem or explained in your artist’s statement.

Sample approaches:

• Capture a character’s inner voice

• Write from the point of view of a character, exploring their fears, hopes, or hidden motivations.

• Reimagine a moment

• Rewrite a scene as an emotional or sensory experience.

• Highlight a theme

• Turn ideas like identity, injustice, memory, loss, love, or resistance into poetic imagery.

• Focus on symbolism

• Build a poem around a recurring object, color, or image in the novel.

• Explore relationships

• Write about the tension, connection, or misunderstanding between characters.

Signing Off

I’ll know soon how this turned out. After talking more about it in class yesterday, several have chosen to draw, and they have been drawing since I first introduced this. Some are writing poetry, which I find a popular choice at times. The psychologist is considering the Psychology Option or the Literary Critic.

These eight prompts work best when you let students choose. Agency IS the motivating factor. Choosing is a small writing decision that has huge impacts on motivation. I'd love to know if any of these catches your eye, or if you have others to add to this. Does your discipline point you to another idea?

Things to Read for Writing Across the Disciplines

Writing Across the Curriculum by Art Young

Engaging Ideas by John Bean

A true accomplishment is just getting this trip off of the ground. The idea was beautiful and the paperwork was trying. I shed tears over the paperwork.

13 years, no sabbatical, no study away. None of the things I dreamed about when I got a PhD. It makes me sad to write these words.

And then three years ago this summer I found out I had breast cancer. I was “lucky.” It was “good” I caught it. But, honestly, ignorant bliss is a wonderful thing.

Staring mortality in the face when you thought you were invincible. That you could be everything to everyone. That work was more important. Not that I thought that, but my actions spoke that I did. And all of this happened until I couldn’t.

I had a cold, hard stop. A hard re-set. Filled with painkillers, doctor’s visits, pokes and prods, and realizations of what life means now. That life is short. So short. And I have to make time for the things that matter.

To me, London always mattered. It’s the place I wanted to live, and now, in my mid-40s, I wonder why I didn’t. What stopped me?

Doesn’t really matter. Things have worked out well in a traditional sense. I have few regrets. I’m proud of getting this trip together. You couldn’t even imagine the obstacles, both real and imagined.

But, I had friends and colleagues who supported and encouraged me. Getting the trip off the ground was so trying. And, I honestly felt nervous. This was a big commitment for the university students who ranged from undergrads to graduate students —financially, mentally, emotionally. I wanted everyone to feel like it was worth it.

What sticks in my mind? I look at my pictures. The tiredness of the first day and the complete change in personality the next. The woman in Oxford was frustrating and funny—she so clearly thought we knew nothing of English history, religion, or contemporary television.

Then, the poor, poor man giving the tour—the gigantic elephant bulge in his bright red pants. So large that I didn’ t want to look and spent the whole time not looking down. He smelled like the couch in my basement where a feral cat had snuck in and peed on the couch.

I was proud when you led us. I was proud when you walked away, an agenda in hand with places to see, and you just went. I wanted you to match what you read to what you could see.

The most important thing I did? I’m not sure. I was so glad you liked the Bloomsbury tour and the Oscar Wilde tour. I loved that you loved Jane Austen’s home. The Globe. The tea. Learning what “thirsty” meant. Mark, as much as you said you felt old, it does not even compare to how I felt when I learned what “thirsty” meant.

I did this because someday I won’t. Everything won’t always be the same. I might not feel well. I might not want to leave. Things change.

A typical moment was breakfast in the morning. My favorite little rolls with a little raisin custard.

My worst moment was the heat of the British Museum and knowing that everyone was so tired. I love the British Museum but it was certainly hard to enjoy that day.

A turning point was when you didn’t need a guide on the Tube. That flipped the switch for you and made you into a world traveler.

I so enjoyed the boat ride and especially getting off at the Tower Bridge and finding that amazing, small, very old chapel. 675! 675! How could that be? The Norman Conquest was in 1066. Shakespeare died in 1616. We lit candles and said prayers.

We walked below the church and into the Crypt museum where Roman road was uncovered. James Madison’s signature was in the book from when he married [Dolly Madison!] in the church, and I can’t get the picture out of my mind of the lead we could see that melted down into the crypt after a bombing in World War II that destroyed part of the church.

People still pray here. We were the only ones there. The museum was free. Change and dollars were dropped into receptacles. It was quiet and beautiful. I remember breathing—a timeline of history running in my head.

I will always remember walking back to the hotel, taking a wrong turn on a cobblestone street. We found a small local pub that said “cask ale.” I walked in, feeling odd with my husband and two children.

We ordered two beers, two sodas, and crisps. It was quiet when we walked in, like it would be quiet in a small, rural town in Missouri when strangers walk into a diner quiet.

The two men at the bar recommended trying an awful beer—the beet sour. A beautiful pink colour. I smelled.

“Smells like cabbage, doesn’t it?”

Yes, it did. I tasted the sour, cabbage smelling, rose-colored beer.

“Yes, it is awful.”

The girl behind the bar agreed.

We started chatting then about where we were from, the bombings in World War II by “those people” that destroyed much of this area except for this lone street of cobblestone and two story homes in the heart of London.

Another man sat at the bar. He had lived in Arizona once and was born around the corner at the hospital near Elephant and White. He is from Southwark. “Not many people can say that anymore.”

The kids wanted to play and Julian, now my Facebook friend, until he became so pro-Trump I am still mystified, said it was perfectly fine, and the kids played out on the cobbled street in the middle of London while we sipped our beers.

I could have stayed forever.

We kissed cheeks when one man left. I feel like I do it wrong—too much “mwuuh” and too much actual kiss.

I love to be kissed in welcome—a kiss on each cheek—just a slight touch—what a greeting. It’s my favorite, but I’d not feel the same if someone in Missouri tried it.

I might hit them.

The Assignment: A Final, Persuasive Reflection

Here’s the assignment for undergrad students, and the one I used to write this essay.

Take it. Use it. Write.

1. Review your writing and thinking from the program.

2. Look for insights from reflections that you wrote.

3. Use your writing to remember learning highlights from the study abroad.

Write a letter to me that describes your learning from the program. Pull from any writing that you’ve done pre-departure, during, and returning. There are several characteristics in writing that reveal thinking. The following list comes from Odell’s article, “Assessing Thinking: Glimpsing a Mind at Work.” I’ll attach the article, but here is a summary of questions to help you have the level of detail necessary to showcase your thinking

Don’t simply say that you have learned—give examples from the experience, readings from this class and others, and quote your own writing. For example, don’t just say that something was helpful—elaborate on why you thought it was important, how your thinking changed, or how you will apply it to your teaching.

Instead of photos or objects, let’s use writing prompts to notice what we already know about ourselves.

This is where I begin.

The Prompts

So, here are a series of 10 private, focused, and public freewriting prompts. Complete them in order. Schedule about 10 minutes for each prompt.

Who is it for?

Any age. Any writer. Use it with your students. I’ve used it in middle school, high school, and university.

Why should I try it?

For fluency! To be able to set a timer, sit down and practice letting words come to the page. You’ll learn how to freewrite for different audiences and generate ideas and release the worry of transitions! Who do we know best? Us.

What do I do after I write to the prompts?

You can stop with the prompts, and just enjoy that part.

If you want to take it a step further, try the Collage Essay. I love this part. This is where it truly becomes collage as you pick and choose your words, phrases, and paragraphs and pull them together into your collage.

And, for the teachers: When do I have students do this?

For an assignment, it can be done any time. I usually do it in the first month of school when I really want them to learn how to generate a lot of words and not worry about a perfect, finished product.

Searching for images of collage in my photos, I found this one of my son. Without explaining, you can see the throughline.

The collage writing is the same.

Each prompt is an individual snapshot. They can be viewed separately or together. Try out each of the 8 prompts in order—from private freewriting, to focused freewriting, to public freewriting.

And, finally, pull it all together to create a collage of words—a Collage Essay.

I would so love it if you shared. Join the chat or share in the comments how it went. I always love the metacognitive part. What was your thinking about your thinking? What was the process like?

Let me know!

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As time went by, I started to feel embarrassed about the amount of time that passed.

I’ve waited too long!

I imagine a kind reader saying, “Honestly, it is never too long. Start again.”

So, I apologize for the delay. I thank you for waiting.

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Start with drawing a map of your neighborhood where you lived as a child.

When you finish drawing the map, label where people lived and mark an X and label where you remember specific incidents occurring. Make notes on your map of what happened in those places and locations.

Drawing the map should pull forth some memories. Set the timer for 15 minutes and write. Here’s a Pomodoro Timer for you to use.

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Doing #1: Read what you wrote. Underline the words, phrases, or sentences that resonate with you. How much of what you wrote is pure or concrete description? How much of what you wrote is personal reaction to what you saw? Did you write in bullets? Words? Phrases? Sentences? What do you gain by writing in bullets? What do you lose? What do you gain by writing in sentences? What do you lose? Reflect on what you see in your writing. Don’t judge. Just observe different ways of writing and how it affects your writing.

Doing #2: Pick one of those places or people. You may want to write more about them and add some details that you remember. Or, you can revise negatively. Revising negatively is taking out words, phrases, or sentences. For example, you may have written “I see” or “I hear.” Try deleting these “extra” words and see what happens to the sound of your sentence.

Amsterdam at sunset. July 2024

Note: If you have been following along, this is a repeat of last week’s. The goal is to write about a new person or write more about the same person.

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Write the truth. Write what you remember, what you experience, or what YOU need to know.

What is important for you …

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