Writing
I love to write and I love teaching writing. We do a lot of writing using a variety of genres and tons of different techniques, exercises, and experiments. Grammar and mechanics are also very important. Like any other artists, we need to learn how to use the tools we have before we can really create beautiful work.
One of the most important ideas that it hard for kids to embrace is this:
Your first draft should be lousy.
Kids are used to doing an assignment and turning it in. Done. Writing is not like this. It is a process. Professional writers do not produce beautiful writing on the first draft. They get it down on the page and it is almost always a mess. As the writer John Gardner has said, "I am not a very good writer, but I am an excellent rewriter." The writing process is like carving a sculpture. You start with the big block of an idea and start to chip away the parts that don't belong. You keep doing this, plus you refine and polish and thoughtfully add details.
Bad writing is easy; good writing is hard.
We are on the road to becoming good writers.
One of the most important ideas that it hard for kids to embrace is this:
Your first draft should be lousy.
Kids are used to doing an assignment and turning it in. Done. Writing is not like this. It is a process. Professional writers do not produce beautiful writing on the first draft. They get it down on the page and it is almost always a mess. As the writer John Gardner has said, "I am not a very good writer, but I am an excellent rewriter." The writing process is like carving a sculpture. You start with the big block of an idea and start to chip away the parts that don't belong. You keep doing this, plus you refine and polish and thoughtfully add details.
Bad writing is easy; good writing is hard.
We are on the road to becoming good writers.