Once again, the use of drawing intrigues me (from page 35, bottom right-hand column). I find the idea of using drawing to find writing, not merely to illustrate a piece or as a writing prompt, valuable. I think that it provides an easier method for connecting with the paper and creating a sensory memory of something significant that can be translated into words so you can climb the mountain and reflect on it's deeper significance rather than just focusing on creating a concrete snapshot.
I find comfort in the fact that writing is recursive, and I'm recognizing drawing as recursive as well. Tracing the object again to soften the edges or add a detail causes you to think and rethink the object and the characteristics about it that make it significant.
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and isn't that very act of making connections empowering?
ReplyDeleteWhen I give students graphic organizers to use to organize their narrative writing, I offer one that they get to sketch a scene from the beginning, middle, end. It is amazing how many students that haven't been hooked into using an organizer buy into this.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote: "Tracing the object again to soften the edges or add a detail causes you to think and rethink the object and the characteristics about it that make it significant."
ReplyDeleteI respond to the idea of "softening the edges." I can relate this to photography. When shooting a subject close up, photographers often use a shallow depth of field, and edges tend to soften.
Thinking and rethinking...isn't that the essential message young writers need? Moreover, they need to be comfortable with it. They get so many messages about correctness in form rather than the quality of their thoughts.