“Research, Resources, and the Writing” of More than Petticoats: Remarkable Maine Women

                                               

What a delight to enjoy Kate Kennedy's insights, wisdom, and humor in class today. Not only did she give us background on writing a nonfiction piece such as More Than Petticoats, she also explained how a real life story of a murdered girl turned into a novel titled End Over End. And what a beautiful way to end the morning with Kate's Nate sharing a story of how to motivate that next chapter.... 

Thinking Revision

We spoke today about revision. I offered a few of my revision techniques as well as activities I use with my students. Then, we heard from others who use a variety of techniques both personally and as teachers. I enjoyed the session and, as always, I discovered a new technique or a twist on one that I hadn't used before.

Revision techniques from July 25, 2012. Remember: Click on the photo to enlarge! 

Part of life some days....

And with revision, don't forget....

"Truth vs. Story Truth and Blog Truth: If I don't tell you the whole story, am I lying?” with Emilie Brand Manhart

Blogger, mom, magazine editor, marathoner, triathlete, and English teacher Emilie Brand Manhart visited us today in Shibles 204 to share her thoughts on truths in writing. 

Click on photo to enlarge. 

Here's some of what we thought in response to Emilie's talk:

A blogger person isn’t a fake, but it’s not the whole story either.

You inspire with me...


Loved hearing about your process and how blogging disciplined your writing.

Your honesty was touching.

I will endeavor to find my voice as you have.

Truth

An important topic well illustrated….

I was very impressed with your candor…

“That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it was Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary. Aunt Polly -- Tom's Aunt Polly, she is -- and Mary, and the Widow Douglas is all told about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers, as I said before.”

You made blogging real…

You got me thinking about exposure in writing…

Thank you for putting yourself out there.

As you were speaking to us, I couldn’t help but think, “I wish she had been my English teacher.” 

Day One, Nonfiction Writing at UMaine

QuickWrites on...

"What makes writing hard for you?"  

"What makes writing easy for you?"

What makes writing hard (blue)/easy (red) for you?  

This is where we began... and didn't the conversations flow.

Next, we wrote letters to someone we have been meaning to write to. Some of us chose to avoid issues; we danced around the deeper conversation. As a result, we felt a wide range of emotions. Lesson learned: writing is powerful stuff.  

Maja Wilson helped us think about voice and audience by sharing letters she and her editor Gloria traded back and forth at the beginning stages of her book Rethinking Rubrics. What a thoughtful teacher-scholar. Weren't we lucky to have Maja as a guest.   

We read George Ella Lyon's poem "Where I'm from" and then trucked off for lunch and precious writing time to begin composing our own poems. A bit of workshopping, a discussion... and how about the reading of those poems. I admired the diversity, your voices (!), and your willingness to share. 

What do we need from our editors in a conference? 

At the end of the day, we penned our thoughts on 4x6" cards. Here's a synthesis of lines taken from that writing: 

What we said….

First off, the day went by relatively fast & I thank you for that.

I was rather anxious when we began class—I struggle with confidence as a writer.

I’m glad you freed us up to write what we want instead of what we feel we “should” do.

No worries— “Fired up and ready to go”

Maja’s discussions are always on point.

Considering how nervous I was to begin my first graduate class, this day has done wonders to allay my fears. 

Nonfiction writing is out of my comfort zone, so it is a nice change for me.

Conversations around voice & audience this morning were key to thinking about how to set up my writing.

Maja is engaging and intelligent, and she gave me some great things to think about in terms of my own writing life.

I’m strictly writing out of my head to start, so I can focus on what I know first.

I thought, “Oh, no! This is going to be a looonnng week” But as the day progressed I realized writing isn’t so bad and I’m looking forward to writing and conferencing with others throughout the week. 

I have always set my mind on the purpose of my writing but not to the voice.

“Here is what I think happened: Daddy was a prick—but we loved him.”

I like the freedom . . .  freedom of choice – freedom of format – freedom from reading – freedom from teaching and Englishy type things.

The whole nonfiction thing is still scaring the hell out of me so just so you know I’m trying.

My idea is a feature article on running/fitness at middle age. 

Here's to tomorrow's adventure! 

Just write. 

Rich

And so it begins....

This really looks like one of my first drafts!

Let's write!

Beginning to Write

Gearing up for our nonfiction writing class. And remember, my friends:

Beginning to Write

To know how to begin to write is a great art. Convince yourself that you are working in clay, not marble; on paper, not eternal bronze; let the first  sentence be as stupid as it wishes. No one will rush out and print it as it stands. Just put it down; and then another. Your whole first paragraph or first page may have to be guillotined after your piece is finished; but there can be no second paragraph until you have a first. --JACQUES BARZUN

Bartering

Ad for Coaching Management Magazine

In October of 2011, I sold an article on Athletic Team Notebooks and Journals to Athletic Management magazine (circulation: 30,100). The editor came back to me after its publication asking to use the article in other upcoming editions of sister publications called Coaching Management (football, volleyball, and baseball editions). 

For each edition, I revised my article to fit the specific sport. The revision may have taken me 20 hours or less.  Each version included an author's biography and my book's website: WritingAthletes.com

For this publishing company, writers do not receive additional money for revised reprints, so I asked the editor if she'd consider running a free ad. She checked with the publisher and ... yes! 

One quarter page ad in Athletic Management is pricey, so I feel good about the trade. Heather Boyle, my book's marketing person at Peter Lang/USA, created this ad that's set to run in the fall. 

Lesson learned: just ask--you never know.   

Finalizing the Soccer Team Notebook and Running Black Mountain

Available August 1, 2012

The last few weeks have been focused on finishing this new book. The Soccer Team Notebook offers a variety of learning opportunities for coaches and their players. The book is co-authored with Amy Edwards, head coach of the Gonzaga University women's soccer team. I enjoyed working with Amy because she has a background in using "writing as a way to learn" with her teams. 

For the past four years, Amy has been using my writing protocols with her Zags and previously with her University of Missouri team. Amy has a deep interest in sports psychology and has several friends who offered their feedback on the Team Notebook's drafts.

Handed out by the coach, a team notebook has activities that assist players in thinking more deeply training and games. The players write in the notebook in response to the various prompts.

Team Notebooks and Journals inspire writing. I think a lot of my English teaching friends would be surprised to read their student-athletes' writing in these books. Voice, detail, passion... it's the real-deal that writing teachers hope for and work toward with their students.

Team Notebooks add to the ways athletes learn in their sports. Here's a graphic I created after interviewing athletes and coaches throughout this study. This chart gives a glimpse at how writing can add to athletes' learning (as with all the pictures in this blog, click on the graphic to enlarge). 

Reprinted from Writing on the Bus (page 4)

The book also includes 100 journal prompts to help athletes think about soccer and about themselves as people, athletes, and teammates. This book is the first of 10 sports team notebooks co-published by the National Writing Project. NWP also co-published Writing on the Bus with Peter Lang/USA. I'm excited to work with a variety of coaches from different sports over the coming years. Next up, I think: the Basketball Team Notebook. 

After I finishing the final draft of the Soccer Team Notebook, Bailey and I took a celebration "run" up Black Mountain (my PR for the year: 28:52 to the top) and then ran down. Bailey hit several streams on the way down, and after the 60-minute run, knowing nothing of this book, he lounged in his favorite swimming hole with an ear-to-Big-ear grin. 

The growing silence of a writer's life

I spoke on National Writing Project radio last night, interviewed by my friend Tanya Baker. We spoke about Writing on the Bus and the two companion books. Joining me were Amy Edwards, head soccer coach of Gonzaga University; Emilie Manhart--marathoner, triathlete, blogger, magazine editor, and English teacher; and Sam Morse, a 17 year old alpine ski racer and journaler from Carrabassett Valley Academy at the base of Sugarloaf.

Since arriving at UMaine in 2003, I've been hunkered down writing. Often, I say that writing a book takes me around 1200 hours. Honestly, I have no idea how many hours it takes--1200 sounded like a good round number. It's usually 1-2 years of work mixed in with my other obligations. As for journal articles, they take 4-6 weeks of work over the course of a year or a bit more. For example, "Charlie's Words" took 14 months to complete. Here's the list of my books and articles:  

Books:

The Soccer Team Notebook

The Athlete’s Workbook: A Season of Sport & Reflection. 

Writing on the Bus 

Teaching the Neglected “R”

A Guide to Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers

Handbook:

Writing About Place

Foreword in:

The Successful High-School Writing Center 

Articles:
“Writing Across the Disciplines: Athletics”  
“Charlie’s Words: Supporting Gifted Male Athletes Using Athletes’ Journals” 
“Team Notebooks & Athlete’s Journals” 
“Power of the Pen” 
“Writing, Learning, and Competing with Team Notebooks”  
“Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers, Grades 6-12: Thoughts for College Writing Center Tutors (and their Directors)            
“Room 109’s Portfolios and Our High School Writing Center” 

“Funny Guy: A Look at Boys Who Act Out in Class” 

“Revision: Different Editors for Different Drafts? How different editors for different drafts help students to discover themselves and their writing” 

“Boys & Reading: Responsive Instruction” 

"Team notebooks: Writing to the next level, Part 1"

"Team notebooks: Writing to the next level, Part 2" 

"Team notebooks: Writing to the next level, Part 3"

I write this because I felt uncomfortable on the radio. Since the 1970s I've been on radio and TV; I've given keynotes and speeches ... and I actually looked forward to the experiences. But last night, I just wasn't feeling it and this feeling has been escalating over the past few years. 

I think I've spent so much time hunkered down behind the computer throughout my writing life that my brain has shifted in some way and my speaking abilities have dwindled. Although some writers love talking about their writing, cats, or process, I don't anymore. It's a bit frustrating to be silenced in way, but I suppose I'll get over it. 

Hiking/Running Black Mountain of Maine

We just hiked and ran BMOM in Rumford. 90 degrees with a comfortable wind and not much humidity. Bailey lavished in the stream at the end of our hike. I sucked down Gatorade and water. 


Yesterday, Bailey, Simon, and Anders (Denmark) headed out on the paddle board at Weld. They had the best time.  

Those eyes

I went to Weld to turn on the hot water at camp and get a few things done for the onslaught of summer visitors. Then, I visited Pete St. John in Weld who just adopted their 5th Newfie, a puppy named Oliver who will brother-up with 8-year-old Pope. Margo and Pete have a great deal of property on the Wilton Road in Weld that winds through the woods and is backed by Alder Brook. We went for a walk with the three dogs. Because of the rain, the brook, now more a river, bubbled white with rapids and... you guessed it, Bailey decided to take a swim like he does at camp in Bowley Brook.

Before I could say a word, he slipped into the water and was instantly swept away by the rapids. He slid through the white caps in the black churning water --his head bobbed up and down, and his widening eyes showed primal fear. I suspect few times in his young life had he felt this total lack of control.


I ran down stream and watched as Bailey started swimming powerfully, his shoulders now crowning out of the water. A small bend in the river caused a calmer pool near the shoreline;  as luck would have it, he swam until he got to land. 


I didn't have a chance to get frightened. Afterwards, I looked down river and for as far as I could see, the water churned black with rocks slicing the waves. He could have gotten wacked by a rock...  finding his black coat among that black water.... 


The next day Pete emailed, "I hope Bailey wasn't banged up too much after his plunge? I can't get that image out of my mind!"  


Neither can I. 

Writing and the teaching of writing

This morning while responding to a student's draft article on the teaching of writing, I wrote the following:

"Writing is hard; teaching writing is harder. The more formulas we devise, the more they don’t fit our students’ writing processes or interests. Argh^3"  


So many books on the teaching of writing complicate an already complicated process. My favorite and most uncomplicated advice on the teaching of writing comes from the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing:

  

1.      Everyone has the capacity to write, writing can be taught,
         and teachers can help students become better writers.

2.      People learn to write by writing.

3.      Writing is a process.

4.      Writing is a tool for thinking.

5.      Writing grows out of many different purposes.

6.      Conventions of finished and edited texts are important to
          readers and therefore to writers.

7.      Writing and reading are related.

8.      Writing has a complex relationship to talk.

9.      Literate practices are embedded in complicated social
         relationships.

10.     Composing occurs in different modalities and technologies.

11.     Assessment of writing involves complex, informed, human
           judgment.

   

Writing the final blog

Writing is always difficult, always a grind. Today, as I sat to write the final blog entry for Jan's and Simon's blog, a myriad of ideas surfaced as I thought about these two wonderful young men who spent the year here in Rumford with me and Bailey and their neighborhood aunt and uncle, Connie and Ben. 


Having too many ideas as a writer is both inspires and creates challenges... nearly two hours later I pasted a few short paragraphs into the blog and ended the yearlong collection and a special time.  


Now, perhaps more than ever, I understand the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

  

TV Boys

Posing with Luiz's TV for Facebook Prank. 

"Luiz, the boys want to thank you for the use of your TV. Bailey watches Animal Planet during the day and Jan Filliesand Simon Sebastian Leonhard watch the Red Sox and seem to be throwing things at it a lot since the Sox are struggling. Only a few dings and white spots on the screen... otherwise, all's well."

Happy Birthday, Bailey!

Feed me.

Bailey has learned that being the DogSon of a writer has certain liabilities. A major one:  Dad sits still behind the computer for hours at a time... That's OK when Bailey is sleeping, but when it's time to eat or play! Bailey knows his responsibility: climb into dad's lap and slap the paw down on the keyboard. 


Enough's enough already–Woof.  

Thanks, Aunt Diane!

Bailey received a wonderful gift from Rich's UMaine colleague, Diane Jackson. Nothing like a new toy... especially one he can not destroy. "Woof-you," Aunt Diane!

from Natalie Goldberg

"Writers live twice. They go along with their regular life, are as fast as anyone in the grocery store, crossing the street, getting dressed for work in the morning. But there's another part of them that they have been training. The one that lives everything a second time. That sits down and sees their life again and goes over it. Looks at the texture and detail." -Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones.

Moose Hunt: Road trip to Rangeley

In search of moose, we took to the roads and headed up to Rangeley and what's called the Height of Land... the highest point where cars can get to.Rangeley is a summer and winter tourist town in the mountains about 40 minutes from Rumford.

We had burgers at a sports pub and then on the trip back, we saw two lonely moose on the edge of the road... a big male and smaller female. Unfortunately, the darkness didn't allow for photos and when Bailey started barking, the poor moose took off like blowing balls through the woods.

Bailey and Cousin Zellie play with the boys

Bailey had some fun with his cousin Zellie and his brothers up at Black Mountain of Maine. For more photos click on this sentence.

Companion WorkBook to Writing on the Bus

Here's the proof cover of The Athlete's Workbook... many book cover attempts later. We'll see whether this one makes the cut when it arrives in proof form. This the workbook is for all sports and both genders, it got tricky trying to include photographs. Click on the picture to get a closer look.

Stay in the Chair... keep writing.

Word Web

In the companion book to Writing on the Bus--a workbook with journal prompts and a training log for athletes--I suggest using Word Webs when an athlete is stuck on a topic. Here's a model I created using the prompt "When you were young, who did you admire as an athlete and why?" My answer, my big brother Fred.

"Bailey Chilling on a Saturday" by Simon

Over the hump

Over the hump

There comes a time when a writer gets over the hump of a project. That happened today with my new book called The Athlete's Workbook. It needs to be said that every word, line, paragraph, section, and chapter has a "hump" of some sort. But a book hump, that's a big muthah. So, I'm at page 102 and rolling. This workbook/journal will take less time and effort than Writing on the Bus, but I have a sense that the book will prove to be a vital tool and an important model for coaches, athletes, and sports psychologists. Here's hoping... and here's to Hump Day!

Who is that character?

In responding to a writing student of mine today, I made the following suggestion about helping her analyze the description of her main character Marie:

Print out the first chapter and take a yellow highlighter and highlight the descriptive passages and words about Marie. Has the narrator done a good job of helping readers come to know her? If you think your description of Marie is not as strong as it could be, write a separate character sketch of her and add a few of those traits into the first 25 pages.

Why we write...

A lot of writers live to engage ideas and work with words. Many of us like being alone with our thoughts. As a young writer, the possibility of signing autographs turned me on (don’t I know how lame this sounds). Another reason to write: some day a friend might write a thoughtful review of your book.

New book

Kind of fun: my new book's resource website was cited by New York Times Bestselling author Daniel Coyle, author of Lance Armstrong's War; Hardball: A Season in the Projects; and The Talent Code. He writes, "Notebooks. Writing stuff down is a good way to increase planning, reflection, and understanding; it lets us think our way past obstacles and see ourselves clearly. Check out writingathletes.com for some good ideas and tools." To read Coyle's blog and see the comments, just click on this sentence. The fun thing is, after five days my book's resource website has experienced nearly 2000 hits from readers. The graph above shows the first surge.

Got snow? Got revision?

My friend and colleague Jane Wellman-Little at the university said Bailey looks like he has goth make-up on in this picture. Truth is, he just finished playing sno-frisbee with the two boys. He won. Hands down. He had them diving into snow banks and running here and there. Large and in charge on this Sunday in January.

For his writer, I started an article for an educational journal last summer and submitted it. The inevitable critique landed on my computer screen just before the holidays... Merry Revision, Mr. Kent.

It's interesting to read the critiques by reviewers. Usually, the writer receives 3 different sets of comments from 3 different readers. They don't know the writer and the writer doesn't get to know the readers... it's called "blind review" for a peer reviewed journal. Here are a few sentences from each review:

Reviewer 1: This is a very interesting manuscript. While is does not fully comply with traditional journal writing practice and APA style, it is thoughtful and generally well documented.

Reviewer 2: The article you submitted is very difficult to follow and the organization of its contents need improvement. You seem to be sharing the results of a study you completed; however, your writing fails to provide a review of the literature, your methodology, etc. It is suggested that you review the APA Manual (6^th edition) to determine the type of article you are presenting (see pp. 9-11).

Reviewer 3: This is an interesting article—the author provides an engaging narrative on Athletes’ Journals. However, the article in some sections lacks clarity and tends to drift away from the central focus on the key participant (Charlie). The narrative style is unique and is refreshing, but would be better served by a more clear and concise outline that provides a bit more context on Charlie followed by a discussion of the various elements contributing to this writing outlet.

****

After a conversation with the journal's editor, I revised the piece over the next ten days. It's interesting, every writer goes through the same process and each time this request for revision happens we're all just a bit surprised it's happening yet again. You'd think we'd get it right the first time... but that's just not how writing works.

New snow, happy dog

Bailey loves the snow, but loves running off leash even more. Jan captured this photo when he took Bailey on a hike in the woods behind our home.

Running the back woods....

Simon snapped this photo over the weekend.

With the lack of snow, Bailey and I have been running the back woods these past few weeks. He loves being out in the mountains. With the national cross-country ski championships being held in Rumford, we haven't been to the ski area much this past 10 days. But, the hundreds of miles of trails in the back yard sure do a great job of providing space for a run. Even Simon and Jan have taken to the mountains out back.

Happy Pup... the boys and their dog

I remember my own dog Tippy when I was a boy. Oldest brother Allen says he lay Tippy as a puppy on my mother's swollen tummy during the summer of 1953, and she awoke thinking the little furball was a skunk.... white tipped tale and face. Back then, Tippy was just a part of the family and I think he was just like my brothers and sister... just there. But now, watching Jan and Simon with Bailey reminds me that boys and dogs just go together. It's fun to watch. Lucky Bailey...

Bailey, The Guard Dog

Bailey watches the chimney for Santa!

Bailey Guides Rich to Finish Line

Bailey stayed beneath Rich's writing chair just long enough to finish his new book, Writing on the Bus. To view the book's website, just click on this sentence.