It's been a crazy busy semester this spring, and I'm in the middle of final grading right now...which explains why I'm posting, right? Some spring semester notes (teaching related primarily, but also a bit of a hodge-podge): Never, ever, ever will I ever agree to multiple independent studies in the same semester; I ended up... Continue Reading →
Writing, writing, writing
I talk about it. I read about it. I teach it. I'm happy when I've done it. I just don't have time to do it very often. With all that in mind and in one of my more active, go-get-'em moments (which I will curse later), I've decided to join in with the #DigiWriMo and... Continue Reading →
College taught me. . .
Due to snow, we rearranged the schedule for this week in my creative nonfiction class and spent some time just writing today. I put this idea generator up on the screen in class and we used it as a starting point. It was a rapid-fire kind of thing; I put a new prompt up every... Continue Reading →
Remember this
I posted this on my class blogs, but I need to keep these words in mind for myself, too. This has been making the rounds on Facebook since at least December. Ira Glass hosts "This American Life," a show on NPR.
An Idea
I recently became obsessed with Pinterest, mostly due to my developing interest in fashion/style and design sites. I love capturing an inspirational (or aspirational) image and collecting it on one of my many boards. For some reason, collecting all of these images, quotes, videos, recipes, and DIY ideas make me feel as though I could... Continue Reading →
First Meeting
The following narrative was written in response to a prompt I gave my creative nonfiction students: Develop a scene that describes an important event in your life. The catch? The event you choose has to be less than 5 minutes long, and the scene should be no longer than 700 words. For the record, I... Continue Reading →
Writing.
I'm teaching a creative nonfiction workshop this semester, which excites me and makes me nervous. This is the first upper-level course I've taught at my current university, and it is populated mostly with graduating seniors, who, though good students, are more focused on getting the heck out of here than on the intricacies of my... Continue Reading →
So that’s why I do it. . .
I love to teach. More specifically, I love to teach writing. Truly. Although it is work-intensive and tiring at times, I actually feel energized when I'm in the classroom. . .usually. Occasionally, though, I wonder if I'm any good at what I've chosen to do, especially when classes don't go as smoothly as I hoped.... Continue Reading →
A summer project (or two)
I've never been a very crafty of DIY kind of person. It's a lack of skill, not a dislike of the idea, that's been my problem historically. Lately, though, I've found myself much more interested in design blogs (both fashion- and home decor-related), such as Ramshackle Glam, Apartment Therapy, That's Quirky, The Glitter Guide, b*spoke,... Continue Reading →
I need
to get out of this writing funk. Everything was progressing along and then. . .BAM. Chapters 1-3 are drafted, I have 2 inter-chapters kinda drafted and ideas for the other 2. . .but chapter 4 looms over me. I just. can't. do. it. Can't bring myself to write anything. It's like I'm overwhelmed by choices... Continue Reading →
essaying the plains 