Remember how I mentioned creating a new website over the summer thanks to a student who is interested in responsive web design? Well, it's still in development, but http://deniselg.com/ is starting to shape up nicely. Once we've put together everything as we want it, I'll be moving my blogging over to the site. In other... Continue Reading →
Spring semester notes
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 →
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 →
The greatest invention in the world?
As an icebreaker in my comp II class this semester, I asked students what they considered the greatest invention in the history of the world. I was inspired by this guy, who believes the greatest invention is writing, which I discussed with students after we shared our answers with each other. My answer to the... Continue Reading →
6-word memoir
On the first day of my creative nonfiction class, we composed a 6-word memoir as a way of introducing ourselves to each other. First, we looked at examples of the genre: click here to visit Smith magazine’s 6-word memoir page (which is a separate page from the 6-word stories site (a la Hemingway)). And check... 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 →
Today
I am lucky enough to have a comp class this semester in which the students regularly push each other to be better writers and thinkers; I often just sit back and watch what happens. They're spoiling me, and I'm grateful for the experience. I'll stop being obnoxious now.
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 →
essaying the plains 