Description

Tonight we wrote descriptions of places at Kean (or not). When we read them aloud, we noticed which features of the writing tipped us off to where we were, which kinds of writing held our interest, and how combinations of description and assessment/metaphor worked together to draw in the reader (though I confess I got so taken up with what you wrote I forgot to do the teacherly/analytic part of drawing your attention to how the pieces worked - so I'm hoping you did some of that for yourself.

You also signed up for conferences on Essay 3, and spent some time talking over your essays in small groups.

Wednesday is again going to be "workshoppy" - so remember your groups - and you will work with them again. I will also be available in class Wednesday for conferences - and we will do a little more exploration of some of the writerly moves you can make with description.

The journal prompt for Wednesday will be to write a description that tells a story through detailed elaboration on the detail of a person, place or thing, or some combination. Some examples from class writing by previous CNF students include:

The sun is shining. I walk up through the green and flowery dunes to see the oceans waves are big, clean and peeling perfectly right off the pier.

The beach is uncrowded except for a couple other surfers. Tucked away behind mansions in a little shore town that nobody really knows about besides the rich inhabitants of these estates from that are never even at these palatial homes with the exception of a few summers out of the summer. The ocean a clear greenish color. A secluded paradise in New Jersey, all to myself and my friends behind the tall, vacant summer homes of commuters from new york. I park my car and get changed in front of a huge house that must cost millions of dollars. There are no cars in the drive way. I see workers mowing lawns but no people living in the yards. I grab my surfboard run onto the beach, passing a sign that reads "cation unprotected beach, no lifeguards, no swimming."

Blog 18: whatever writing you need to work with for class on Wednesday

A sample of the kind of descriptive narrative practiced by Robbe-Grillet.