What we did
What a great first class! We started class with the regular introductions, and after that you did some writing to a prompt. Thanks so much for sharing your stories - hearing and reflecting on the group's experiences is one of the most important experiences of this course.
In-class writing + writing journals. Tonight's work writing to a prompt, sharing, and reflecting is pretty much the way we will begin every class for about the first half of the semester - so bring a dedicated journal, or your laptop, or sign into a private space on the computers. This writing journal will allow you to accumulate and write into a treasure trove of possibilities for your writing. In CNF, your experiences, reflections, observations, and questions are the basis for your writing - and you use writing to open up your experiences so you can feel them, understand them, think about them in new ways.
As I said in class - you do not need to share what you write in your journals. The idea is to give you a safe place to explore material that is risky or unconventional. Reading/talking about what you write in your journal is not competitive - it is not about being the best, but about sharing so you can "see" your thoughts/possible writings in a space outside yourself as you work on them and re-shape them.
Definitions of CNF. We spent most of the rest of class grappling with what CNF is. I gave you a start with a list of words I put on the board: it is in first person, it is true, and it uses the craft associated with "fiction" (scene, character, dialog, etc). We then put a list of works on the board that we thought might be CNF. If they are "fiction" => then are not CNF. If they are not presented through the first person narrative of the author, they are not CNF. If they are all "telling" with no "showing" => then are not CNF. As you will see from the readings, CNF has many more subtle features - both "essential" things that it HAS to do to be CNF (like being in the first person), and it also has an array of moves that it "often" makes (such as using a non-chronological presentation of 'what happened') - but not always. The "often" moves are associated with the art of the individual author - and there are many possibilities an more are continuing to evolve, especially in digital compositions.
Blogs. You spent a chunk of the second part of class setting up your blogs. I put up all the links that were sent to the course email. If you don't see your link up there - send me a reminder and I will get on it. So far so good!
Books. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE SIXTH EDITION. (Earlier editions have different readings) If you can't get a book from the book store (if they run out), options include:
Available on Amazon (used from 32.62 = you might spend the savings on expedited delivery).
Ask me for a copy and we can arrange a pick-up; I have reached out to last year's class and am hoping I can rustle up the necessary copies for you.
For next class:
Read: Check out course blog + browse your text and read carefully: Beard, p. 3,"Out There," Marquart, p. 118, "Some things about that day," Lopate, p,107, "Portrait of my body," Ebert,p.258, "I think I'm musing my mind," (then check out a couple entries + comments on his blog http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/
Blog 1: Using the sample essays from your text - identify and discuss what you see as features of creative nonfiction, then make a list. What are the "essential" features? What are the sometimes there and sometimes not features? What are some of the differences between short and long forms?
And: Bring your writing
journal to class
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