What an awesome debate on "truth". My head was spinning. So many ways to think about what writers do with the truth in their writing. That was the best! (Even the shouting.)
For next class: Final drafts for the long essay are due April 1.
Conferences for Wednesday, 3.26
2:00 Michele; 3:00 Megan; 3:30 Kyle
If you would like a conference - send an email or stop by my office.
Journal mining
You looked at the journals you have been keeping for the last 9 weeks and noticed patterns in ideas/themes, positioning (language moves), emotions, content (what/who keeps coming up as a topic?). Most of you found something that surprised you, all of you found patterns - dominant positionings, recurring emotional attitudes, and people, places and things that turned up on more pages than expected. You also noticed patterns in which topics/people evoked positive emotions - and which were less positive.
After talking and reflecting on these patterns, you wrote a scene which opened up/wrote into one of the dominant patterns in your joural.
More about truth
After break - we reviewed the arguments/confessions Talbert makes about not sweating the details, and Moore's reply to the particular details she "revised". Then we had a very short debate where you took a position on whether and how much literal truth should direct creative nonfiction, which is - as Moore points out - always already - at least in part=> fiction.
The great debate!
Point made by the it's OK to bend the truth group.
1) CNF needs to retain authority over rpresentation
2) there are alwyas 3 sides to a story => eveyrone will have their own perspectie and no one can write the truth
3) all writers have diffeent perspectives ; they are not bending the truth they are creating it
4) definition of CNF incloudes opinion
5) you probaby won't get caught
Nothing but the truth
1) Definition => facts + reality
2) Adding facts makes better writing
3) Lots of room for perspective that does not involve changing facts
4) you will lose readers by betraying trust
Rebuttal to Truth tellers
It is OK to=
change facts
make up material
fill in what you are uncertain about
disguise your (the author0's) relation to the material as kibg as the essential story is there
pbulic perception determines genre (what counts as nonfiction)
Rebutal to liars
Use craft/writing to make truth
Why not acknowledge the parts that are uncertain or not remembered or supposed
the integrity of the author is at stake + the relationship to the reader
Truth teller's conclusion: genre distinctions matter. The art of the genre is what makes CNF.
Liar's conclusion: CNF gives writers the liberty to blur distinctions between truth &
For next week.
I know this looks like a lot of readings - but they are short - and reading a range of the different kinds of short essays that are possible will give you some ideas.
Read: handouts Accident + The Indian Dog; Lord, "I met a man," p. 115; Braner, "Soundtrack," p.
29; McNight, "Mother's Day," p
120; look around Mike Steinberg's blog http://www.mjsteinberg.net/blog.htm
(don't forget to read the comments), Bresland, "Les Cruel Shoes," p.
31 (read it first in your book - and then check out http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v4n1/gallery/bresland/shoes.htm you will need realplayer - free download)
Blog 7: Final Draft long essay
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