Bloggin'

Happy Friday, folks. Given a couple of mentions in other postings about the blog assignment, let me offer these thoughts. The blog space should be open to a range of thoughts and ideas. We have our readings, yes, and they should provide some material for discussion. But so too should our class discussions, your other classes, your interactions with peers, your visits to the Center, you dining choices, your lives in general. Pull from whatever makes sense to you as you think about writing center work. Did going to a restaurant seem similar to going to the Writing Center? I often think of myself as a restaurant manager. I see people seated, check in with them to see if the service was acceptable, talk with the staff about our serving options, etc. That's an analogy that helps me think about our work. There's also a good article that compares writing centers to bordellos. Yes. We can read that later this semester if you like.

You might also consider blogging about the writing style of any of the authors we read. Is there one sentence in particular that really works for you? Or one that doesn't? Think about the style and talk about the sentence structure. We can analyze writing here as well.

Think too about how writing is presented to you in other classes at Wittenberg. How do faculty talk about writing and the writing process, or how don't they? You have to develop (or perhaps articulate) your beliefs about writing. Is knowledge socially constructed? Is it found by oneself in a small room? Is writing a matter of transcribing what we think onto paper or is it the construction of knowledge itself? Do we think by writing? All those questions are ones that you can chase down on the blog.

Also, if you are having trouble thinking on things to write about, ask me. I can give some specific prompts if it helps anyone. I'm happy to do that. Regardless, get in the habit of sitting at the keyboard and typing. Respond. Write back to the readings, to our discussions, to your life. Sound your barbaric yawp out over the roofs of the world. At the least, give us a little yell.