And Now, A Moment to Reflect...

We've been blogging for almost a whole quarter now. For this post, I'd just like for you to type a few lines about how you've felt about the blogging experience so far. If you hate it, that's fine, I've always told you that you can dislike anything that we do, as long as you have reasons for how you feel. And the same thing goes for those of you who love it. If you love it, tell me why. In life, being able to back up, and support, what you say is so important. It'll make people take you more seriously if they know you can explain yourself. They'll trust you. They'll respect you. Now, if you do hate the blog, I might cry a little bit on the inside, but not for long.

As for me, I've really enjoyed reading your comments; you guys really are good writers, and a lot of you have natural talents that I can help you improve on with the time that we have left together in the spring. Here are some of my favorite comments:

1. BCP's response to "It's All in the Details"
2. MAM's response to "Only the Lonely"
3. RLC's response to "First Lines First"

And there have been many, many more. I'm really proud of the way that you've embraced this, and we have a great blog (seriously, people tell me all the time how "awesome" and "cool" it is) because of your writing.

For your post, just remember, whatever statement you want to make about this is up to you, as long as you support what you've said with a reason. You can include some of your favorite things that your classmates have written, or suggestions on how to improve the blogging situation, or even an idea that you might have for a post.

Only the Lonely

As we've been reading through The Member of the Wedding, we've talked a lot about how lonely and isolated Frankie feels. Let's try some more imagery this time (since only nine of us did the extra credit imagery post).

Let's see...loneliness...isolation...separateness...what does McCuller's say? She says, "unjoined." Remember, we talked about that word. It's a good word. She made it up, very cool stuff.

Ok, for this post, you need to describe and define loneliness, and you need to do it in terms of an object or a place.

It's so easy; don't panic. You'll be so good at this.

Just think of an image. It needs to be an object, or a place, something inanimate, that makes you feel lonely, separate, and maybe sort of abandoned. (Ok, so this won't necessarily be a "feel good" post, but some of the most beautiful writing and art has come from human pain and suffering.) Make sure that your image is strong, and that your details are specific. Include imagery language: feel, taste, sound, smell, see...the five senses.

Example:
Note the text that is in red - parallelism.
Note the text that is in blue - imagery.

At the end of the school year, I have to take down all of the decorations in my classroom. I have to clean up for the summer. I have to take down my posters, my books, the work that my students did, and any other traces of the school year that I spent with them. When it's all said and done, my empty classroom looks like loneliness itself. There's no more talking, no more laughing, no more yelling, and the room feels like something that's already history, and in the past. The absence of voices is the loudest thing there, and in it I can hear the sounds of people moving forward with their lives. There's something very quiet and beautiful about all of this, because I know we did good work here, and I know it's time to move on to another year. I know we're ready, them and me. But, there's also something very sad and lonely here: a classroom without a class.

This will be easy, once you get started. Remember, begin with an image, and then just make it as real for your reader as you can by using detail and imagery language. The parallelism is just a bonus, just good writing. You can do that too, but you don't have to (but you really can). The only way to get it wrong is to not try at all.