Just when you might have thought that all that was left in scholastic journalism (or professional journalism) were short bits and flashy visuals, it is good to be reminded that there is still a large amount of significant long form writing out there, in newspapers, in magazines, on blogs.
Most people will agree that an increasingly complex world needs more thought, more reporting, than an infographic, or a page of 100-word briefs. But who has the time? Some of us moan: No time this morning. Gotta run to school.
But what if you could call up a long piece when you DO find some time (in an airport, waiting for a kid to emerge from soccer practice...)? Check out this article from Poynter to discover ways to store and access long form writing you want to read, through various miracles of technology.
Check it out at http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=188741
Showing posts with label short form writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short form writing. Show all posts
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Pressed for time? Try 100 Words a Day
A famous writing coach named Donald Murray (now, sadly, deceased) kept a Latin phrase, borrowed from artist James Whistler, on his desk to remind him of the importance of discipline in writing: Nulla dies sine linea, which translates to “Never a day without a line.”
A way to just get a class moving as writers is to assign them to write exactly 100 words per day for a week. They simply open a Word document, make a header with the date and write EXACTLY 100 words, then stop and save for the day. The next day they make a new header, write another 100 words, and save. Etc.
In a week, they have 700 words. You can have them print to assess (I just gave them points for doing it). No restrictions on the writing in terms of topic or format. I have had kids write poems, essays, diary entries, short stories, rants, dialogue -- who cares? Sometimes the entries hook together. Other times they are as random as thought. The assignment is to write, and fluidity is the goal.
And, of course, I share my own 100 words per day with the class through Google Docs (perhaps through a blog this year), and that serves as a gentle reminder to get to work.
By the way, there is even a web site devoted to writing 100 words a day. You can check it out at http://www.100words.com/about.php
A way to just get a class moving as writers is to assign them to write exactly 100 words per day for a week. They simply open a Word document, make a header with the date and write EXACTLY 100 words, then stop and save for the day. The next day they make a new header, write another 100 words, and save. Etc.
In a week, they have 700 words. You can have them print to assess (I just gave them points for doing it). No restrictions on the writing in terms of topic or format. I have had kids write poems, essays, diary entries, short stories, rants, dialogue -- who cares? Sometimes the entries hook together. Other times they are as random as thought. The assignment is to write, and fluidity is the goal.
And, of course, I share my own 100 words per day with the class through Google Docs (perhaps through a blog this year), and that serves as a gentle reminder to get to work.
By the way, there is even a web site devoted to writing 100 words a day. You can check it out at http://www.100words.com/about.php
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