Experience/Prewriting...
This assignment started out as a poem reflecting the ocean in winter. The ocean poem was written in class on the first day we explored this assignment. We were given the prompt "to me winter is..." and told to free write. I envisioned creating a piece that would send shivers down my listener’s spines with its use of mystical and nostalgic imagery, and appealing cadence. My lofty visions of grandeur concerning the state of my final product often disintegrate into frustration and self doubt when what I create doesn't reflect my vision. I liked the poem I drafted, but wasn't confident that my poem could reduce my audience to tears. Tears being the ultimate in authentic formative assessment, I harshly condoned my poem as tear worthy, only worthy of tears of agony. I didn’t think my experiences with the ocean in winter were as impressive as those written by other authors. I was highly self-critical and felt that my poem was amateur and not something I could be proud of. I would hope that my future students will be able to free themselves to be creative with their own experiences for their own satisfaction, and not for the satisfaction of others (unlike myself).
In ‘love that dog' (Creech, 2008) Jack was worried about presenting his work to the class. I found myself worried in the same way as he was, concerned about people not liking it, or laughing at the poetry he wrote. It is self doubt and fear that often hinders my own creative experience, and I recognize it in others. I find changing my attitude toward a creative piece incredibly difficult to overcome once I've disregarded it as tripe. No amount of encouragement from others would be able to change my mind. Based on this experience I know that a student frustrated with their work isn’t cutting themselves short if they start again. So, I chose to start again. I went with something I have had success with in the past. Previous experience has told me that keeping something simple and light is an easy way to get a positive reaction to a creative piece. I knew I wanted to use simple language, no sophisticated imagery, and a simple rhyming scheme. I didn’t know what topic I would write about, and bounced ideas around in my head and scratched them out on paper.
The prewriting brainstorming wasn’t well organized. I was still scattered in my thoughts at this point, and this is reflected on the miscellaneous papers with scribbles all over them. I had difficulty coming up with an idea that motivated me. I ‘gave it a go’ on a variety of notions, but none provided much inspiration. The idea I eventually explored came to me while I was wandering through a bookstore downtown and happened to glance at a complex color-by-number of a flower. I was amused by the idea of a winter scene being misleadingly white, but actually full of color. I decided to write a poem about winter as if it were a color-by-number picture.
Drafting...
I was revved up about my idea, and excited about where it would go. When I get a good idea it fills my mind and I am unable to do anything else until the idea has been thoroughly worked out. I jotted the ideas on paper, speaking the lines out loud first before writing them down. I felt no pressure to make my handwriting neat, or use the right spelling. The drafting aspect of the writing process is great because you have finally found your idea, and have no demands to be 'correct' with writing. I felt more like I was gathering the materials I would need to build something extraordinary. It was like working with a chunk of clay, I was constantly shaping it in small increments to ensure a quality final product. Drafting is challenging, but it isn't difficult. Drafting is the space where your mind can explore what it already knows to create something new. I reviewed my work frequently to check on flow and rhyme scheme. I completed what I felt was a satisfactory starting point and checked it again, adding or subtracting words where necessary to match the rhyme scheme and to create more imagery. In fact, the drafting of this poem was downright fun. I hope that students who many come across my path in the future will experience the excitement I felt about writing my draft. I still felt my draft needed more thought, but had gone as far as I could go myself. I called a friend to share my work with.
Sharing...
I read the poem to my friend who said nothing at first, then spoke saying, "Did you really write that? It’s so cute! Can you read it again?" (No tears, but a laugh would have to do.) Pleased with her reaction, I did as she requested. I read it slower and we agreed that the ending was weak. We worked together on a better conclusion to the poem, adding another line that would tie the poem together. It would have taken me much longer to compose an adequate ending alone. Having someone to give feedback and generate ideas with gives creativity the push it needs once all other ideas have been exhausted. Students in my future classes who find that they are stuck will likely be told to talk it out with a friend. Sharing ideas generates great ideas, which is why I suppose the saying goes: “two heads are better than one.”
Revising...
I was revising my creative piece continuously. It was necessary to do this in order to give focus to my work and ensure it was being shaped into what I had originally envisioned. However, the vision I had in the beginning changed with each new idea I wanted to incorporate into the poem. I erased, rewrote, and manipulated sentences throughout the process.
Spandel (2009) links revision to a series of drastic changes that could overwhelm the student. I feel that it would take a confident and daring writer to write something out, and be willing to be put through the gauntlet of revision the way Spandel (2009) describes it. I would not have been willing to do this as a young learner. I don’t expect I will require my emerging writers to completely tear their work apart either. However, I will ask students to look at one small feature within a writing trait to revise slowly, one bit at a time. Eventually they will confidently complete simple revising tasks and be able to revise larger amounts with each writing project.
Editing/Publishing…
The language and sentence structure of my piece did not require me to do extensive editing. I wrote this poem for an audience of young children and did not choose to use complex language. I would have needed more editing if the piece were a short story, or an essay written for an audience not so easily entertained as a classroom full of seven year olds. After editing my creative assignment I was ready to write the poem out with a sharpie on project paper. Having completed five of the six steps of the writing process, I anxiously await the final step, which is out of my hands. I hope that when the time comes for me to assess my student’s work, I will be able to see the strengths of what they have accomplished and give them feedback that will inspire them to continue writing for the sake of writing.
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