Teaching Writing

[42]

So I'm now aparrently in charge of teaching a writing group, occassionally, at Wasatch Mental Health. My years of hanging around writers apparently makes me a little more qualified than the social worker who was running it. Plus, knowing people in the publishing field seems to make me more appealing to some of the clients.

So what shoud I teach them and what sort of activities should we do? Bear in mind that these people have a lot of emotional baggage. So the end goal isn't the same as it is with a college or even a high school. This is more along the lines of personal enrichment.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

automatic writing. Give them a "squib" (I have a list of over 100 somewhere)  and have them write on it for 5 to 10 minutes. Then show them how they can shape some of the ideas they get from automatic writing into stories or personal essays.

[42]

That could be really interesting, or really scary depending on who is participating that day.

Might as well try it.

[fuzzyoctopus]

Get permission to post the fun ones on the board.

[The Jade Knight]

I actually have a literary magazine published of the poetry of a writing group of prison inmates.  Interesting stuff, that.

But yeah, I'd recommend working getting them to write, and see where you stand then.  You might want to work on specific skills when you know them?


Probably the wiser thing to do is ignore my comments in favour of those with more experience than I.

[fuzzyoctopus]

Ah yes, I'll never forget the prison poetry at TLE.  Particularly the one we got that was an erotic love poem written to his gun.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

nonono. The best was the poem about Superman getting high.

[fuzzyoctopus]

Did I say mine was the best?  I just said I'd never forget it. I don't thinK i read the superman one.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I dunno. did you?

[Oldie Black Witch]

That erotic gun one was very creepy.

[fuzzyoctopus]

42, perhaps you can use this line, which I found in an incomprehensible string of nonsense that I apparently wrote in the last two years.

"What should we do?"  Mary shrieked.  John stared at her for a moment, thinking of all the normal girls he could have chosen to date.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

oo.. that's a good one. I've already come up with at least a page of ideas for it.

[42]

That is a good line except they don't like to use the word "normal" at WMH. They specifically ask all volunteers to refrain from using that word in any situation.  

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

well, I guess that makes sense.
but you could alter the line. She could say "typical dates" or something instead of "normal"

[Entsuropi]

He, saint. Lets not bring gender confusion into this issue as well